Behind the Mic with Richard Rahardja: Driving Customer-Centric Digital Transformation at ecoCare Group Company

Richard Rahardja is the Head of Digital, Data, and Technology at ecoCare Group Company, Indonesia’s leading hygiene, cleaning, and pest control company. He leads the company’s digital transformation across CRM, automation, analytics, and customer experience, helping modernize traditional services through tech-driven solutions.

We had the opportunity to connect with Richard Rahardja to learn more about his career journey in digital transformation, here’s what he shared with us:

Q1. What inspired you to build a career at the intersection of digital, data, and technology, and what key steps did you take to enter this field?

As cliche as it might sound, I had passion for all the three disciplines. So, I knew from very early on in my career, I wanted to build my career around technology. Interestingly, I come from a non-technical background with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. That, in itself, presented a challenge—but also became a unique advantage. I understood early on that if I wanted to make a pivot into tech, I couldn’t wait for opportunities to come to me. I had to be proactive.

I started by enrolling in online courses to build foundational knowledge. These helped me gain enough confidence and credibility to take on roles that offered real-world exposure to relational databases, front-end coding, and emerging technologies. From there, I continuously built momentum, layering hands-on experience on top of self-learning.

Looking back, the key has been staying curious, adaptable, and willing to unlearn and relearn as the industry evolves.

Q2. How have you leveraged emerging technologies such as AI, machine learning, or automation to enhance the customer experience in your services?

Recently, we implemented a local CRM solution integrated with our Meta services, such as WhatsApp and Instagram. This allows us to centralize inbound leads from different digital touchpoints into a single platform. The next step in our roadmap is to integrate this CRM directly with our internal sales mobile application. By doing so, inbound leads will be automatically routed and forwarded straight into the hands of our sales representatives in real time.

This level of automation removes friction from the process, shortens response time, and ensures that customers get quicker, more personalized follow-ups. In practice, it means fewer missed opportunities, a smoother handoff from digital to human touchpoints, and a more consistent customer journey overall.

Q3. What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in driving digital transformation for customer experience, and how did you and your team overcome them?

In my opinion, two of the main challenges in any digital transformation would be:

A. Securing C-Suite buy-in. Transformation requires significant investment, so leaders need to see it as a strategic growth driver, not a cost center. By linking technology to measurable outcomes—like faster lead responses, higher customer satisfaction, and stronger sales conversions—we shifted the conversation from “why” to “how fast.”

B. Building team trust. On the ground, new systems can feel like disruption. To ease this, we involved teams early, addressed pain points, and showcased quick wins. This helped create internal champions and proved that transformation wasn’t about replacing people, but about empowering them to deliver better customer experiences.

Q4. Can you share an example where data analytics uncovered customer pain points and led to significant improvements in ecoCare’s services?

After integrating our omnichannel accounts, such as WhatsApp and Instagram into our CRM, we were able to generate and track a new set of customer service metrics. These included first response time, resolution time, and the ratio of complaints versus inquiries. Through analysis, my team uncovered a clear pain point: customers were waiting too long before receiving a response from our agents. This insight was critical because it showed us where customer frustration originated, and it gave us a data-driven case for change. To address it, we introduced chatbots and guided choice menus that allowed customers to quickly select their needs before being connected to a live agent. This significantly reduced wait times, freed up our agents from repetitive tasks, and ensured that when a customer did speak with an agent, the agent already had context about the issue.

Q5. ecoCare operates across multiple business lines. How has digital transformation shaped the way these services—hygiene, cleaning, and pest control—deliver value to customers?

ecoCare is unique in that we operate across three key service lines: hygiene, cleaning, and pest control. Each one touches customer experience in a different way, but all share the same need for efficiency, responsiveness, and trust.

Digital transformation allows us to bring these services together under a more customer-centric model. For example:

In hygiene, our mobile app is digitizing the way we log inspections, track cases, and keep customers informed in real time.
In cleaning, web portal helps us optimize manpower and resource allocation so clients get consistent quality at scale.
In pest control, we leverage digital dashboards to give customers visibility on service schedules and compliance.

The unifying theme is that technology helps us deliver services that are not just effective, but also transparent, measurable, and adaptable to customer needs.

Q6. How do you keep yourself updated on the latest trends in digital transformation, data, and customer experience, and how do you decide which innovations to adopt?

I keep myself updated by subscribing to several technology newsletters and attend several seminars such as Altrusia’s Conversational AI & Customer Experience Summit Asia 2025. They give me a steady stream of insights into new tools, frameworks, and success stories from across the digital and data landscape.

When it comes to deciding which innovations to adopt, I always start with the problem, not the technology. And during vendor selection process, I also consider scalability, ease of integration, user adoption, and ROI. That balance ensures we’re not just chasing the “latest thing,” but adopting technology that truly create innovation and can grow with us over time.

Conclusion

Richard Rahardja’s journey is a testament of how curiosity, adaptability, and persistence can shape a meaningful career in digital, data, and technology. His leadership at ecoCare Group highlights the power of digital transformation in turning traditional services into customer-centric, tech-driven experiences. From leveraging CRM automation to integrating omnichannel touchpoints and harnessing data analytics, Richard has shown how innovation can reduce friction, empower teams, and deliver measurable business value.

What stands out most is his philosophy of starting with the problem—not the technology—when driving transformation. By aligning digital initiatives with customer pain points and business needs, he ensures that innovation is not only impactful but also sustainable. For Richard, digital transformation is less about replacing processes and more about empowering people and creating transparent, efficient, and trust-driven customer journeys.
His story reinforces a powerful message: true transformation happens when technology, people, and purpose come together to create meaningful change.

“Thank you for joining us for this edition of Behind the Mic. As part of our journey to the Conversational AI & Customer Experience Summit, we had the chance to hear Richard’s inspiring career story and perspectives on growth. We hope his journey left you motivated and curious. Stay tuned for more stories from leaders driving the future of CX.”