Smart Talking about Validation Problems and Challenges of Blue Collar Worker "Job Marketplace" Development

blue collar worker (blue necklace) belongs to the group that is quite affected by Covid-19. Because they have limited access to job opportunities, especially long term, they are economically marginalized. In fact, the number of blue-collar workers in Indonesia is around more than 60 million, of which around 20% contributes to GDP.

Various startup actors are trying to overcome the problem of limited access through digital products. The smart one is the one who has a mission to democratize the recruitment of blue collar workers through job marketplace. On this #TuesdayStartup, Co-founder and CEO Nelly Nurmalasari explained some interesting notes behind her Smart development kitchen.

Pain points blue collar worker

Problem validation is the most important thing startups do before jumping into product development. For Nelly, waiting for product development to be finished will take a long time. Instead, he conducted an early-stage experiment on Telegram to find out if the product was worth solving.

From this experiment, he learned a number of important lessons based on the experiences of job seekers. First, the issue of discovery (discoverability). According to him, no matter how many job vacancies are displayed, job seekers will keep asking. From this, he saw that what they needed was simplicity to apply and access the vacancies they are looking for.

Then, the security aspect. Several people surveyed admitted to having experienced fraud when applying for jobs or getting fake vacancies. For example, asking for payment or offering an unreasonable salary. "This is all our learning and foundation for making MVP a few months ago," said Nelly.

Pain points employer

Not only from the point of view of job seekers, security is also an important aspect for employers (employer). This is to ensure that applicants are verified and have good experience part.

"This is important because the principal wants to feel safe for hired so you don't get the wrong employee. Applicants may have a track record of bad credit. This will interfere in the HR department and affect the work. Another example, hiring driver but can't be responsible for the car they drive," he said.

Equally important, he judged the efficiency of screening methods much needed by employer. A number of HR interviewed admitted that it was difficult to select applicants without checking applications one by one. Speed ​​to hire becomes important because they have to stay in business.

Semua point bread This is reflected in the products/features developed. For example, you don't need to make a CV, track application status, to the verification label. Other platforms may offer the same, but 'how to' must be different.

Next challenge

Product-market fit is certainly the main metric to ensure the product worth solving. However, Nelly considers that currently there is no real digital solution considering the job concept marketplace in Indonesia is still developing.

When compared to marketplace/e-commerce in general, it will be different. Currently E-commerce It's already in the mature phase. However, this sector used to get doubts in the market because people were not used to shopping online. Digital penetration is also not what it is now.

Nelly also highlighted that the development of job marketplace must be in line with monetization efforts. For example, linking job search services with financial services.

"Well we are in the same phase. We need to see nnatural pathway of blue collar workers. How do they find work? is experiencewill be the same or different from [user] E-commerce? The biggest challenge is knowing the rightformula. Our team is still small so we always experiment quickly to find out," he explained.

Leadership

Nelly also conveyed an important note to encourage female leader/founder others in the startup industry. According to him, don't stick to certain standards to get to success. Moreover, there was a presumption that they were unable to show their strength due to their position as female lead.

"There's a perspective that doesn't fit because it's possible to see women have more emotional maturity and motherly instinct. Just don't shy away, do not see template menjadi leader it has to be this way. We can create more and find our own success."