The Future of Work
Emtek Group is a prominent Indonesian conglomerate with a diversified portfolio of businesses that spans across various industries, including media, telecommunications, and financial services. Founded in 1983 by Indonesian entrepreneur, Eddy Sariaatmadja, the Group has grown to become one of the country's leading corporations, employing more than 36,000 people and operating in several countries in Southeast Asia. Emtek Group's subsidiaries include some of the most recognizable brands in Indonesia, such as Anteve, Klikdokter, and Bukalapak. The company is known for its innovative and customer-focused approach to business and has received numerous accolades for its achievements in the fields of technology and entrepreneurship.
The students were tasked to come up with solutions focusing on the way Emtek Group should address:
- How their employees work; and
- How the workplace will evolve in the in the next five years
The main objectives for this project were to recommend and provide explanations on new work policies that should be adapted in this Endemic period in each of every business portfolio (Media, Digital media, Digital business, Hospital and Solution division).
Driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, the way of work is changing. Forces of change are affecting three major dimensions of the future workforce at Emtek Group. These include:
- The type of work
- Who does the work
- Where the work is done
The project groups conducted research around this problem, and made recommendations on the best tangible working combination to be implemented in Emtek Group in the future. They had to consider the challenges and potential consequences in their research, recommendation, and final presentation/report, such as:
- What is the most effective combination of working in the future? These could include but are not limited to hybrid, in-office or working from home. Do also suggest a suitable ratio of WFO and WFH.
- How does Emtek measure productivity for each working combination? Please include some financial and non-financial KPIs in the recommendations.
- How could these combinations impact employee psychological wellness?
- What are the skills and capabilities Emtek employees need to thrive and be successful in these combinations?
To aid them in this, a few mentoring and consultation sessions in Singapore were held for the SMU and Universitas Prasetiya Mulya (PrasMul) students, together with the mentors from Emtek Group.
A few groups also conducted surveys and one-on-one interviews with employees from other companies in Indonesia, within the same industries as those chosen divisions to understand the perspective of employees too.
Further, one last mentoring session was held at Emtek Group’s headquarter in Jakarta on the third day of the trip so that the students can meet the mentors face-to-face and briefed them of their revised recommendations before the Final Presentation a few days later.
Finally, through the combined efforts of the students from SMU & PrasMul, 4 groups of students recommended different mix of working from home vs working from office to the 4 different divisions of Emtek, namely: Media, Telecommunications & Solutions, HealthCare, and Digital Business.
Related Articles:
https://www.vidio.com/watch/7286373-emtek-group-dan-singapore-management-university-gelar-program-kolaborasi-future-of-work-fokus
https://www.vidio.com/watch/7286438-kolaborasi-emtek-dengan-singapore-management-university-bertema-future-of-work-liputan-6
"What helped me the most during our formal projects is the mentoring sessions we did with Prof Yuanto, Mr Kevin, and Pak Pieter, as the representative of EMTEK, the company we are working with for our formal project. Our mentors helped so much by giving guidance on how to achieve best results in our projects. They are also really attentive and supportive through our learning process. Overall, the formal project taught me a lot of things. Now, I know that the most valuable knowledge is not the one you get from the textbook, but the one you experience yourself. Being Asian, we tend to rely on theories too much, sometimes overlooking small details that could be important. Every company is unique, just like a person, and what they need is very different from one another. A single chapter can’t truly give you the answer of what a company needs. You need to understand the need of the company and truly care of what possibly can help them grow. The SMU-X course is really a valuable experience for a future accountant like me. I want to thank Prof Yuanto, Mr. Kevin, Pak Pieter and Emtek representatives, and also my Singaporean friends, Sarah, Khai and Chrissy, for a knowledge never taught in a book!"
- Shafira Arifin, Pras Mul student
"For me, the group projects form an important part of the learning experience. Throughout the consultancy project, it has re-emphasised the importance of considering practicality and context. As during the project, our mentors and professor constantly reinforce that a solution that works in Singapore may not work in Indonesia. This has taught me to look outside of just theoretical and secondary research and to consider how culture plays an important role. Furthermore, I had the opportunity to work with my Indonesian counterparts. The project has allowed me to learn more about Indonesian culture and allowed me to develop my skills in working with people of different nationalities. Lastly, the project has allowed me to always think deeper and to question more. I have learnt that an effective solution is one that addresses the underlying issues of the problem and not its effects. In conclusion, this consultancy project has given me the chance to work with others from different nationalities and to challenge how I think about and tackle problems."
- Ong Yu Kai, SMU undergraduate student
"This pioneer collaboration between SMU and Universitas Prasetiya Mulya is successful as it blends two groups of students with different culture in terms of their contribution towards the consultancy projects involving Emtek Group. The theme of the project on 'The Future of Work' is also timely as most countries are exiting the COVID-19 pandemic and organizations are figuring out the ideal ratio of WFH vs WFO. The recommendations are also apt in terms of how different industries need to adapt the ratio to their different needs. Some industries are not suited for the WFH mode (eg: Telecommunications Infrastructure & HealthCare) and therefore, the recommendation of having 100% WFO seems appropriate. In contrast, industries such as Media and Digital Business do allow for some degree of WFH. It will also help if organizations are more flexible for some employees who maybe staying a long distance from home. Overall, the outcome of the collaboration inspires me to work together with other universities from Indonesia in future consultancy projects with Indonesian organizations."
- Associate Professor Yuanto Kusnadi, faculty instructor, ACT009
"The hard work throughout the four months from both the SMU and Pras Mul students have resulted in useful outputs in terms of what our HR strategy post pandemic should be. It also validates some of our prior conjectures in terms the “ideal” WFO vs WFH ratio that each division in Emtek should be adopting."
- Pak Pieter Adrian, Group Vice President of Human Resource, Emtek Group