Tracking career aspirations and preferences of the future Indonesian talent, Universum today launched findings from the Indonesia Top 100 IDEAL Employers student survey to recognize the most coveted employers based on responses collated from students and employers alike.

Yet again in 2017, local champion Bank Indonesia is seen as the most ideal employer by Indonesian business talent. For those studying engineering and natural sciences, who once again consider Pertamina as the most attractive employer.

Student Career Goals

Indonesian millennials much like the global millennial cohort select work-life balance as their most desired career goal.  Something that continues to push the agenda of an increasing contingent and freelance workforce, and this means employers who’re serious about attracting the very best millennial talent need to work out.

Second to work-life balance, however and where Indonesian talent really stands out from their regional peers, is the desire to be entrepreneurial or creative and innovative through their career. This is something that has been consistently observed when researching millennials in Indonesia over the past few years, and must be seen as encouraging news to both the Indonesian employers and economy as a whole.

Right now we’re seeing that creativity, innovation and entrepreneurialism are driving growth in many established and emerging markets. The government and employers in Indonesia have an excellent base to work from within their millennial workforce.

The third highest selected career goal by young talent in Indonesia is to be dedicated to a cause or to feel that they’re serving the greater good. This sentiment obviously carries a positive social impact, but it’s something that more companies need to tap into if they want to attract top talent.

It’s not enough for employers to simply acknowledge their corporate and social responsibilities these days, but they must also be good at communicating them and linking roles within their company to purpose – talent needs to feel like they’re part of the solution.

See: Millennials in Indonesia are Keen on Working for Start-Ups

Employer preferences in Indonesia

In Indonesia, the report shows that millennials value employers who offer strong opportunities for professional training and development above anything else, especially female talent. Males value a creative and dynamic working environment even slightly more.

Regardless of whether from a business or an engineering background, the top three things talent look for in an employer remain the same. This at least makes it easier for employers who need to hire a mix of different talent types. Their messaging should always be clear around the training opportunities they will provide, and the creativity, dynamism and friendliness of their working environments – as these desires are consistent among talent.

In general, talent is less impressed by a company’s reputation and image. They will look more closely at the people and culture of the company, as well as remuneration and advancement opportunities.

“The war for the right talent among employers in Indonesia has never been so intense. This past year, we have seen that the only way for employers to gain an edge is to adopt a talent centric, data driven and targeted approach when it comes to recruitment. In other words, organisations must understand what their target talent finds attractive, match it with what they can offer as an employer, and make sure they have a distinct value proposition,” says Joakim Strom, CEO APAC, Universum.

Other key findings from the 2017 Indonesia survey

Domestic banks seen as far more attractive than international banks

Business talent within Indonesia is far more interested in working for an Indonesian bank than any of the international banks that operate within Indonesia, which is normally seen as prestigious and associated with strong earning potential.

The gap between the two types of banks, domestic and international is widening. The data would suggests that this is, at least in part, due to the way international banks don’t have high positive associations with people and culture factors, such as important attributes like friendly, creative and dynamic working environment.

Pay expectations are on the rise

Unlike other regional markets, such as Malaysia and Singapore, where pay expectations have been falling, graduate salary expectations in Indonesia have risen sharply. From just a year ago male salary expectations have risen by 10% from IDR 113m, to IDR 125m.

Although increasing, the rise in expectations among females only saw a 7% increase, moving from IDR 100m to 107m. This widens the gap between gender expectations from 13m to 18m, rising questions about gender equality.

“Indonesia is a very unique market in terms of the speed at which talent has embraced  Millennial trends that took years to catch on in many other parts of the world. Just a couple of years ago, brand, rapid promotion and compensation were the main drivers of employer selection for Indonesian students. Today, they are completely aligned with their western counterparts: the work environment and the ability to strongly contribute to the organisation’s success are now the key drivers, while their biggest fear is that they will not find a job that matches their personality,”  said Rachele Focardi, Senior Vice President Talent Strategy, Universum.

The Top 10 IDEAL Employers among business and engineering students are as follows:

Business                                                                                  Engineering   

The Universum Top 100 Ideal Employers student survey was conducted online. It takes place annually in over 57 countries globally, and collects the views and preferences of over 1.3 million students. Within the APAC region, the study is currently run in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.

Also read: Employment of Foreigners in Indonesia

Feature image credit: freedigitalphotos.net