WITHOUT a doubt, the global pandemic has severely impacted the job market far and wide, but that does not stop the Malaysian workforce from seeking attractive salary and benefits from ideal employers.
According to Ranstad’s annual Employer Brand Research, 72% of Malaysians ranked ‘attractive salary and benefits’ as the most important employee value proposition (EVP) that they seek from an ideal employer, while ‘work-life balance’ comes to a close second at 69%.
From the words of Randstad Malaysia head of operations Fahad Naeem, employers need to conduct regular audits to ensure salary equality and competitiveness.
That way, they can also find out if their investment in skills development of their workforce is adequate enough to retain their high performing talent.
“There are many factors that come into play when it comes to salary calculation, such as salary legacy, cost of the rising standard of living, mismatch in skills and experience, gender disparity and more.
“Therefore, the issue of unmatched salary expectation is not new, yet it’s the most complex to resolve,” he explained.
From the research, it was also found that the other three of the top five most sought after employee value propositions this year are ‘strong management’ (64%), COVID-19-safe work environment (63%) and a company that is financially healthy (62%).
Additionally, it also revealed that women (73%) are more prone to accept job offers that emphasise on work-life balance compared to men (65%).
Women are also more attracted to ‘softer’ EVP factors, ranking ‘COVID-19 safe work environment’, ‘pleasant work atmosphere’, ‘location’ and ‘possibility to work remotely’ higher than men.
“As female employees tend to seek different factors than men, it is therefore critical for HR professionals to develop fair and equal HR policies and benefits that address the needs and aspirations of both genders,” Naeem shared.
Looking for better opportunities
Not only that, when it comes to the younger generation of the workforce, 23% of those surveyed admitted to having plans of switching employers in 2021, with 28% of them being millennials and 24% are Gen Zs.
On this, Naeem explains: “Many of our millennials and Gen-Z workers are self-taught digital natives, which means that they know how to work their way around new technologies and are excited by the idea of being able to try new things.
“As companies bring their digital transformation strategies forward, it creates the perfect moment for millennials and Gen Zs to explore new job opportunities. Companies that are lagging behind their digital initiatives will need to step up quickly in order to attract and engage the younger generation of workers.” – June 14, 2021
