Ricky’s core philosophy is centred on adopting fresh ideas that are balanced with deep industry know-how and an aim to accelerate growth by fusing methodology and technology that will not only serve industries now, but also the industries of the future.
With a dynamic, energetic, and outgoing personality, and over 12 years on the recruitment journey, Ricky Mulani and Reqruit Asia have over 3000 placements and service 30 different industries of clients. Here, Ricky shares his views on future employment trends along with his favourite motto, quoted from the book and movie ‘My Stupid Boss’ which says ‘Impossible We Do, Miracle We Try!’ “We have to push ourselves to never give up in everything we do, but we also have to be ready to fail, so we always try to do our best and appreciate every small success along the journey, I live by that,” said Ricky.
Ricky first established his recruitment firm in early 2000 in Jakarta Indonesia under the name Quantum Select. Later, it grew big enough to cater to the Asia Pacific market, so a branch office was opened in India. When the global pandemic hit, the India office closed and the company was been rebranded to Reqruit Asia, currently focusing on the Indonesia and Asian market.
One of the reasons for rebranding has been to create a platform to accommodate job seekers and companies. “Luckily, the platform development concept had been prepared, so when the global pandemic hit, the platform was ready to launch as a free platform for our candidates and acted as part of the company’s CSR to help applicants in finding new jobs in those challenging times” explained Ricky.
The platform was constructed to be a user-friendly website and app, complete with valuable information, articles and tips for visitors or job seekers. While existing businesses were firing employees due to the global pandemic and financial troubles, the recruitment firm found it was still needed for hiring employees for new businesses. New emerging businesses included fintech, medical apps, courier services, web and app developments, digital marketing and many more. This opened up opportunities for urgent recruitment services, where clients were able to co-opt our services as agents,” Ricky added.
“There was a shift in clients. Those that previously came from oil and mining companies, now came from fintech and e-commerce companies, with available vacancies more into IT, sales, and digital marketing roles. As the pandemic recedes, former industries will come back and grow further. Another evidence of a post pandemic atmosphere is the working environment seeing flexible hours and hybrid workers, with significant changes in annual leave. It is now possible for some positions to work from anywhere but still be reachable and working hours can be adapted with the help of technology and digital support, allowing people to balance their professional and personal lives. By adopting fresh ideas that are balanced with deep industry know-how, we have connected the dots and fused methodology and technology”, Ricky explained.
Awareness of a potential global recession in 2023 has challenged mind-sets at Reqruit and has seen them continuously adapt. This can be seen in a survival of 3 crises: the monetary crisis in 2009, political instability in 2014, and the COVID-19 pandemic 2020. Facing a future in which AI substitutes human roles, and demographics bonuses means Indonesia will have golden years where there are no gaps in productive workers from 25 to 40 years old to sustain the economy. It also means a great opportunity for recruitment firms who can expect higher demands for positions that need increased qualifications to supply the market.
Reqruit has previously been the recipient of a number of prestigious awards, including Best Recruitment Firm 2016 category CHRO Asia in HR Vendors Awards, Best Staffing Organization 2016 category in The Golden Globe Tigers, Best Executive Search Firm 2016 category in HR Vendors Awards and Best Staffing Organization 2017 category in HR Vendors Awards. “In the future, we will expand our business model by developing our platforms that can be accessed in different countries. If the market responds positively and with high volumes, a branch office will be required, and we can once again set up business in that specific country,” Ricky closed by saying.
