YOGYAKARTA – Employees are not merely one’s subordinates but partners in maintaining continuity of company’s business. Therefore, their welfare is more prioritized than the company’s financial position. That is one of business experiences delivered by three business players who are UGM graduates, A. Noor Arief (owner of PT Aseli Dagadu Djogdja), Saptuari Sugiharto (owner of Kedai Digital), and Yoyok Hery Wahyono (owner of Warung Special Sambal), in a talk show Manage Your Own Business. The talk show was held by the Chemical Engineering Student Association, UGM, Saturday (14/5).
Yoyok Hery Wahyono who has now 47 branches of Warung Sambal in various cities in Indonesia claimed that he is never late in paying salaries or delaying salary increment for his employees even though one outlet suffers a financial loss. "Not all outlets are profitful. I have 7 outlets which suffered losses for 3 years totalling about 300 million," said the man who is a graduate of Chemical Engineering UGM.
Yoyok has the principle to never close one outlet that is suffering losses. For him, there are times when a company suffers a loss and sometimes enjoys profits. "I tried not to be late or delay the salary increment for employees. I want to provide the best for the employees. In business, you just need to work with love and give the best for the company and employees," he said.
Noor Arief has another experience. During salary payment, he is willing to postpone his private activities in order to meet the rights of employees. In fact, Noor has a habit that every morning before work, he takes time to chat with the employees. "Physical contact, face to face is very good, not only through communication technology. That’s what we maintain. I always advise them to reach the target cheerfully and happily," said the graduate of UGM Architecture Engineering.
Although this time the Dagadu Company has developed well and is known by the public, Noor said there is no such thing as working days and working hours for him. At any time he will always devote his time for the continuation of the company. The more advanced a company, the more prosperous its employees.
Meanwhile, Saptuari has a special mission in recruiting employees. He deliberately recruits the unemployed among young people in his village. The goal is clear, to reduce the number of unemployment there. "Some 70 percent of employees at Kedai Digital factory in Berbah, Sleman, are workers from my village. We foster the dignity of people who are unemployed," he said.
Saptuari said that his relationship with employees is very close. In fact, the employees call him ‘BKK’ stands for “the Bos Kingkong”. "At the office, I am called BKK, Bos Kingkong. Maybe they see my body like a King Kong," Saptuari said, laughing.
Despite the closeness, it does not make the alumnus of Faculty of Geography tolerant for dishonesty. "I had been cheated up to millions of rupiah. There is no tolerance for dishonest people, those who violate rules must be punished firmly," he concluded.