Telkom charts own strategy for human resources management

PT Telekomunasi Indonesia's commitment to human resources development is evident from the moment one steps into the elevators at its headquarters in Jakarta.

A large poster details the state-owned telecommunications company's goals of accurate, responsive and conscientious behavior for employees. They are instructed to avoid being content with getting by in their work performance and to take responsibility and pride in respective work roles.

It was this attention to motivating its workforce that led to Telkom's selection in 1991 for an Asian Management Award in the category of People Development and Management. The company was recognized by the board of judges for "its numerous dedicated human resources programs ... [which] serve as models which other top Indonesian companies study and emulate."

Setyanto P. Santosa, director of Telkom, says the company's approach to human relations management is based on the Indonesian concept of kekeluargaan, literally meaning to seek resolutions to problems through ways based on the concept of family harmony.

"We take our philosophy from the teachings of the great Indonesian educator Ki Hajar Dewantara," Setyanto says. "He taught that people should set examples for others, provide strong leadership and give motivation."

He adds that teamwork is an indispensable quality within the running of the organization.

"We achieve success through teamwork. Every single member of Telkom must improve his or her ability because the constant is always change. Of course, humans don't want to change, but we must respond to the changes happening around us."

Human touch

The introduction of high technology makes it imperative that the needs of workers are addressed by managers, Setyanto says.

"We have a strategy to touch our workers personally. The introduction of high-tech leads to a greater need for what I call 'high touch' or the human touch."

Setyanto dismisses the notion that Indonesian society is unreceptive to competitiveness.

He attaches a caveat to this statement by saying there is no place for "superstars, meaning people wanting to succeed by themselves and not work as a team."

Telkom has also installed a system of rewards for employees who perform well, as well as punitive measures for those offices which are registering poor growth.

"Few people know that we cut salaries from between 10 to 15 percent at offices with poor performance," Setyanto states. "This is a motivator for employees to work better."

He says that with more 40,000 employees across the country change is sometimes slow.

"We saw our award as marking the beginning of a journey," he explains. "We do not want to be content with maintaining standards but keep on working to improve. I have dreams, and one of them is for Telkom to be the best, to be recognized as a world-class telecommunications company."

All articles in this supplement (page 8, 9 and 10) were researched and written by Bruce Emond for The Jakarta Post.