FOR FOCUS ISSUE JULY 21<\/p>\n
;JP;HEN;
\nANPAc..r..
\nConsultation-HR-focus<\/p>\n
Grace Emilia
\nContributor
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
More firms turn to professionals to improve their HR<\/p>\n
Consulting businesses in Indonesia have been growing rapidly
\nduring the past decade as more and more companies turn to their
\nservices to help them survive and grow in a fast-changing market.<\/p>\n
In the 1980s, finance and accounting-related consulting firms
\nwere the ones that entered the heads of top management when they
\nthought of improving their corporate strategy.<\/p>\n
However, in the early 1990s, when companies started to adopt a
\nhuman resources development concept in managing their employees,
\nhuman resources (HR) consulting started to gain a foothold in
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
"People started to see the link between human resources and
\nbusiness in a real sense," says managing partner of the Jakarta
\nConsulting Group A.B. Susanto.<\/p>\n
The growing demand for HR consulting services has also
\nattracted many foreign consulting companies to the country. One
\nfirm in the first wave of consultants to enter the country was
\nNew York-based Mercer Human Resource Consulting.<\/p>\n
"Mercer originally entered the Indonesian market via
\nacquisition of the Indonesian unit of Geneva-based Corporate
\nResources Group (CRG). From 1998 onward we have been operating
\nunder the Mercer banner," says Rina Sjoekri, Mercer's country
\nmanager in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The economic, social and political crisis in Indonesia in 1998
\nhas given many HR consulting firms more clients than ever.
\n"Companies were waking up to the realization that it was vital
\nfor them to have good human resources management," Susanto says.<\/p>\n
Although many business giants either in the financial or
\nproperty sectors have collapsed, following the worst-ever
\nfinancial crisis, the demand for HR advisers remains strong,
\npartly due to the emergence of several new giants in the media
\nand entertainment business, he says. Susanto believes the HR
\nconsulting business will grow further.<\/p>\n
"Being conservative, my prediction is that it will continue
\nto grow at a rate of 20 percent to 30 percent," Sjoekri says.<\/p>\n
Sjoekri says that the scope of HR consulting in Indonesia
\ntypically covers the full range of human resources management
\n(HRM) consulting, including reward management, talent management,
\nculture change, HR audit, HR strategy development and HR function
\nreorganization.<\/p>\n
According to Sjoekri, the basic problem in Indonesia's human
\nresources development is that many companies still perceive
\nthe HR department as having only an administrative function.<\/p>\n
"The important role of HR is to develop an HR system that
\nsupports the whole process, defines the requirements, identifies
\nskill gaps and develops a program to close the gaps, all in line
\nwith a company's direction and needs, " he says. "Unfortunately,
\nmany HR departments here work without the support of managers.
\nEmployees also tend to wait to be spoon-fed rather than
\nproactively developing themselves."<\/p>\n
In addition, many HR practitioners do not really carry out
\nwhat they are supposed to do, such as providing a lead in
\nstrategic manpower planning and development based on the
\ncompany's vision and mission.<\/p>\n
Lots of companies nowadays are able to define their vision,
\nmission and strategy, but they have difficulty in translating
\nthis into people requirements and the expectations are often not
\nclearly stated and communicated to the employees.<\/p>\n
The other weakness is that many companies' top management
\nstill overlook the role of their HR departments. "Their HRD
\npeople are rarely invited to attend strategic corporate meetings.<\/p>\n
"How can HR facilitate the business process if it is not
\nprovided with the same opportunities that are given to other
\ndepartments such as finance and marketing?," Sjoekri asks.<\/p>\n
Talking of the duration of the consultation services provided
\nby his company, Susanto says that it depends on the scale of the
\nproblem and the size of the company. "But generally a set of
\nconsultation packages will last for four months to nine months,"
\nhe says.<\/p>\n
He says that his company charges its clients US$80,000 to
\n$400,000 (about Rp 3.5 billion) depending on the consulting
\npackage they receive.<\/p>\n
"However, should a company only ask for a segmented
\nconsulting service, such as for preparing a salary structure or a
\njob evaluation, the fees range from $50,000 to $80,000," says
\nSusanto, who adds that 85 percent his clients come from state-
\nowned companies (BUMNs) or major private corporations, mainly
\nwith annual turnovers of over Rp 3 trillion.
\n The remaining 15 percent come from family-owned companies whose
\nbusiness are growing very fast but are falling behind in human
\nresources management, he adds.<\/p>\n
Many consulting companies have also provided consultation
\nservices on personal character development, such as character
\nbuilding, self-development and inner motivation.<\/p>\n
Character building is the most popular topic so far, as
\ncompanies have realized that, although they have many skilled
\npeople, not all of them have the character to fill certain
\npositions.<\/p>\n
"We are now valuing people, not so much from their high
\nskills, but from their willingness to change to be the best. It
\ntakes character to do so." says the director of training at
\nmanagement consulting firm Puncak Prestasi, Lanny Santoso. She
\nadds that her fee for a one-hour training session for a maximum
\nof 30 people is about $100.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/for-focus-issue-july-21-1447899208",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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