Returning Indonesians to boost local talent pool in 2017: Michael Page research

Jakarta, 07 February 2017: Indonesians who have overseas experience will continue to be in great demand in 2017, according to survey findings from the 2017 Asia Salary and Employment Outlook by global recruitment specialists Michael Page.

This continues a trend from 2016, in which more than half (58%) of companies in Indonesia hired at least one returning Indonesian.

This trend has helped to alleviate the challenge of attracting talent in Indonesia’s limited talent pool. As companies constantly compete for qualified professionals, returning Indonesians address a critical gap in the job market – they are effectively bilingual, sensitive to local culture and exposed to an international workplace.

Olly Riches, president director, Michael Page Indonesia, said that this trend is taking place against a backdrop of many local companies both diversifying and expanding alongside multinationals establishing a regional presence.

“Employment activity is on the increase due to the entrance of multinationals in Indonesia either establishing business operations or committing investment dollars. For many companies, having a presence in Indonesia has progressed from a nice-to-have to a must-have. More encouragingly, our annual survey also found that 53% of companies in Indonesia are planning to increase headcount this year, higher than the Asia average of 44%,” he said.

High-growth industries are also generating a high demand for qualified candidates. Indonesia’s real estate sector is set for rapid expansion as part of the increased land investment from mainland Chinese firms. The e-commerce and digital sector is another bright spot experiencing healthy growth due to continued investment from major players as well as a steady flow of venture capital to the red-hot start-up sector.

In addition, the survey revealed that companies in Indonesia ranked salary increases (72%), career progression (65%) as well as workplace flexibility and work-life balance (36%) as the three most important factors in attracting and retaining Indonesian talent.

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Editor’s notes: The Michael Page 2017 Asia Salary and Employment Outlook covers market insights and recruitment trends in Asia. This includes Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan. The report incorporates the views of over 3,400 employer survey respondents in addition to feedback from corporate human resources directors across different industries in Asia and business experts' insights from the Michael Page leadership team.