WHERE is Binamandiri Branch Office ? (1)

It was a question where asked by many new colleagues, clients and official when I was attending Gala Dinner at Workshop of “Job Opportunity in Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Malaysia” organized by National Board of Protection and Placement of Indonesia Overseas Workers (BNP2TKI) on Thursday Evening 23 October 2008.

The answer is “I am SORRY we don’t have any branches in Indonesia nor registration office (UP3TKI) other than our Head Office in Malang”

That answer will be very strange for people especially Indonesia people to hear. Binamandiri with 25 years doesn’t have any branches, does Binamandiri still active and exist? Does Binamandiri actually develop?

Having no branch what so ever it is not without reasonable reasons. 25 years of experiences has taught us many things including not to open any branch.

1. Indonesia Manpower Agency is a unique industry different from other service business like banks, cleaning service company, lawyer office etc. Due to low education, lack of information infrastructure, multicultural people, mostly Manpower Agency especially with Branches will be used as a tool to extort money and manipulate people who want to go to overseas and mostly are uneducated properly and lack of information. The bigger the company is and more diverse the destination countries of placement, the more chance people will try to take advantage to use that company brand. Actual experience as an example, 2 years ago, my friend suddenly called me and expressed her sympathy that I get problem with my branch office in Gresik – East Java, as she read in the newspaper. My “Branch Office” was accused of cheating 30 people to go to Malaysia and already received money USD 500 each. I was very surprised and stunned, and I explain to her that I don’t have any branch at all. It just someone who used my company name, to cheat those people. It was not the first for me and will not be the last. Nowadays with advance technology, it is easy to make fake company letter head, signature, company board etc. Although it is directly involve me, the Gresik Government never contacted me for clarification, because they know I never apply for any branch office to them, so it was purely criminal act by someone, and My company was the victim also. Bnamandiri can be considered the only company with the most countries of placement and such as NZ and Australia are very attractive for people to go to work. This example shows that Manpower Agency is sensitive to problem, I didn’t open any branch and yet I got the problem indirectly.
2. Manpower Agency Industry is different from normal service industries. It is not an industry that has carrier steps for its employee, for example if you are a good branch manager at the bank, you can be promoted to regional Manager or if you are a good motorcycle retail branch manager who can sold many motorcycles you can be promoted as District Manager and so on. The branch office of manpower agency mostly is manage independently with they own cost and share the profit with head office, but it is NOT franchise. Franchise industry every rules and promotional and product or service supply are centralize in the head office. Branch office of manpower agency is almost similar with franchise but it also can work independently…CONFUSING …. That is Indonesia Manpower Agency.By rule and regulation, Branch office is acting as registration or recruitment office ONLY where other processes are the responsibility of Head Office, obtaining job order, selection, training, documentation, placement procedure etc, but the reality mostly Branch Office can act as Head Office with very less responsibility and every problems occurs will be the responsibility of the Head Office.Other real example of my colleague station in Malang who used to open branch office in West Java, suddenly she received distress letter from Indonesia Embassy in Greece and Department of Manpower that 12 workers from her agency were stranded. After full investigation by the Department of Foreign Affairs incorporated with Department of Manpower, the incident happened because her branch office in West Java was working independently without any consent from the Head Office, and they were cheated by a broker in Jakarta. She had to spend almost USD 300.000 to take care it so that she didn’t have to go to jail and she can still keep her company. More often, we want to just relax without working by lending our company stamp to others, and still receive big income but at the end the big number has to come out to settle the problem which he/she never understand about it while the person who borrow the company stamp, just run away and wash his/her hand. That kind of arrangement is called “NUMPANG PROSES” or “hitchhike process”
3. Other Manpower companies try to train its employee so that he/she can be assign to handle branch office. Once again, this is not industry that has carrier steps. Although similar like a bank, where they have to look customers or applicants but the salary Manpower agency branch manager depend on the commission on how many people he/she can attract. Always the neighbor grass often greener than ours. If other Indonesia company can give more commission, he/she who already becomes branch manager will divert his/her applicants to other company using his/her current company who employs her/him. If we give basic salary the situation even worst, from first day, he/she just gives to other company because commission will certainly higher than basic salary. Real Example, Binamandiri previously have registration unit in Banyuwangi which already incorporated with Binamandiri for more than 15 years. Suddenly on 12 February 2008, my friend called me that my company was accused for cheating 30 people to go to Japan and collected 15 million ( USD 1500). I was very stunned, after doing full investigation; I found out that my registration unit in Banyuwangi was cheated by someone in Jakarta. Although it was not related to me, but because he was under my company, I had to bare the consequences. That is a problem arose by someone who has been trusted by our company for 15 years, I cannot imagine for newly recruit person to run my branch manager.
4. Other reason is to maintain quality of the workers especially in Domestic Industry. It is not a formal education when you just teach based on the curriculum and then finish. It is a training center where I have to maintain the acceptance from the employer. If we train the workers remotely and directly send to the employer and not maintain quality control, will end up with big disappointment and rejection. Investing branch office with highly standard training is a very big investment. Because of our quality, the government recognize with award which never been given to any other manpower companies.
   

So those are the main reasons from many other reasons, why Binamandiri doesn’t have any branch offices