Representatives of in excess of 50 of Indonesia’s leading national and multinational companies gathered to attend a Jakarta night-market themed break-fasting celebration hosted by executive recruitment company Monroe Consulting Group Indonesia last week.
The event at the Le Meridien Jakarta, which featured directors, country managers, human resources (HR) managers and other C-level executives, also served as a chance to meet Monroe Indonesia’s new managing director, James Palin, who starts at the end of June.
Mr Palin has been working in recruitment in Asia since 2005 and is new to Indonesia.
“I have loved Indonesian food for many years so it was my first break-fasting celebration featuring the full array of Indonesian dishes and such wonderful company.”
In addition to the uniquely Indonesian cuisine, Mr Palin used the ‘buka puasa’ event to learn about the vibrant culture of Indonesia and to meet with representatives of a number of companies that Monroe had provided recruitment services to so successfully over many years.
“It was a great networking opportunity to meet with the companies directly for the first time, to put faces to names, and to really get to explore pressing concerns in the industry and begin to form solutions.”
He said it was also fantastic to see companies from the wide-range of industries that Monroe serviced, namely Industry, Consumer Goods, Health, Technology and Professional Services, which includes banking, finance and insurance.
“Monroe Indonesia has dedicated teams of recruitment consultants with superior industry knowledge and contacts to be able to source hard-to-find talent for executive job openings or for highly technical positions.”
Mr Palin has big plans for Indonesia.
“We will be looking to take on at least 15 new recruitment consultants in Indonesia and that is where my team-building skills will come into play. Being able to attract talent into a business is reliant on convincing others to believe in your vision and gaining trust by executing that vision in an honest way. That’s something that is definitely going to be transferred to Monroe.”
He said he took encouragement from the fact that the international award-winning executive recruitment company “prides itself on the internal development of its people, and that the system works.”
Tina Nugraheni, who heads Monroe Indonesia’s Industrial Division and has previously led the Technology Division, said she was excited about Mr Palin’s experience in the information technology (IT) and tech sectors, given the increasing impact of technology in the manufacturing and related industries.
“James began technical recruitment in Japan in 2005 with a start-up of just 5 consultants and built that to 30 people in just five years. Monroe Indonesia is always refining its business model to achieve even faster rates of sustainable growth and I think that is what he is bringing to the table.”
Andreas Saputra, head of the Consumer Goods Division, said increasing numbers of leading companies were utilising the services of recruitment companies in Indonesia and realising that Monroe was the leading choice.
“James has shared his vision about how we can improve on our already-high customer- and client-service standard levels. Our teams of recruitment consultants are certainly onboard with his message and we aim to enhance our services to our valued clients. It’s an exciting time to be at Monroe.”
Monroe Consulting Group Managing Director Andrew Hairs, who has grown Monroe from one operation to eight throughout the Asia-Pacific, said Mr Palin would have an immediate impact in energising staff and boosting performances.
“James has had great success operating in highly saturated recruitment markets in Tokyo and Hong Kong and we are expecting big things from in Indonesia, which is comparatively under-saturated. We are excited about his background and team-building capabilities as Monroe and the Group continue to expand around the world.”