With over 32 years of experience in Human Resources, Irvandi Ferizal is a highly respected figure in Indonesia’s HR community. Throughout his career, he has held key roles in both national and multinational companies across five different industries, showcasing his versatility and expertise in the field. From his tenure as Training & Development Manager at Kalbe Farma, the largest pharmaceutical company in Indonesia, to his leadership positions as Country HR Director at TNT Indonesia, Head of HR Subregion Indonesia at Nokia Siemens Networks, HR Director at Mondelez Indonesia, and HR Leader for Southeast Asia at ISC business unit, Irvandi has demonstrated his ability to excel in various HR functions.

Currently serving as the Human Capital Director at PT. Bank Maybank Indonesia, Tbk since October 2015, Irvandi oversees a workforce of thousands to more than 10,000 employees. His dedication to the development of HR professionalism extends beyond his professional roles, as he actively volunteers in Indonesia and the ASEAN region. Irvandi has served as the Chairman of the Indonesia HR Association (PMSM) from 2013 to 2016 and as the Chairman of the Indonesia Banking HR Forum (FHCPI) from 2019 to 2022. Currently, he holds the position of Vice Chairman of GNIK (National Association for Indonesia Competent) and serves as a Committee member of the Indonesia Banker Association (IBI). Through his leadership and contributions, Irvandi continues to elevate the standards of HR practices and drive positive change in the HR landscape of Indonesia and beyond.

Humanizing Financial Services

Maybank Indonesia, a leading private bank in Indonesia and part of the Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) Group, stands as a prominent player in the country’s financial services sector. As part of one of the largest financial services groups in ASEAN, Maybank Indonesia offers a comprehensive range of products and services catering to both individual and corporate customers. These services span across Community Financial Services (Retail Banking and Non-Retail Banking) and Global Banking, as well as automotive financing through its subsidiaries, WOM Finance for two-wheelers and Maybank Finance for four-wheelers.

Continuously evolving with the digital landscape, Maybank Indonesia places a strong emphasis on developing Digital Banking services through platforms like the M2U ID App/Web and various other channels. These services encompass a wide array of offerings including savings, mortgage, credit cards, treasury services, cash and trade solutions, loans, financial supply chain services, and wealth management. Additionally, Maybank Indonesia provides Shariah Banking, contributing to its position as the 4th largest Islamic Banking entity globally.

At the core of Maybank Indonesia’s mission is the principle of “Humanising Financial Services.” With a commitment to being at the heart of the community, the company aims to simplify, make intuitive, and enhance accessibility to financial services. Maybank Indonesia strives to build trusted partnerships for a sustainable future, treating everyone with respect, dignity, fairness, and integrity. Through these guiding principles, Maybank Indonesia endeavors to create a positive impact on the lives of its customers and the broader community while driving financial inclusion and empowerment.

Journey with Maybank Indonesia

Irvandi’s decision to transition from a non-banking background to Maybank Indonesia was driven by a desire to step out of his comfort zone and embrace learning in a new industry. He was particularly drawn to the bank’s commitment to customer centricity and its mission of “Humanising Financial Services,” which resonated deeply with his values. This mission emphasized the importance of understanding and meeting individual customer needs on a personalized level, rather than adopting a generalized approach.

Furthermore, Maybank Indonesia’s vision of being a values-driven platform, powered by a bionic workforce that humanizes financial services, intrigued Irvandi. This vision highlighted the importance of upskilling and reskilling employees to be agile and innovative in preparation for the future. In 2023, Irvandi played a significant role in accelerating Human Capital Digital Transformation, integrating artificial intelligence and robotic process automation into HR processes.

To cultivate a Future Ready workforce, Irvandi implemented various initiatives, including action learning projects to foster agility, a Manager’s Preparation program to groom supervisors for leadership roles, and talent development programs for fresh graduates. Recognizing the importance of sustainability, he actively promoted sustainability culture and programs within the bank.

In terms of learning and development, Irvandi introduced a learning wallet approach to drive a culture of continuous learning and enriched digital learning experiences through micro-learning and podcasts. Additionally, he implemented a Succession Planning program and utilized an omnichannel approach to expedite readiness levels across the organization. Under his leadership, Maybank Indonesia maintained its position as a Great Company to Work for, as recognized by HR Asia, for eight consecutive years, solidifying its reputation as a strong employer brand.

Empowering Engagement

In 2016, Irvandi published his first book, marking a significant milestone in his career as an author. He has since co-authored four additional books, sharing real-life experiences and practical insights on topics such as transformation, leadership across generations, and corporate university initiatives. Unlike theory-based approaches, Irvandi’s writing style emphasizes practical and pragmatic advice derived from his own professional journey.

One of his notable works, “Journey to be Employer of Choice,” focuses on building employee engagement through effective leadership communication and fostering employee involvement and participation. In this book, Irvandi emphasizes the importance of helping employees understand the big picture and making their journey within the organization meaningful. He stresses that employee engagement goes beyond mere popularity

or social events; it involves building a holistic engagement architecture. The key message of the book underscores the critical role of true leadership in driving employee engagement, highlighting the significance of leaders who inspire, motivate, and empower their teams to achieve organizational goals.

Drawing from Diverse Experiences

Irvandi finds great value in his exposure to five different industries, even though it wasn’t a planned journey. This diverse experience has provided him with a broader perspective and the ability to approach discussions and problem-solving from various angles. While banking is a heavily regulated industry, he recognizes that fundamental principles such as people productivity, customer centricity, leadership, and communication are universal across all industries—it’s ultimately about understanding and engaging with people.

This varied background has enabled him to not only run human capital functions as a business partner but also as a business player. He can leverage insights from his previous experiences to provide valuable perspectives to his colleagues, particularly in understanding customer business processes and ecosystems. Furthermore, his ability to communicate effectively with customers from different industries, using their language and understanding their challenges, enhances his effectiveness in his role.

Irvandi actively fosters a culture of learning and openness within his team by regularly inviting people from different industries to share insights and best practices during their HC quarterly meetings. This approach not only promotes continuous learning but also encourages a broader mindset among his team members.

Humanizing the Workplace

According to Irvandi, achieving a highly engaged workforce involves approaching employees’ minds, souls, and hearts. Humanizing the workplace is essential, and this begins with understanding employees before seeking to be understood. Engaging people requires first ensuring they understand the company’s plans and vision (mind). Then, it’s about inspiring them to believe in and commit to those plans (heart). People are often resistant to change unless they see a personal benefit or reason to change, which Irvandi refers to as “what’s in it for me.”

Human Capital plays a crucial role in facilitating line managers’ ability to manage people effectively and in fostering a corporate culture that promotes positivity. It’s about empowering employees to become ambassadors for the company (soul). At Maybank Indonesia, they have developed the concept of Brand Evangelists—individuals with a significant following on social media—who collaborate with the company to share stories about its progress and success proudly. This approach leverages the power of storytelling and personal influence to engage both employees and external stakeholders.

HR Challenges

Irvandi highlights two common challenges faced by HR professionals:

• Employability: Despite the high number of university graduates each year, finding the right candidates for job openings remains challenging. To address this, there needs to be a closer alignment between university curricula and the skills demanded by the job market. Providing more internship opportunities can also help bridge the gap between academic learning and real-world work readiness.
• Talent Scarcity in a Talent War Environment: In industries like banking, there’s intense competition for talent, particularly in areas such as IT, data analytics, cybersecurity, and sustainability. To tackle this challenge, Maybank Indonesia focuses on developing talent internally through its own programs. Additionally, adapting management practices to accommodate the preferences and expectations of the new generation entering the workforce is crucial for attracting and retaining top talent.

Charting the Path to Future Success

In 2024, Irvandi’s focus is on driving employee productivity, enhancing future-ready skills, and ensuring Human Capital Sustainability at Maybank Indonesia. Key initiatives include:

• Developing a Bionic Workforce: This involves up-skilling and reskilling employees with the right technological capabilities to create a new age workforce that embraces digital advancements. Implementing advanced Digital HC practices, such as artificial intelligence for fraud identification and learning gamification, will be instrumental in achieving this goal.
• Revitalizing the Organization: The aim is to make the organization more agile and competitive by ensuring it is “Fit to Win.” This involves modernizing processes, structures, and systems to adapt to changing market dynamics and drive business growth.
• Attracting and Engaging Young Talent: Embracing the new rhythm in attracting, retaining, and engaging the younger generation of employees is essential. Creating an environment that promotes innovation, continuous improvement, and futurization of the workplace and workforce will help in this regard.
• Promoting a Culture of Innovation: Encouraging a culture of innovation and continuous improvement will be a priority. This involves empowering employees to contribute ideas, experiment with new approaches, and embrace change to drive organizational success.
• Intensifying Digital Transformation: Taking Digital Transformation of HC practices to the next level with a customer-centric approach is crucial. This includes leveraging technology to enhance employee experiences, streamline processes, and improve overall HR effectiveness.
• Setting Up a New Head Office: Establishing a new Head Office signifies a significant organizational change. This move reflects the commitment to adapt to the evolving needs of the business and create a modern, efficient work environment for employees.

Irvandi emphasizes the importance of continuous improvement and relevance for the Human Capital team to effectively support the organization in achieving its strategic objectives in 2024 and beyond.

HR Trends for Tomorrow

According to Irvandi, emerging trends in the field of HR include:

• Redefining HR as a Business Player: HR is evolving from being a support function to a strategic partner that ensures the alignment of talent, leadership, and culture with organizational goals. This shift requires HR professionals to take on a more proactive role in driving business success.
• Workforce, Workplace, and Workstyle Futurization: As organizations adapt to new ways of working, HR must prepare for workforce futurization by understanding the needs and preferences of the new generation of employees. This includes implementing agile structures, embracing remote work, and leveraging technology to optimize performance. Workplace futurization involves creating modern, flexible work environments, while workstyle futurization focuses on adapting to changing work patterns and preferences.
• Optimizing Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics: HR professionals need to leverage artificial intelligence and data analytics to enhance decision-making, improve processes, and drive organizational progress. By harnessing the power of AI and analytics, HR can gain valuable insights into employee behavior, engagement, and performance.
• Shift from HR Success to HR Significance: The focus is shifting from simply delivering HR initiatives to measuring the impact of HR contributions on business outcomes, community engagement, and stakeholder satisfaction. HR professionals are expected to demonstrate the significance of their efforts in driving organizational success and creating value beyond traditional HR metrics.

Impacting the Future

Irvandi is highly engaged in sharing best practices in HR management at various international, regional, and national events, including seminars, business schools, and other professional gatherings. He derives satisfaction from imparting practical tips and insights based on his extensive experience, covering topics ranging from human capital management and leadership to people management, strategy management, and soft skills development. His collaboration with Atmajaya University resulted in the launch of AHCA (Advanced Human Capital Accomplished), a pioneering after-hours school designed for senior leaders focusing on strategic human capital management. This initiative, the first of its kind in Indonesia, has been a source of inspiration for Irvandi. He was involved in designing the program, developing the curriculum, engaging facilitators, and delivering sessions.

Witnessing the program’s success, with over 400 graduates from various industries and senior levels benefiting from it, brings him immense joy. AHCA discussions revolve around a future-ready approach to human capital management, preparing participants, including young talents, to take on leadership roles and propel organizational growth in the coming years. Seeing the young talent evolve and step up to assume leadership roles is particularly fulfilling for Irvandi, as it signifies the continuity of excellence and innovation in the field of human capital management.

Beyond Recognition

Irvandi’s journey to receiving honor awards was not driven by a specific dream for such recognition. Instead, his focus has always been on maintaining a high level of professionalism, humility, continuous learning, and going beyond expectations. These values have naturally led to his recognition in the market. He emphasizes to his team that while receiving awards is a testament to their hard work and dedication, it should not mark the end of the journey. Rather, it serves as motivation to continue striving for excellence. He likens this mindset to walking or running on a treadmill—stopping means falling behind. Similarly, riding a bicycle requires constant movement to maintain balance and progress.

For Irvandi, receiving awards is an opportunity for self-recognition and reflection, prompting a commitment to improvement and adaptation. He encourages learning from others, regardless of their position or company size, and believes in the concept of “stealing with pride” (in a positive sense) to adopt successful practices from others while ensuring they align with the company’s needs. His openness to learning from anyone, including juniors or individuals from smaller companies, reflects his humility and commitment to growth. For Irvandi, staying relevant and working within the ecosystem are essential principles, akin to understanding that bananas do not remain fresh forever—they must adapt and evolve to remain valuable.

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