Surviving Change: Core Skills That Last

As we enter the final quarter of 2017, our recent HR leaders meeting, “Managing Change Towards the Workplace of the Future” was hosted by Meriam Katombo, Vice President, HR & Organization Division, at PT Ericsson in Jakarta. With more than 20 HR Leaders in the room, we garnered valuable insights into the challenges and priorities of top organisations in the Indonesian economy.
ChapmanCG’s Vargin Yeke kicked off with “The Consumerization of HR”. In the war for talent, Marketing tools are now part of HR’s arsenal. HR Leaders must address the questions of how we create a workplace experience so that employees can become company advocates and how can we customise benefits and learning to build a winning culture.
Our host, Meriam Katombo, presented “HR In The Era of Transformation”. She discussed Ericsson’s journey from the 1980’s to the present day. As a champion of the Internet of Things (IoT) and an advocate of “Tech for Good”, Ericsson is fully immersed into this new “normal”. Like many progressive organisations, it has embraced disruption with conviction and speed. To maintain its status as an industry leader, Ericsson fully understands that it must retool its people, build strong talent pipelines, apply data analytics to define strategy and ensure its people strategy support business goals.

Dani Daksinaputra, Country Head of HR at PT Adani Global, took us into the VUCA (Volatile, Unpredictable, Complex and Ambiguous) world. Here, the HR professional is a warrior with a big heart. She must manage external threats, be vigilant on attracting and keeping top talent, actively network, ensure a vibrant culture and always be approachable. (For more information about the VUCA world and how it’s evolving, listen to this podcast.)
Indrijati Rahayoe brought her distinct humor to the heavy topic of “Surviving Change”. As HR Director of Blue Bird Group, she breathes disruption–a “wake up call” to the “uberisation” of public transport. Her challenges include transforming a family owned business and dealing with drivers’ reluctance to change. Her answer: all change is emotional; have lots of conversations; be brave and try to bounce back from mistakes; be collaborative; and learn how other CEOs navigate the terrain.
The last to speak was Bobby Natapradja, Country Head, Human Capital and General Affairs at NWP Retail, who ended the HR leader session with a lively analogy on sports and leadership. Mastering The Science of Management and the Art of Leadership is a classic skill that will survive. HR leaders who are able to translate business plans to organisational plans will remain relevant. Key competencies include the ability to use data in predictive analysis to help attract and retain valuable talent, to ensure diversity and to measure manpower costs. Soft skills like how to manage multiple stakeholders are critical amidst complex and fast-paced environment.
ChapmanCG was proud to foster such a deep learning experience for our HR friends. The energy and wisdom shared was humbling. We’d like to thank our gracious host, delightful presenters and all the participants. We look forward to seeing you again in Jakarta.