Koran Tempo: When the experts Pulang Kampung

Koran Tempo covered the stories of returning overseas Indonesian professionals from the Pulang Kampung campaign; Maya Malidra from Shopee Indonesia and Kevin Wiramihardja from Grab Indonesia. Both shared their motivations to return to Indonesia, opportunities they have seized and also challenges they have encountered.

Maya Malidra decided to return to Indonesia because she missed her family and her desire to move out of her comfort zone was strong – Maya previously worked in the banking and financial services. Despite facing challenges in Indonesia - different earnings, facilities and work culture, Maya was interested to build her career in Indonesia because she was introduced to Shopee Indonesia which offered her the speed and opportunity to make a visible impact to the business instantly. Having worked in a bank, Maya knew that the decision-making process takes a while since there are different levels of bureaucracy. But in a technology company like Shopee, the decision must be taken immediately since the organisation structure is very lean. 

Glorya Tay of Robert Walters Indonesia said bringing overseas Indonesian professionals is one of the ways to overcome the talent skill shortage faced by Indonesia today.

Indonesia companies are interested in overseas Indonesian professioanals' profiles, as indicated by the number of talents who have been placed by Robert Walters. More than 40 Indonesians have been successfully placed since the Pulang Kampung program was launched in 2015.

For companies to attract these talents, Kevin Wiramihardja, Group Product Manager of Grab Indonesia said, "Companies must provide opportunities to employees to engage in challenging projects, ensure real career development for staff and foster a culture that encourages creative and innovative ideas. Be open to new ideas and one can see the potential in the talent.''

View the full article here

If you are keen to know more about Pulang Kampung campaign, please email International Candidate Manager, Belin Delannoy at belin.delannoy@robertwalters.co.id or call +62 21 2965 1536.