Gojek responds to protest on incentive changes, says drivers involved in discussions

Gojek Indonesia has engaged and communicated to drivers regarding incentive changes implemented recently on 29 July, said the company in a statement to Marketing Interactive after many demanded a return of the old incentive system. According to The Jakarta Post, hundreds of drivers staged a protest in front of Gojek’s headquarters, burning a tire in the process.The changes are made to the levels of payout in the drivers’ point system, impacting some drivers operating in Greater Jakarta area. These details have also been communicated to the drivers via offline forums and in-app communication channel, Marketing Interactive understands. Incentives are also typically personalised based on drivers historical behaviour to accommodate to various drivers’ routine.Alvita Chen, senior manager, corporate affairs at Gojek said any plan to adjust incentives is always communicated directly to drivers’ community representatives during its routine meetings, which are held every two weeks across over 200 Indonesian cities it is operating in. She explained:Incentive schemes allow supply and demand to match well at the given time and place, therefore require constant adjustment.According to her, the ride-hailing company’s focus has always been to provide dependable services to its customers and allow its drivers to have a sustainable income. The incentive scheme is one of many means Gojek deploys to support drivers’ welfare, says Chen. Other long-term efforts include service excellence training, financial planning classes, routine two-way forums, safety features development as well as improvements to drivers’ SOP, driver app features, and driver benefit programs. They are “pivotal” to ensure that its drivers are valued, added Chen.Meanwhile, she said that Gojek “welcomes and encourages” its drivers to join the routine meetings (Kopdar Mitra Gojek) to have constructive discussions and acquire knowledge on new improvements its operation teams delivered “based on drivers’ aspiration”. She said: “Drivers are involved in the decision-making process, and more importantly, their on-the-ground inputs allow us to continuously improve Gojek’s services to drivers and customers.”A week before the incentive change, Gojek completed a rebranding exercise that seeks to reflect the company’s evolution “from a Jakarta-based ride-hailing service to Southeast Asia’s leading Super App”. It included a new visual identity, swapping the Ojek (bike taxis in Bahasa Indonesia) logomark for “Solv”, a nearly-rounded ring encircling a dot.In Indonesia, Gojek also recently pulled off a publicity stunt, delivering food to Indonesian rapper Rich Brian, who was in New York. The spontaneous move was sparked by Gojek Indonesia’s reply to a tweet by Brian on his craving for local food.