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WorkMalaysia™
Key Findings
Overall, compared to their counterparts across Asia as a whole, Malaysian employees
responded less favorably to every category within the study except one: Job
Satisfaction. Moreover, for certain categories, the magnitude of variance between
WorkMalaysia favorable response ratings against the Asia-Pacific norm is particularly
high. A few highlights of the study findings suggest significant opportunity
for improvement:
- Desire for more effective leadership. Although employees
at Malaysian companies are generally proud to work for their company and have
confidence in their company’s long-term business success, they are notably
less enthusiastic than their Asian counterparts about their companies’
leadership. In particular, employees were disappointed in the level of trust
between senior management and employees (only 19 percent favorable) and unconvinced
that senior management is making the necessary changes in the company to compete
effectively (only 24 percent favorable).
- Disappointment in Supervisors. Malaysian employees appear
to have similar misgivings about their immediate supervisors. Favorable response
ratings range between 28 percent and 38 percent for the specific questions
within this category, generally about 10 points lower than the Asia-Pacific
norm. Key areas of concern include the fair application of policies and procedures,
treating employees with respect, clearly communicating goals and assignments,
recognition for a job well done, and managing change.
- Lack communication about “me” issues. Malaysian
employers get generally higher marks when communication centers on information
pertaining to overall business direction and performance. However, communication
that relates to employee “me’ issues is viewed less favorably.
In particular, the findings suggest that employers in Malaysia could do a
significantly better job at communicating with employees about how their base
and bonus pay are determined and how promotions are determined.
- Dissatisfaction with Remuneration. Although this category
rarely receives high favorable ratings in an employee opinion survey, results
for Malaysia (19 percent favorable) are significantly lower than the already
low norm for Asia-Pacific overall (30 percent).
- Struggling on Measures. Despite the recent focus in Malaysia
on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and balanced scorecard frameworks at
the leadership level, only 57 percent of employees claimed to understand the
measures used to evaluate their individual performance. Although a majority
of employees feel that they are held accountable for their performance, less
than half perceived their company rewards high performance or deals with poor
performers appropriately.
- Hoping for Innovation. Although employees generally perceive
that their company encourages suggestions for performance improvement, many
feel that they are not given the resources to put these into action. Moreover,
only 44 percent agree that their company encouraged “independent thinking”,
significantly below the Asia-Pacific norm.
While caution must be exercised in comparing survey results across different
countries and cultures, the magnitude of variance across a broad number of study
categories suggests that there is a real and significant opportunity for Malaysian
employers to improve in the eyes of their employees.
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