How Startups Outside Java Are Catching Up With HR

Human Resources is an important, if not the most important, factor in a startup. Without qualified talent, a start-up company will not be able to move quickly and have an impact like the character of a startup in general.

In recent years, the need for human resources, especially in the field of technology and information, continues to increase. This need may be relatively less of a problem for startups in big cities, especially in Jakarta, where most of them live.

But what about those outside Java? How has the pandemic affected the HR aspect of startups there? We spoke with three startup leaders operating in Medan, Makassar and Batam.

Far behind

CEO Topremit Hermanto Wie admits that the presence of talent in the digital sector in North Sumatra is still minimal when compared to big cities on the island of Java. The lack of human resources in this sector is the result of many variables. Hermanto said that one of the most contributing factors was the lack of digital startups there.

"You could say it's directly proportional to the number" demand, namely the number of startups in North Sumatra is still growing," said Hermanto.

According to Hermanto, digital-based businesses have not yet mushroomed. Even though there are excellent talents, the existence of startups has not been so ogled. Manufacturing, banking, logistics, are still the main choices for HR there. He considered that this was because the knowledge of startup work in its place was not yet known to many people, so it did not reflect as one of the attractive workplace destinations.

Roro Mega Cahyani experienced a similar situation. Roro is the CEO & Co-Founder of Zeal Indonesia, a startup operating in Batam, Riau Islands. The lack of public knowledge about job opportunities in startups is a challenge. The existence of the Nongsa Digital Park (NDP) which was created by the government as a special economic zone is slightly more profitable for Roro and the digital startups there. According to him, not a few are willing to try their luck in Singapore and Malaysia with the provision of digital skills.

"Mindset they already understand that college just not enough. His work will probably be in Singapore or Malaysia. But the problem is it takes time to learn. Sometimes the problem is financial," he said.

If the information factor regarding startup work which is still scanty in Batam and North Sumatra is the dominant factor, in Makassar the conditions are different. CEO Mallgarb Saifullah Adi explained that the startup ecosystem in Makassar has indeed been formed. It's just that the growth is relatively stagnant.

The startup ecosystem means the institutions that usually support the development of startups including incubators and accelerators. According to Adi, the number of both in Makassar and Eastern Indonesia in general is still too small to lift the growth of startups there.

"One of the causes may be that the ecosystem is not good enough. Government and private initiatives are not big enough to trigger the ecosystem to grow. You can count how many incubators, communities, or accelerators are in Eastern Indonesia," said Adi.

Outsmart the situation

The presence of crucial HR for the startup life journey. Without the luxuries that their colleagues in Java enjoy, startup actors outside of Java are outsmarting this in various ways. Adi chose to establish close relationships with a number of communities. The community can be on or off campus. That way, Adi admits that it can be a little easier to find the needed talents.

In this pandemic situation, the need for digital transformation is much faster. The existence of the right talent, again, is a requirement that must be met.

"We use the help of the communities around us, for example the community tech on or off campus," he added.

Meanwhile, Hermanto assessed that socialization about the startup world needs to be more aggressive in targeting young talents there. The socialization can take the form of information sharing sessions for students in college and school. Startups that are already there, according to him, should also open up wider opportunities for new graduates. Apart from being absorbed into other industries, Hermanto sometimes sees that the superior human resources in his area have actually moved to the capital city.

For this reason, Hermanto chose to give Topremit employees the freedom to explore their skills and support them with a number of qualified facilities for self-development.

"We do employer branding and show a good working atmosphere , a solid team, and a place to learn and grow," said Hermanto.

Data Digital Competitive Index 2020 from East Ventures shows that there is still a huge gap between the supply of digital talent in Java and outside Java. But that is not a reason for the three startups not to develop.

Hermanto said that his party plans to employ human resources who are in different time zones to anticipate customer requests at any time. With the resources they have, the lagging human resources in the region can be closed by recruiting human resources in other countries.

"We want hire employees di time zone different so request customer can still be fulfilled 24/7 and team I can learn about culture from nationality others," concluded Hermanto.

Meanwhile, Adi believes that the need for appropriate and superior human resources is very crucial for startups engaged in the environment. This need strengthens as people's awareness of the environment continues to increase during this pandemic so that the demand for their services automatically increases.

Aware of the backwardness of the digital ecosystem in his area, Adi predicts that its development will be slower than their colleagues in Java.

"supply and demand there are certainly not as big as on the island of Java. This is one of the reasons why the ecosystem may not develop well enough," Adi said.

A little optimistic, Roro sees the development of the digital ecosystem in Batam initiated by the government as a great opportunity. The existence of NDP, according to him, will be a differentiating factor for the digital ecosystem in Batam and Sumatra in general, while accelerating the competitiveness of digital talent there.

"So it's not surprising that there are talents from Java who move to Batam," concluded Roro.