82% of returnees surveyed are ready to contribute to Indonesia's domestic workforce and Industry 4.0 excellence

Jakarta, October 30, 2019 – Michael Page – a UK-headquartered multinational recruitment firm specialising in providing high-caliber candidates at the middle to senior-level management for companies in Indonesia, continues its returnee campaign titled Membangun Negeri. This local initiative by the Jakarta office, Michael Page Indonesia commenced in 2017 and is aimed connecting Indonesian employers with returnee talent who have gained global exposure working or living overseas.

To support the campaign, Michael Page Indonesia recently conducted research with 1,269 survey respondents to obtain more insights on how Indonesian returnees view the opportunity of working and building their careers here at home. They were also surveyed on their aspirations in strengthening their competences based on their knowledge and best practices while working abroad. Based on this research, 82% of the respondents have already returned home to Indonesia, while 16% more expressed their willingness to also do the same.

“We are committed to continue contributing to the Government of Indonesia in bolstering the workforce to equip various industries in Indonesia with top quality employees. This will provide Indonesia’s industry players with the best resources to establish their standing on the global stage,” said Olly Riches, President Director of Michael Page Indonesia.

Indonesia’s era of Industry 4.0 is approaching and the nature of demands from companies are constantly shifting. Therefore, requirements on potential hires also follow suit. Michael Page Indonesia is leveraging our knowledge and understanding of the industries, to learn and search for opportunities available to Indonesians currently abroad and willing to build new careers back home.

Through this recent study conducted in July 2019, it was found that 44% of returnees are ready to take a pay cut of between 5 – 15% from their previous basic salary. However by taking their previous experience of studying and working abroad into consideration, they still expect to be paid 25% higher than the Indonesian employees without overseas experience.

Their reasoning for higher salary expectations are based on their ability to optimise and improve workflows where they are hired (39%), and to provide recommendations for innovation or new ideas (24%). In addition, 56% of returnees prefer speaking up and providing feedback or input to their managers whenever occasions arise instead of waiting for formal appraisal sessions.

“This is a good indication, since most employers in Indonesia are looking for such attributes when hiring professionals from overseas or returnees,” added Monico Lim, Associate Director of Michael Page Indonesia. “This is why we conducted this research in the first place, to learn about their aspirations and what is behind their decision to return home and build a career here.”

“Three major sectors which interest returnee Indonesians are Technology, Consumer Goods and Financial Services. One thing that has always been important for the Indonesian returnees is about re-learning or getting accustomed to the local culture that was absent from their lives while living abroad,” Monico Lim continues.

Understanding Indonesian culture and the working environment is very important, as this can be quite a challenge for the returnees, especially for those who stayed abroad for at least seven years – which accounted for 20% of the respondents. Social lives, environment, traffic jams and pollution account for the main deterrents to returnees when coming home.

With the growth of the Technology and Digital industries in Indonesia over the last three years, more Indonesians who are working abroad in these fields are considering returning to work here at home. They are equipped to introduce their know-how and best practices from abroad. A number of returnees have already entered the start-up market in Indonesia.

“The research in the Michael Page Employer’s Guide to Indonesian Returnees is very encouraging as it shows promising insights which will better assist us in securing the best Indonesian professionals for companies. This is especially useful for employers seeking Indonesian candidates with overseas exposure and experience,” added Olly Riches.

“What really interests me from the study is also the fact that 17% of the returnees are looking for opportunities to contribute to the Indonesian economy. This is highly noteworthy and especially promising for the Indonesian workforce with the potential for large amounts of growth and upskilling,” said Olly Riches in closing.

Please contact Harry Setiawan at har.setiawan@gmail.com or WA +628151829189 for more information.