Omnichannel 
Customer Service 
Cloud Call Center 
CRM Software 
Chatbot Software 
Sales CRM 
Instagram API 
Education 
Financial 
Healthcare 
Tour & Travel 
Hospitality 
Logistics 
FMCG 
Retail 
Information Technology 
Outsourcing 
Customer Service 
Marketing 
Human Resources 
For operations team 
Partnership
Referral
Overview of KFC Indonesia
The KFC brand in Indonesia, PT Fast Food Indonesia Tbk, was founded by the Gelael Family in 1978. With a successful experience spanning over 30 years, the KFC brand has undoubtedly become one of the leaders in the fast food restaurant market in Indonesia.
Currently, KFC Indonesia operates a total of 747 outlets, spreading across 32 provinces and 170 cities throughout Indonesia. It currently employs around 15,492 employees and achieves more than Rp3.317 trillion of sales revenue. Today, KFC Indonesia stands as one of the most renowned fried chicken restaurant chains in Indonesia, offering dine-in, take-away, and drive-thru services. In addition, there are several other services provided by KFC Indonesia for larger-scale events or gatherings, including birthday party services, KFC Coffee, and the KFC Foodbus.
How KFC Indonesia Utilizes Mekari Qontak
Niza, as the Recruitment and Selection Manager, explained that KFC Indonesia utilizes Mekari Qontak to access the WhatsApp API features. With WhatsApp API, KFC Indonesia’s recruitment department is able to send notifications to the applicants at every stage of their recruitment process.
The WhatsApp API will send out every notification regarding the recruitment process, by the time the recruiters register on KFC Indonesia’s career page. These notifications are sent throughout various stages of the recruitment: from directing to login to the career page, informing about the document submissions, sending interview invitations, and all the way to job acceptance notifications and contract signing after the candidate got the job offering.
Now with the WhatsApp API system, applicants will receive notifications at any stage, From the initial application to contract signing. We do this to facilitate and deliver the information and guidance related to recruitment.”
With the use of WhatsApp API, the recruitment team can send out notification messages without worrying about getting banned. Communication with the applicants becomes more efficient, as the message open rates are higher compared to using emails. Therefore, utilizing the WhatsApp API also reduces the number of missed messages and ensures that the applicants open and read all recruitment notifications.
Problems
Limited Tools to Send Notification Messages
In the early stages of the operations, the entire recruitment process was conducted offline through walk-in interviews and manual document collection. However, when the pandemic hits, KFC Indonesia introduced a dedicated career webpage, and applicants would receive notifications regarding their recruitment process via email or WhatsApp Business. Nonetheless, both methods faced message delivery limitations – after sending messages in high volumes, the phone numbers or emails would get blocked due to being flagged as spam.
Not only did they encounter repeated blocking issues, the use of both offline and online manual systems also resulted in numerous human errors. Therefore, in order to streamline the recruitment process, KFC Indonesia needed a solution to send notification messages simultaneously and in bulk without getting blocked.
Low Security Communication Channel
Initially, Niza and her team conducted a two-way communication through email which was quite challenging. The readability rate of emails are considered low compared with messaging platforms. Therefore, she decided to switch by using WhatsApp Business in hopes of increasing the read rate, given its easier accessibility for applicants.
However, due to the fact that the used phone number was not verified and lacked the green checkmark, many applicants became suspicious of the recruitment messages’ authenticity. In addition for recruitment purposes, applicants were asked to provide personal documents through WhatsApp. And due to this reason some applicants hesitated to send their documents, fearing their personal data to be misused.
Since our previous number wasn’t verified, candidates often suspected whether this was an authentic KFC recruiter or a scam. Especially with the requirement of document submission such as applicant’s ID card, family card, and passport photo.”
Solutions
Instant Notification Delivery to The Applicants
With the WhatsApp API feature from Mekari Qontak, KFC Indonesia can now send thousands of notification messages simultaneously without worrying about their WhatsApp number getting blocked or indicated as spam. The message delivery is also automated since it’s integrated with KFC Indonesia’s career page, ensuring that every applicant who registers receives immediate notifications.
Even after the applicants successfully progress through the subsequent recruitment stages, all necessary information will be relayed by the recruitment team through the same WhatsApp number. The recruitment process becomes more seamless, rapid, and efficient through a centralized platform. From the applicants’ perspective, the entire process also becomes more transparent, with notifications and information provided at every step of the journey.
Build Better Communication with The Candidates
With the WhatsApp API feature, KFC Indonesia has streamlined the communication using a single number for both notification delivery and interactions with the candidates. With a single number, Niza and her team can convey recruitment-related information and address inquiries from applicants. Additionally, the intensive two-way communication between applicants and the recruitment team becomes much easier to do.
Niza explained that right now, applicants find it easier to ask about document submission instructions, upcoming recruitment stages, or any other issues, compared to the previous methods of communication using email or phone calls. With improved and interactive communication using the WhatsApp API, the recruitment team can also get to know the candidates better, even without direct face-to-face meetings.
During the application process, we no longer do face-to-face interactions with the candidates. With this WhatsApp API, we can communicate more effectively and get to know the candidates better, and candidates find it easier to ask questions.”
Ensured Message Security and Increased Trust
To continually enhance security and the trust of applicants, the recruitment team’s WhatsApp number is now verified with the official WhatsApp green tick. The most helpful benefit is the applicants no longer doubt the authenticity of the number and the messages sent by the KFC Indonesia team.
As mentioned earlier, applicants are required to submit personal documents when progressing through specific recruitment stages. With the WhatsApp API, their trust in sharing confidential information via WhatsApp is increased, as the recruiter’s number is guaranteed real. On the other hand, applicants also find it easier to differentiate between genuine interview invitations and scams or phishing.
We’ve created this dedicated WhatsApp channel through Qontak to ensure enhanced security and credibility, so that candidates won’t be suspicious anymore. With a verified single number, the trust from our applicants has also significantly improved.”
Results
Introducing a More Effective and Trustworthy Recruitment Process
The features of WhatsApp API from Mekari Qontak assist the recruitment team in sending notification messages and handling applicant inquiries through a single gateway. All notifications, from registration to the signing of employment contracts, are instantly and automatically distributed via a single WhatsApp API number. This allows the recruitment team to be more informative and deliver recruitment-related information more effectively.
Compared to using emails, the rate of missed or unread messages by applicants has significantly decreased. The recruitment process becomes more efficient without delays or prolonged waiting for applicant responses. On the other hand, communication from applicants to the recruitment team has also become more streamlined, thanks to the ease of posing questions to the team and accessing their conversations through WhatsApp.
We’re grateful that Qontak has become part of the KFC system, providing the recruitment solution we truly needed. I hope that the collaboration between KFC Indonesia and Qontak continues to thrive, benefiting both us and the applicants.”
