Workers often vociferously demand their rights to hard-hearted company owners. One leader who goes to great lengths to win over his employees is Randy Lianggara, CEO of PT AXA Services Indonesia.
He believes that winning their hearts is a must for a leader to successfully run his business in line with a set strategy.
“When employees are happy, you don’t have to order them to do something because they are automatically responsible. The key is winning their hearts,” said Randy.
Six years ago Randy faced a frustrated workforce when AXA Group took over MNC Life Indonesia. The company’s name was changed to PT AXA Indonesia. At that time, as CEO of MNC Life Indonesia, Randy had to strive to keep employees motivated to work hard in the first year after the acquisition.
It was no easy task because their performance had slumped during the uncertain period before the acquisition.
“I kept on communicating closely with them, and six months after the acquisition the sales increased sharply,” he recalled.
Randy was requested to become the CEO of AXA Indonesia. AXA Group had never imagined that the newly acquired MNC Life would perform so well.
“Then I asked the shareholders not to lay off MNC Life employees,” he said, adding that he had promised that he would meet the target set by the new owner.
A year after the acquisition, in January 2007, he was appointed CEO of PT AXA Services Indonesia, a business group consisting of PT AXA Mandiri Financial Services, PT AXA Financial Indonesia, PT AXA Life Indonesia and PT AXA Asset Management Indonesia.
Randy managed to raise spirits of the demoralized workforce. The internal satisfaction survey of employees had been disheartening, with the rating in 2004 and 2005 at only 16 percent. In fact, the local AXA branch held the unwanted distinction of the lowest rating among all AXA companies in 60 countries.
Randy, 44, was determined to change that.
After his appointment as CEO he decided the company must focus on the employees and that everything concerning them must be prioritized. The satisfaction scores rebounded into overwhelmingly positive territory. In 2007, it was 87 percent, 97 percent in 2008 and 95 percent in 2009. It rose again to 96 percent in 2010.
“Once you touch their hearts their performance improves,” he said.
Happy days
The turnaround was not achieved overnight. Randy believes in the circle of happiness, because when employees are content they will give the best service to the distributor or vendor. In turn, when the distributor and vendor are happy, they will give the best service to the customers.
Satisfied customers translates into them purchasing other AXA products or recommending them to their friends. In the end, the shareholders are happy with the results, and provide bonuses and other incentives for employees.
Winning over others to believe in the circle is not easy. The key is that employees must have clear-cut direction, making communication highly important.
“We conduct intensive communication to make employees aware of the company’s policies, directions, strategies and the methods to reach our targets,” he explained.
He believes that behind a successful employee is a family with its full support. Since 2008, he has created more family-oriented programs. He fully understands that the circle of happiness should also extend to the families of AXA’s 1,000 employees.
The company holds a Family Day with special programs, such as Kidzania at Blitz Megaplex, which was closed to the public so that it could be used by the employees and families of AXA Indonesia. Such programs are now held every few months. During an outing to Bali, the company’s holiday committee suggested that the company should pay for souvenirs.
“I said OK, up to a certain limit, of course,” he said lightly.
The company also gives birthday gifts to all employees, from office boys upward, but also including employees’ wives, husbands and children. The gifts include household items, Body Shop articles, G Shock watches and iPods.
The company also provides them with a romantic dinner on their wedding anniversary.
“Starting from employees at the lowest level up to the directors – they all get the same five-star hotel dinners,” he said with a smile.
“We do all this because we believe in the circle of happiness. Once we win their hearts the rest is easy.”
Randy acknowledged that such steps were initially controversial for AXA Group. “The headquarters thought that I was wasteful spending so much,” he said.
The problem was that while the satisfaction score went up, sales did not; in 2008 the circle of happiness stopped only at the distributors and vendors.
“I said that this was not expenditure, but investment, and that it was very vital,” he added.
Based on that trust, the program was continued. Randy said it needed patience and investment. “I think it’s the wrong philosophy to regard the spending as cost. It’s an investment in employees.
The investment paid off. Satisfaction of distributors climbed to 89 percent in 2010, and to 93 percent in 2011.
Share value
So what about the shareholders? They are enjoying high sales and high returns on investment, and the company’s value has also greatly increased as well as its profits. The circle of happiness is complete.
Randy communicates regularly to avoid internal gossip, and he makes time via a CEO chat program that enables employees to talk openly, even on sensitive issues.
He also invites the entire workforce to contribute. “There has been much improvement on the part of the employees,” he said.
He supports them in making innovations through the “I Suggest” employee feedback program.
As a leader he says it is also important to be a role model. “We do what we say, we say what we do,” he tells other directors.
“We have a blue culture to boost that,” he adds, meaning that a leader should convey his instructions in a calm tone and not in an angry way, and also that leaders should not always succumb to employee wishes.
Currently, AXA Indonesia is the country’s number two insurance company, rising from fifth two years ago.
“But within AXA Asia it is the largest,” he added.
The company has made enormous strides. Five years ago AXA Indonesia was only a quarter of AXA Hong Kong, which was the largest in Asia at the time. Today AXA Indonesia is much larger than AXA Hong Kong.
In 2010, AXA Indonesia was chosen “The Best Performer” within the AXA Group in Asia. “I succeeded in making the Indonesian managers, directors and CEOs experts,” said Randy proudly.
What is the challenge?
“It is preparing human resources to become a part of a larger and more successful AXA.”
Indeed, competition is tough, especially in obtaining good talent. Refusing to remain complacent and expect talent to come his way, in 2010 Randy established the AXA Academy to produce that talent.
“We manage the best people. There is a talent pool to prepare the future leaders of AXA,” said Randy, mentioning that the total was about 2 to 5 percent of employees.
His target is to make AXA Indonesia number one in the next two years in Indonesia’s insurance industry, and also to make it more credible and increase its profile. Those will be truly heartening results.
Name: Randy Lianggara
Date and place of birth:
Bali, Feb. 27, 1967
Education:
1990: Business Administration IOWA State University, AS.
1992: MBA dari Golden Gate University, AS.
Experience:
1992: Group Account Executive,
Sewu New York Life
1997: Deputy General Manager, Sewu New York Life
1997: Director, PT Panin Life Tbk.
2000: Vice President Director, MLC Life Indonesia
2000-2006: CEO, MLC Life Indonesia
2006: CEO, AXA Financial Indonesia
2007-present: Country CEO, AXA Indonesia and Commissioner, AXA Mandiri
