PING! Platform for Domestic Workers

Intermediaries play a substantial role in linking Indonesia’s 4 million domestic workers (75% of whom are female) to potential employers. Directly connecting with potential employers is extremely difficult; domestic workers need personal ties or must join a professional agency to find and apply to jobs.

PING bridges this gap by connecting domestic workers with potential employers through an easy and transparent application process. Through the platform, employers and workers will be directly connected. Employers can access information about workers’ skills, education, and other pertinent details, and workers can view available job listings and learn details about working environments and responsibilities.

We aim to democratize job information and application access for domestic workers. We plan to equip the platform with review and report features, a talent scout service for employers, and tailored training for workers. Ultimately, we wish to become a safe and supportive community for domestic workers and employers.

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), there are 4 million domestic workers in Indonesia in 2015, 75% of whom are female and most of whom have limited education (ILO, 2018). Intermediaries play the dominant role in linking these workers to potential employers. Workers must depend on peer referrals or job agencies to connect with employers, and employers are obliged to pay substantial fees to professional agents to connect with workers. These intermediaries do not always provide workers with comprehensive information on the working environment and responsibilities, and employers’ expectations may not be met due to insufficient details on workers’ education, skills, work histories, or expected salaries. Moreover, reputation and safety can be concerns for both sides; workers who have been mistreated have limited options for reporting employers or warning others to avoid particular households, and employers are unable to warn their fellows about negative experiences such as negligence or thefts.

PING aims to transform this system through a platform that connects domestic workers with potential employers. Each party can find clear and complete information about each other up-front, thereby enabling them to make better decisions about employment/hiring. To address reputation issues, we are in the process of developing review and report features for both parties to ensure that PING is a healthy and secure community populated by users with good records. We will also endeavour to provide tailored training opportunities for workers, thereby opening doors for skills development and career growth.

Domestic workers can be described as individuals who work for private households and undertake such tasks as cleaning, cooking, washing and ironing clothes, and/or caring for children, the elderly, or the ill or disabled. Most domestic workers are engaged in paid employment but with a low level of earning. They may work on a full-time or part-time basis, and they may reside in or outside their employer’s household.

In 2015, there were 4 million domestic workers in Indonesia. Women accounted for 75% of these workers, and children accounted for 2%. Although domestic workers comprise almost 2% of the population, the government has yet to ratify the Domestic Workers' Bill after 17 years, and they remain excluded from national employment protections. According to the International Labour Organization, domestic workers are among the most vulnerable groups of workers because they often face very low wages, long work hours, and may be subject to physical, mental, and sexual abuse.

PING will conduct research and interviews with domestic workers and employers with the aim of expanding its online platform to empower workers with an easy and transparent employment process. PING enables domestic workers to easily apply for jobs online or via phone without relying on an intermediary, and it provides clear and comprehensive information on working environments, salaries, and responsibilities. The transparent application process allows both stakeholders (employers and workers) to align their expectations prior to hiring, and PING is in the process of developing review and report features to promote safer work environments.

Domestic workers perform essential work helping working women or busy families to clean their homes, and care for infants, children, and the elderly. Despite the importance of their work, domestic workers are currently underserved and vulnerable in Indonesia. Most of these workers are female, did not graduate high school, work without any social protections from the government, earn a relatively low wage, receive no training to upskill. A small proportion are children below 18 years old.

My research has brought me into contact with a number of domestic workers in large cities. Most own smartphones and are digitally literate. However, there is no digital platform to connect domestic workers with employment opportunities, and they remain dependent upon professional agencies or personal referrals to obtain jobs.

PING believes that these workers deserve better. PING seeks to transform current employment practice so that everyone can easily access employment information.  PING wants to help domestic workers become more independent by enabling them to choose and apply for jobs without the need for an intermediary. PING also wants to provide workers with the ability to review employers and report any mistreatment in order to provide them with a form of social protection and thereby achieve a safer working environment. Moreover, in the near future, PING plans to help domestic workers by creating tailored training such as nutrition, entrepreneurship, and basic English, thereby promoting higher wages and career growth. Through these services, we aim to contribute to the digital economy through innovation and people empowerment.

Salkha Baraba

PING offers three major benefits: 1) an integrated information with seamless experience; 2) an impact-driven and safe community; and 3) data analytics (future development).

First, we provide integrated information for both employers and workers, including listings of job seekers and vacancies, complete worker profiles (including personal details, education, work history, expected salary, etc), and detailed job descriptions (working environment, work responsibilities, expected salary, etc), all in one platform. We want to provide a user-friendly website with a great user experience.

Second, unlike many players in the market, PING’s focus extends beyond employers' satisfaction to encompass a deep concern for workers' growth and welfare. PING does not merely link skills with demand; we empower workers with transparency and safety. Rather than creating a platform for a transactional purpose/profit, we hope to become a trusted, safe, and supportive community for all of our stakeholders.

Third, we aim to increase both employers and workers satisfaction, thereby fostering lengthier employment tenures and reduced turnover. To achieve this goal, PING plans to leverage people analytics into the platform to match employers with workers based on skills, expectations, and personality traits. Thus, rather than manually finding desired workers, employers will be able to complete a questionnaire and obtain best-fit matches.

1. Online platform (website) and database

One of the value propositions that we offer to stakeholders is comfort and ease. Employers can directly vet and hire domestic help from the comfort of their own homes, and domestic workers can search for and apply for jobs anytime, anywhere without having to pledge any part of their future wages. All done anytime and anywhere. To achieve this, we require software/website, a database, and internet connectivity.

2. Matching algorithm and gamification (for future development)

In the future, we plan to leverage data analytics to give employers recommendations on best-fit workers based on a set of criteria, e.g., skills and personality traits. In order for this recommendation to be successful, we need high quantity and quality data from our stakeholders to feed the algorithm.

PING also aims to provide workers with tailored training for vocational or personal growth (e.g., nutrition, basic English, basic computer skills, entrepreneurship). PING understands that the mainstream training media and approaches might not be effective for our target audience (domestic workers). Therefore, PING plans to embed the tailored training in gamification to increase engagement.

Activities

PING has several key features that are in the early stages of development:

For employers:

• Post job vacancies, including work responsibilities and environment, expected skills, and proposed salary.
• View profiles of and directly connect with available domestic workers.

For workers:

• Create a detailed profile that lists skills, education, work experience, and desired salary.
• View vacancies and directly apply to jobs.

Future development: 

• Reviews – Employers can post reviews of workers and vice versa.
• Reports – Users can report mistreatment or criminality. PING can then ban the person from the platform or get additional support for the victim.
• Match/talent scout – Employers can complete a questionnaire, and PING will provide recommendations for best-match workers.
• Learning – Workers can get free access to tailored training.

Outputs

• Easy access to hiring and finding jobs
• Comprehensive information enables both parties to find a better match than in current practice.

For future development:

• Review feature informs employers and workers
• Report feature enables negative users to be blacklisted from the system.
• Tailored training will help workers to upskill.

Outcomes

PING believes that domestic workers deserve not only a safe and decent work environment but also lifelong learning and expanded career choices. PING will become a safe and empowering community for domestic workers and potential employers to meet. In the long run, PING aims to contribute towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals #8, decent work and economic growth, and #4, quality education.

Impact Goals

In 2022, PING plans to start a pilot project in Java, Indonesia’s most densely populated island. Following evaluation and resulting improvements to the platform, PING will gradually recruit more domestic workers to sign up for the platform. PING plans to reach 3,000 workers on our platform by the end of 2022, and we aim to have more than 50,000 workers and employers in the community and match 5,000 pairs of employers and workers by 2027.

Scalability

PING believes that the potential scale of its impact is enormous. The International Labour Organization (ILO, 2004) estimated that Indonesia had 2.6 million domestic workers in 2003. That number grew to 4 million in 2015 (ILO, 2018), with a relatively constant proportion of women (75%). Assuming that the numbers have continued to increase, we can expect even more workers in 2022.

To broaden our impact, PING can also accommodate other household professions such as personal drivers, gardeners, and security guards. PING can also connect temporary workers in addition to full- and part-time workers. Full-time workers in Indonesia often take lengthy periods off from work during the long religious holiday; thus, the demand for fill-in temporary workers increases during this time of the year.

PING uses several indicators to measure our impact progress.

1. Number of workers and employers on the platform as a proxy of how many people find our platform useful.
2. Number of employment agreements made on our platform to denote how many workers-employer pairs we have accommodated.
3. Satisfaction index of employed workers (on average) towards the employer: indicates how satisfied a worker is with the work obtained through our platform.
4. Satisfaction index of employers (on average) towards the worker: measures how satisfied an employer is with workers found on our platform.
5. Total wages received due to employment found on our platform and the duration of employment: this is an economic measure of the direct impacts to the workers.

There are additional indicators once the tailored training and people analytics matching algorithm are deployed.

1. Number of training completions (by minutes and by modules).
2. Assessment score at the end of training modules (on average).
3. Satisfaction index towards the training modules (on average).
4. Satisfaction index towards the matched employer/worker.
5. Total duration of employment (in months) to assess turnover duration as a proxy of workers’ and employers’ satisfaction with the matching algorithm.

PING has encountered three main challenges:

1. Business model

The main challenge that we are trying to solve is finding the right business model for our platform and determining when we should monetize it. We want to democratize access to information for our stakeholders; however, the right business model is crucial to ensure that we have sufficient and steady income to run and grow as a social enterprise in the long term.

2. Scale strategy and loyalty model

We need to find the best strategy to scale our impact, and we need to know how to ensure and measure our impact. We also need to implement an effective strategy to convert both employers and workers into our loyal customers and partners, thereby ensuring the long-term survival and growth of the platform.

3. Pitching and funding

We need to develop and deliver a good pitch that will help us find partners and investment opportunities for the platform to grow. In addition, in 2022, we need funding to develop website features and conduct a pilot project. Website development will be an ongoing activity, as we prioritize user experience and satisfaction with our platform.

1. Business model

We will develop several proposed business models and run assessment analyses to obtain initial feedback from our stakeholders. In addition, we will collect data and evaluate the performance of the tested business model during the pilot project.

2. Scale strategy and loyalty model

We will find online resources and seek advice from experts and fellow entrepreneurs. In addition, we will interview our stakeholders (employers and workers) to learn about their aspirations about the platform

3. Pitching and funding

We will identify mentoring opportunities to support us with pitching. We will also try to raise funds, participate in grant competitions, or even partner with private corporations.

In addition, we plan to participate in an accelerator bootcamp or similar program to help us with mentoring, networking, and funding.

Four people (part-time)

Each team member contributes unique expertise and experiences. We also have a strong network of stakeholders. 

1. Salkha

Salkha is interested in people empowerment and data analytics. She has four years of work experience as a consultant and two years of volunteering experience as project development director for an educational non-profit. She holds Master's in Business Analytics from Imperial College London and was a fellow at YSEALI Academy 2021 on Digital Transformation, where her team received the Best Project award. Salkha has a strong network of potential employers.

2. Reybi

Reybi is interested in technology solutions and business strategy. He has experience in a technology implementation project. He has good leadership capability and project management skills. Currently, he is a PhD candidate at the University of Oxford.

3. Mardhiyah

Mardhiyah has been a nanny for over ten years. She has extensive knowledge of the industry and is regularly in contact with other domestic workers. She has excellent communication skills and will be helping PING as the engagement lead for domestic workers.

4. Tresna

Tresna is an experienced user interface and experience designer and website developer. He has been involved in several website development projects based in Indonesia and abroad.

We respect people regardless of their backgrounds. We embrace diversity in our team and believe that having people from various backgrounds will enrich our way of thinking and enhance our approach to the problems we are trying to solve.

We are currently a small team of four people, with an equal proportion of females and males. And as we grow as a team, we will ensure that we provide a work environment that is safe and supportive for everyone. In addition, we will ensure that representatives of our key stakeholder groups (potential employers and domestic workers) are members of our team.

We have not yet partnered with anyone; however, we plan to engage with several organizations:

• A child labor and human rights organization to advise about including child domestic workers who signed up on the platform.
• Waste management/circular economy platform established in Indonesia to support domestic workers in earning additional income from collecting sorted household waste.

For both key stakeholder groups (workers and employers), we offer the following value proposition:

1. Convenience

Our users can access our platform anywhere, anytime. On our user-friendly platform, employers can easily find and connect with available workers, and workers can find jobs without committing a proportion of their wages.

2. Transparency

The platform provides clear and comprehensive information to employers and workers so that they can align their expectations in advance and thereby enjoy higher satisfaction. 

Future development: 

3. Security

Both parties will be able to post reviews and report negative experiences. Users with proven criminality will be blocked from our platform, thereby ensuring that it remains a positive and supportive community for all stakeholders.

4. Growth (for domestic workers)

We will provide tailored training with gamification for workers' personal and professional growth. We aim to help workers learn skills that enable them to earn higher wages or upgrade their careers.

We are looking forward to the six-month tailored support program with MIT Solve and the Caterpillar Foundation to obtain support from their network of coaches, mentors, and partners. If you see the potential in PING, please support us in making an impact. We believe that the tailored support program can help us overcome our challenges and enhance our current overall business strategy and technology solutions.