​Recruitment Agency in Malaysia: Do You Really Need It? This Will Help You Decide!​​In today’s highly competitive, candidate-driven job market, identifying and hiring the ideal candidate is quite challenging. ​If you've ever gone through the process of writing and posting a job ad, sorting through the applications, and then sitting down to interview the candidates, you'll know how much time and effort it takes to recruit the best talents. ​Especially if you are the owner of your business, or the manager of a particularly close-knit team, you want to ensure you make the right choice. ​That's why more businesses are turning to recruiting firms to help them find the best candidates for their job openings. ​Should you do the same? How can a recruiting firm help you fill the roles available to the job? There are a range of services available, but should you use them, and how do you get the most for your money? ​Ready to find out if recruitment agencies are right for you?  Let's go!​​What do recruitment agencies do?​Put simply, recruitment agencies aim to fill vacancies on behalf of an organization or business owner in exchange for payment. ​Wait! You might be thinking about doing the same without incurring any extra costs (recruitment fees if you would like to engage them) for your corporation.​What if you don’t have a devoted in-house recruiter? Even if you have a devoted in-house recruiter, sometimes you might not be able to identify and reach the type of candidates you need. Right? ​Consequently, recruitment agencies not just identify and source the type of candidates you need but also onboard, train, engage, develop, retain and manage their (candidates)transitions.​​​There are also various other services that recruitment agencies in Malaysia can offer — it's worth talking to various suppliers to find one that provides the type of services you need.​​Why recruitment agencies are good for businesses?​1) Understanding Companies Hiring Needs​Before bringing on a recruitment agency,it is recommended for you to have an understanding of your hiring needs in order to know how to best use the agency’s services. ​However, sometimes it is worth asking recruitment agencies for advice on how to achieve your strategic business objectives rather than just filling vacancies. ​Good agencies become your partners with workforce solutions ideas and best market practices. Let 's say you recruit frequently: you generally post, interview, verify, or fill a position at any given time.​You have a lot of balls in the air at once and they can all be difficult to juggle. It would be amazing to have a whole division to support but it's not in the plan or the budget.​Now here, a recruitment company can be your Human Resources department: They can take the bulk of the work off your hands and free you up to hire for quality, rather than quantity.​​2) Extensive market knowledge​The best recruitment agencies can have their finger on the pulse of their specialty industries, and can provide insight into what's happening. ​This may mean you can get a better match for the position because of the wider applicant pool at the recruiter’s disposal. That indicates they have greater knowledge and a thorough understanding of their targeted job market segments.​​3) Extended reach for the best candidates​Typically, recruiting firms are well versed in their respective field and can recognize and interact with a wider pool of applicants.​This may mean you can get a better match for the position because of the wider applicant pool at the recruiter’s disposal. In fact, recruiters often have a voluminous existing network of applicants already looking for a job. ​With decades, of collective experience between them, the best recruitment agencies know how to reach out to candidates, what to look for in applicants, and how to streamline the process of getting job seekers and employers together.​​4) Recruit for hard-to-fill roles​If you are struggling to fill a job either because it needs a very specific skills and expertise or your local region has a shortage of talent, recruiting firms will typically help. ​With connection to industry-specific applicant databases, a recruitment firm is far more likely to find someone who's right for the job than a single employer advertising on generic sites.​​5) ​Retain your new hires​For many organizations, the major advantage of using a recruitment agency rather than in-house recruiters is that recruitment agencies provide extra protection when it comes to retaining of new hires. ​All the top recruitment companies provide guarantee periods. This means they guarantee that your potential employee will remain at your organization for a certain period of time (usually months).​If the new hire is dismissed or leaves before the expiry of a warranty period, you can receive a full refund from recruiting companies or, more often, find a new replacement applicant at no extra charge.​​Thus, choosing the right recruitment agency can help you recruit and retain the right people not only faster but also save your total costs over time. ​​To support you ManpowerGroup Malaysia is open for free consultations on your workforce needs and for developing custom workforce solutions at a competitive rate. Fill up the form below and our consultants will reach out to you with a free consultation within 24 hours.​​​​​4 Sept 2020Posted by:Yoga Kumari Sankar- Prospect & Content Development Executive​

What Do You Look For When Hiring Talent? Fitting Personality VS Professional Skills​What should you value most when you’re making a recruitment decision – the skills listed on the resume or the personality of the person that sits before you? The choice isn’t always easy and there’s no “right” or “wrong” answer. ​When you’re faced with a tough hiring decision, you need to pick the best choice for your organisation, and that depends on a number of factors. ​Read on as we discuss personality vs. skill, and what is eventually the most fundamental in today’s market. The result may surprise you.​Recruitment-To-Selection Process​Now, the common practice is hiring via job ads on some job portals. We look forward to a huge number of applicants there, yet the quality fails almost regularly. ​Well, it is our professional and moral responsibility to appropriately look-overall applications to assign them the needed observation and assess every single one of them. ​While assessing, you will probably analyse;​​You might now go over to round two of a precise screening (after the first screening) for the best candidates and select the outstanding profile to the interview process, right? ​While the resume screening process focuses predominantly on work history skills, the interview process focuses on the candidate’s personality, not to mention their fit with their potential co-workers. ​There are tools though that enable recruiters to evaluate skill sets better, something resumes typically don’t,such as pre-employment assessments. Eventually, it’s time to make the call on who gets the job offer.​But if you have two candidates before you, one with all the skills for the job but few personality traits, and the other whose skills are inadequate but has an awe-inspiring personality, which should you hire?​​As it is so often said, there is no silver bullet! When you make your way through the screening/ interviewing/ hiring process, do you weigh skills vs. personality on an even scale or is one more crucial than the other? ​Although the interview is a great chance to assess personality, some hiring managers do not put much weight on this determinant. In the end, experience and special skills often win out. ​​To me,skills and personality are both equally important. You need to employ talents that possess both features to some degree. Organizations—particularly those in the technology sector— are perceiving that hiring entirely for skills doesn’t work. ​​They’ve come to understand that intelligent people who have the right character for their culture can learn. Conversely, employing highly-skilled talents who have the inappropriate personality traits for their workplace can be devastating.​So, what skills to look at?​When we talk about professional skills, we’re generally talking about hard and soft skills.​Hard Skills These skills refer to the capabilities, expertise and the level of education (degree/certificate) of the candidate. ​They are basically the first introduction you get to a potential new hire because these are the skills most commonly tallied up on a resume before deciding whether you want to proceed an interview with the candidate. ​Soft SkillsWhen you’re conducting the actual interview, you’re customarily gauging their people/interpersonal skills.​These skills refer to the candidate’s personality, their aspiration, and even the way they impart their ideas or describe the hard skills on their resume.​However, I believe a candidate’s personality can be a much preferable touch stone of how well they’ll do in their career.​​Now, it’s the first working day for our superstar and pride (indeed, they have become all of that on the first day), we walk them through the passage way and introduce them to our co-workers to build the rapport. ​Subsequently, our new joiner has begun working (or at least it seems like that), the rest in the office involved in the process of shaking their hands (not so much after COVID-19 though) with a gratification of our great work. ​However, the honeymoon is drained every now and then by incidents rooted by our fellow new member, but we see that as newcomer’s misapprehension (although they are not freshers but experts). ​​No matter how hard we strive to justify their personality, the newcomer keeps creating issues on occasions, which now might’ve already started to devastate the peace in the organization. ​Within the blink of an eye the new colleague has disconnected from the team and everything appears to be going in the wrong direction. Now we are sure – we have made a huge mistake. ​​Let’s take a look at what we did not notice then...​Blinded by our strong believe and concentration, we did not perceive the obvious. We oversaw how this candidate might fit into our culture. We have seen their skills, knowledge, we even have their psychological profile, and yet we did not define whether their personality fits our values. ​That said, putting in the time and energy to really discover your candidates’ characters and judging how they will jumble with your existing team, exploring their passion, potentiality for self-direction and aspiration– all while stabilizing that with their expertise and skill set can be no brisk nor elementary task.​​What is needed in today’s corporate world?​A candidate’s skills and knowledge of the discipline are almost always considered more fundamental than personality in a potential hire. ​​However, skills can be learned, but people can’t remold their characters. Once thrown in a job, most people can learn the demanded skills swiftly. Employees on an average know all the ins and outs of a new position after about three months.​Nevertheless, personal qualities are difficult to be transfigured. With this in mind, an applicant’s work ethic, uprightness, keenness to learn, presence and the connection with the rest of the team are often far more crucial.​​When a recruitment agency is hiring for their sales team, which do you think they would rather get: an outgoing, positive thinker with a great personality who doesn’t have much experience with recruitment, or a fifteen-year sales manager who is so bored with selling that he has a hard time forcing a smile when presenting to prospecting clients?​​Skills and knowledge can always be taught, but not attitude.​Today, employers are increasingly looking beyond an impressive resume and interview smarts to ensure they’ve hired an individual who’s the best fit for their company culture and environment. ​51% of employers chose ‘great personality’ as the main criteria of a good employee, only 14% of them chose ‘qualifications’. Even if you lack the technical skills, employers are willing to overlook that if you have a teachable attitude. ​Taking these factors into consideration, do you think personality is an important qualification for new hires? Or do you think experience is more important?​Whether you’re seeking to hire specialized talent or looking for ways to continue your professional development, recruiters at ManpowerGroup Malaysia can customize an approach specific to your needs. ​Please visit our website for details on how we can assist you or fill up the form below and our consultants will reach out to you with a free consultation within 24 hours.​​​​​​​25 August 2020Posted by:Yoga Kumari Sankar - Prospect & Content Development Executive​​

​How business in Malaysia are tackling workforce needs despite COVID-19 and what is the role of HR services industry to support them? Many organizations are now at a critical period, as they try to re-balance responsible health and safety and their duty of care as an employer with the economic impact of the lockdown.​How can a business restart responsibly? In collaboration with main industry layers, Adecco and Randstad, we ManpowerGroup, prepared a global report that talks about specific endeavors to make a vital contribution to the process of preparing for the new normal, and expedite getting people safely back to work.​You can download the report here:​Safely Back To Work In The New Normal​As we want to achieve acceptable levels of safety and security as well as limiting economic impact, we will first need to find the right balance in the order of controls. ​There are examples of sectors that are still (partly) operational under specific conditions (e.g., construction, food distribution centers, health care, cargo transport, supermarkets, etc.). We can learn from these sectors to help other businesses adapt to the new normal.​In Malaysia:​Construction:​Despite of the Movement Control Order (MCO) exemptions are granted to works that are deemed to be 'critical works'. This is defined as works that if not continued, may bring danger to workers, the public or the environment. Examples given include:​(i) hill slope repairs;(ii) traffic management control;(iii) upgrading works on facilities at premises providing critical services; and(iv) emergency works that are covered under the contract of works. ​In the Phase 3 MCO, some construction activities will be allowed to carry out with the strict implementation of a specific Site Operating Procedures (SOP) to prevent the pandemic from spreading at work sites. Food distribution centers:​Food supply, e-commerce activities and logistics and transport services are allowed to operate during the Movement Control Order (MCO).​Among those listed are food manufacturers, retail, packaging, distribution, wholesale and distribution centres.​E-commerce platform company, Shopee still continue the services during MCO period. Shopee Mart is operating as usual with a next-day delivery commitment to fulfil its customers' daily necessities during this period.​There are safety precautions where only those with no Covid-19 symptoms would allowed to work, and all must maintain social distancing among workers, as well as adopt good practices such as maintaining a high level of hygiene among staff and the premises.​Healthcare:​It’s a war without weapon for healthcare in Malaysia. As for now, no healthcare workers in Malaysia infected from handling COVID-19 patients, says Health D-G Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.​The Ministry of Health Malaysia also collaborate with private hospitals and labs for the home sampling of Covid-19.​For now, the cases of Covid-19 are handled by government hospitals but large-capacity private hospitals that are members of the Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia (APHM) are ready to receive Covid-19 patients with the Health Ministry anticipating Covid-19 cases will likely peak in mid-April.​They use the Personal Protective Equipment gear while handling cases and also dispose it correctly to avoid the spreading of Covid-19.  Cargo transport:​Cargo transport still remain important in the amidst of Covid-19. Ports and logistics companies were allowed to operate. As for Maersk operations, to curb with the spread of Covid-19, they revised their operational hours for all their offices in Malaysia. ​Their operating hours - 10am – 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 3.30pm. They reduced access for visitors to all our offices only to those delivering/picking up documents/cargoes. Supermarkets:​While many restaurants, shops and services are closing to slow the spread of Covid-19, supermarkets remain open. With revised operating hours, implementing social distancing measures, and stickers on the floor to guide customers that they need to be one meter apart from each other to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019.​There is increasing need of workers to help the operations as supermarkets remain open and they need to make sure that all the distribution of foods and groceries are at the top notch.​AEON Malaysia announced that they are providing personal shopper at their supermarkets where you can drop your order to the Personal Shopper. Then, wait in your car or have a seat while they pick up the items for you.​They will contact you once your order is ready to be collected and lastly, make payment at their appointed cashier counter.​There is no one-size-fit-all solution as every type of ways have to be considered on its challenges. As an HR services, we look for solutions that can help the employer to reduce the impact of the business by providing solution that can be tailored according to the mature of business. Everyone should play their part, together we will be able to face the challenges head-on to minimise any adverse impact for the greater good of the industry and the economy. ​In light of this, read our global report Safely Back to Work in the New Normal that talks about specific endeavours to make a vital contribution to the process of preparing for the new normal, and expedite getting people safely back to work. ​25 April 2020Posted by:Nadhirah Afiqah - Marketing AssistantMohammad Kashif - Senior Marketing Executive

The Top Hiring Managers Checklist to Conduct Successful Remote Interviews​You must have noticed that with the lockdown in Malaysia, dynamic and forward looking companies are leveraging on the advantages of hiring talent right now. ​However, traditional recruitment or hiring activities are replaced with digital and virtual alternatives. Although nothing beats face to face interactions in an interview for example, hiring managers and recruitment professionals are getting used to remote interviewing practices. ​So, to help you conduct successful remote interviews, we came up with a checklist. Mind you that this checklist is not only particular to a lockdown, but rather for any remote interviewing situations.​Here is the checklist you can download for your easy reference:Download​​1. Keep necessary documents at your reach ​For your easy reference during the interview, keep important documents such as the candidate’s CV and application form easily available. ​You will be able to open these files on your screen and ask relevant questions to the candidate during the call. ​Easy access to these files will save you searching time and unnecessary anxiety during the conversation.​2. Check the functionalities of your hardware​We have all been there. A virtual meeting starts and we do not have either headphones, a working mic, a camera or stable internet connection.​To avoid this uncomfortable situation, try to conduct a mock call with your friend or colleague. ​Make sure your equipment is working as expected and that the person on the other end of the call can clearly see and hear you.​3. Check the functionalities of your software​With so many virtual conferencing applications available, Zoom, Teams, Webex, and Skype to name a few, it can quickly become confusing which tool to use. ​Simply pick the one that you are most comfortable with and familiarize yourself with its functionalities. ​Search for quick tutorials on YouTube to become more comfortable on the software usage and practice with your friends or colleagues. ​Regardless of what tool you choose, keep in mind the availability of functions such as video calls, file sharing and screen sharing. These functions are very important in remote interviews. ​Also, make sure you know how to share a link to people you want to join your call. Test the links with others and check if they are able to easily access the virtual meeting. ​It might be useful to share the links with people from outside your organization as sometimes certain applications only allow individuals from within your company to join the call. ​4. Consider Your Environment​To provide the right first impression, it is important to take into account your surroundings. ​Things like the room where you will conduct the interview, your background and your clothing. ​Depending on the image you want to convey about your company, your environment will play a crucial role in forming that first impression. ​5. Give candidates heads up on remote interview expectations​It goes without saying that candidates today expect transparency. So it is important to share information that will help them prepare for the interview.​The most basic is a detailed job description. Even if it was already communicated in the job ad, sharing a formal document with job details reaffirms what the role entails. ​To get better understanding of candidate’s skills, share with them exercises, case studies or problems for which they will have to prepare solutions or observations. ​Although the details of these exercises are very much role specific, candidate’s answers will give you a practical evaluation of their logical reasoning, problem solving, research and creativity skills. ​Share with them the problem statement and set expectations of how you would like to get their feedback during the interview. For example, it could be a presentation, a word document, a design file, or lines of code. ​Remember to send them a link to an online assessment if that is one of the requirements before the interview. ​6. Prepare questions to address during the remote interview​This point is a best practice for offline interviews too but it is even more important for remote interviews. ​Having a list of questions in front of you to address areas of candidate’s CV, presentation and specific role requirements will keep the conversation structured and on point. ​This will also help in evaluating other candidates in a consistent manner and make better hiring decisions. ​7. Share relevant links to join the remote interview​Before sending any links, check if they are working as expected.​Remember to share with the candidate the link to the call through email, a calendar invite and a messaging tool if possible. ​For a better candidate experience, send them a YouTube tutorial on how to use the conferencing tool. ​It will spare them and you the time having to figure out where the buttons are and what they do during the actual call.​Request the candidate to confirm that they have received the link and familiarized themselves with the application. ​8. Be ready for disruptions​No matter how much you prepare, it is always possible to have hiccups right before or during the interview. ​So be mentally and emotionally prepared for such disruptions and accept them as potential steps of the process. ​Be prepared to think on your toes for fixes and allocate time for such situations.​9. Have alternative channels ready​When your initial channel of communication for one reason or another didn’t work, always have an alternative mode of communication. It could be a different conferencing tool or, if everything fails, a standard phone call might be sufficient. ​Just ask the candidate to email you whatever materials they have prepared and walk you through the content over the phone. ​10. Get recording consent forms signed​If you are planning on recording the interview, remember to inform the candidate on this procedure and work with your legal advisor to prepare a consent form for the candidates to sign. ​11. Keep candidates updated on the outcome ​Although not particular to remote interviews, this is nevertheless a very important step for a good candidate experience. ​Remember that candidates talk to each other and even if you did not select them for a particular role, update them. ​They will appreciate your feedback and will hopefully spread positive word of mouth about your employment process. ​If you are finding it challenging to hire people now, we have a fantastic track record with candidates’ selection, onboarding and pipelining. ​Get in touch today and our consultants will reach out to you with a free consultation within 24 hours. ​​2 April 2020Posted by:Mohammad Kashif - Senior Marketing ExecutiveFeroz Ghafoor - Talent Acquisition Lead

8 Reasons for Boosting Your Recruitment & Hiring Activities During Lockdown in Malaysia​With current the lockdown in Malaysia, some might think that it is the wrong time to recruit and hire new staff.​Yet talent scarcity is not going to stop just because of Covid-19 and companies who are delaying interviews because they can’t meet candidates face to face will be missing out!​Our Country Manager Sam Haggag shares this view:"Forward looking companies are not letting the lockdown get in the way of selecting talent, they’re using Skype / Teams & Zoom to conduct interviews and making hiring decisions. Some of them are even hiring despite the fact that staff cannot be physically in the office.  There’s a new era of looking at attracting and retaining talent and companies that are not moving with the times are going to miss out.”​Here is a list of 8 advantages you could get from boosting your talent acquisition activities right now:​1. Faster candidates’ turnaround​Since everyone in Malaysia is required to stay at home, many people are no longer required to deliver on certain commitments. We generally have more free time now. ​Therefore, candidates are likely to be available for interviews and recruitment procedures quicker than usual. ​2. Higher candidates’ commitment​Candidates understand that companies right now might be selective. Therefore, they are likely to treat every opportunity more seriously. ​They will keep in mind that available vacancies could be strategic in nature and consequently showcase higher commitment to the recruitment process. ​3. Streamlined processes​Because many of us are working from home, organizations had to put in place policies to facilitate operations despite this condition. ​In most cases decisions are made faster, with less reliance on paper work and with speed that technology enables us to have. ​As a result, your recruitment process and hiring decisions are likely to be streamlined and provide a better experience for candidates and hiring managers.​4. Lower competition for in-demand talent​Since some companies might reconsider their hiring plans, you can on the other hand use this to your advantage. With the temporary reduced competition for in demand talent, your organization could use this time to get the crème talent from the market. ​5. Strong employer branding opportunity​If you see a company hiring during these difficult times, chances are you will develop a positive image of their employer branding. ​Combine that with lower competition for in demand talent, and your organization will have a very good foothold to attract candidates now and also post COVID-19. ​You want to outpace competition for building you recruitment pipeline because once things settle down, other employers might go for a hiring spree. ​6. Internal morale booster ​In the times when many articles are painting a gloomy picture, showcasing to your staff that the future is bright and that you are building for consistent growth, can be a very strong morale booster.​Demonstrating that your company is recruiting talent in these challenging times is a sign of stability and growth. This fact could serve as a strong morale booster for your existing team.​7. Back fill vacant positions​Some people in your company have undoubtedly been assigned with higher responsibilities due to the COVID outbreak. They might be deserving promotions at this point but what about the responsibilities they were handling prior to the outbreak? ​Who will be executing on those operations now that the role has evolved?​Recruiting new joiners might be the right approach to address this issue. That will also showcase strong leadership and appreciation for existing staff who have gone beyond their preassigned responsibilities to support the organization in these unprecedented times. ​8. Competitive price for recruitment services​As an active member of the community, we understand the challenges that employers are going through right now.​To support you we are open for free consultations on your workforce needs and for developing custom workforce solutions at a competitive rate. ​Fill up the form below and our experts will be in touch with you in 24 hours:​​27 March 2020Posted by: Nitin Anthony - Head of Delivery & Experis Mohammad Kashif - Senior Marketing Executive​

​7 Tips to Collaborate Effectively When Your Team Is Remote [COVID-19 Outbreak]​The COVID-19 outbreak has triggered an accelerated trial run for remote work at a previously unthinkable scale. ​What we learn in the next few months could help shape the future of work and drive innovation across a range of business functions and industries. ​However, while much of the focus has been on whether technology and infrastructure can handle the surge in demand, what’s often not considered are the communication nuances crucial to productivity. ​The digital era has ushered in a revolution in communication that’s equivalent to the one surrounding the invention of the printing press. ​It’s changing how we speak — often in bullet points. And it’s affecting what we hear, as the jumble of information coming at us can lead to frequent misunderstandings and confusion.​People who work on remote teams face these challenges consistently. Today with the Movement Restriction Order in Malaysia, the large majority of employees are working remotely. ​​​This continuing shift calls for a new range of behaviors and skills.​Why do remote teams demand new collaboration skills? What’s missing from our texts, emails, conference calls, and other digital communications? Body language.​Even when we’re co-located, the tone of a text or the formality of an email is left wide open to interpretation, to the point that even our closest friends get confused. ​These misinterpretations create an anxiety that can become costly, affecting morale, engagement, productivity, and innovation.​Remote communication can distort the normal pace of our conversations. The delay between our messages can often postpone or hide emotional reactions to our comments. ​How many times have you written an email and, immediately after hitting send, felt concerned about how it would land? ​Would your boss see your late-night email and consider it to be an intrusion on their private time? Would they tell you if it was? ​While we may have become used to these types of asynchronous interactions, they can still conflict with our normal rules for social interaction. Lacking an immediate response, we can become distracted, second-guess ourselves, or even grow frustrated with our teams.​To perform at the highest levels, remote teams have to find new and better ways to operate. Here are our 7 tips to collaborate effectively when your team is remote:​1. Consider the three kinds of distance in remote collaboration​There are three kinds of remote collaboration: physical (place and time), operational (team size, bandwidth and skill levels) and affinity (values, trust, and interdependency). The best way for managers to drive team performance is by focusing on reducing affinity distance. Try switching most remote communication to regular video calls, which are a much better vehicle for establishing rapport and creating empathy than either e-mails or voice calls. And design virtual team-building rituals that give people the opportunity to interact regularly and experience their collaboration skills in action.​2. Don’t conflate brief communications and clear communications​In our efforts to be efficient, we sometimes use fewer words to communicate. But such brevity can mean that the rest of the team wastes time trying to interpret your messages (and then misinterpret them anyway). Don’t assume that others understand your cues and shorthand. Spend the time to communicate with the intention of being ultra clear, no matter the medium. Indeed, you can never be too clear, but it is too easy to be less clear than you should.3. Don’t bombard your team with messages​Do you follow up on a task by email, text and phone? Do you tend to ask people if they got your previous message?Abusing those access points can be a form of digital dominance, a relentless and uncomfortable form of harassment. The medium you choose creates different demands on the time of the receiver. Using all of them for the same message is ineffective (as well as annoying). Choose your digital volume wisely.4. Establish communication norms​Remote teams need to create new norms that establish clarity in communication.Companies such as Merck have created acronyms for their digital communications like “Four Hour Response (4HR)” and “No Need to Respond (NNTR)” that bring predictability and certainty to virtual conversations. Individual teams can also establish their own norms — e.g., to use or not use Teams, Slack, Google Docs, or WhatsApp groups.And norms can also exist on an individual level, such as people’s preferred response time, writing style and tone. For example, some individuals prefer short and quick messages, while others favor lengthy and detailed responses; people also differ in their preference and tolerance for humor and informality.5. Leverage on human predictability ​While we often tend to regard human predictability as a defect, few qualities are more sought-after at work, especially in virtual collaborations. We are all unique, but our consistent behaviors help others predict what we do and, in turn, help them to understand us — we all benefit from being understood. You can make that easier for others by establishing a clear personal etiquette and sticking to it consistently.​6. See the hidden opportunities in written communications​Being behind a screen can create new opportunities for certain team members, making space for those who might be less inclined to speak out in groups. Text-based communication places less importance on interpersonal skills and physical appearance, offering an effective way to share power and decision-making. Research shows that introverted individuals are less inhibited in online versus offline interactions. However, you need to watch out for virtual unconscious bias, where punctuation, grammar and word choice might reveal prejudiced attitudes towards certain groups.7. Create intentional space for celebration​Old school birthday cakes are still important for remote teams. Creating virtual spaces and rituals for celebrations and socializing can strengthen relationships and lay the foundation for future collaboration. Find ways to shorten the affinity distance. One company we worked with celebrated new talent by creating a personal emoji for each employee who had been there for six months. You can find your own unique way to create team spaces for social connection. How you do it is less important than whether you do.​As more and more of our interactions happen digitally, we will continue to experience new forms of miscommunication and misunderstanding. The solution will not come from new technologies (although, no doubt, developers will keep trying to bridge that gap). Instead, the solution is in understanding the new rules of engagement; in building a communication skill set that reflects the demands of our digitally-driven age.​If you are looking for consultations on setting up remote teams, drop us a message here and we will be delighted to provide a free consultation: ​​​​​

​What Workers Around The World Want? [Malaysian Trends Included]​If you are a Talent Leader, you must have come across articles titled something like “War for Talent Is Raging”, or “How to Survive in a Tight Talent Market”. With talent shortages around the world, and in APAC region specifically, it is becoming more and more difficult for you to attract and retain the right talent.​What Workers Want?Pay Always MattersPersonalizationVariety is the Spice of Work LifeFlexibility and Well-being CombinedGet The Full Report Here​In our Talent Shortage Survey 2018, 56% of companies in APAC say they can’t find the skills they need. ​Automation and digitization are increasingly creating new jobs and it is becoming ever more important for employers to know what workers need to attract and retain top talent.​To find out What Workers Want, we surveyed 14,000 individuals across 15 countries to understand what attracts them to an organization, what keeps them there and how that varies by geography, gender and at different stages of their career.​The findings helped us realize that workers have their own hierarchy of needs.​​1. No Spoiler Alert Necessary: Pay Always Matters – But How It’s Delivered Matters More​Pay is the top attraction and retention factor for all workers regardless of gender and age. ​Globally wages are growing half as quickly as they were 10 years ago especially for lower earners. In Malaysia for example the average salary is around RM3,000 and average salary increase for 2020 is predicted to be 2.9% after inflation.​Averages can of course be deceiving. Globally skills matter: workers with in-demand skills – cybersecurity, cloud computing, front end developers, solutions architects, healthcare and more – have seen salary increases of over 10% in the same time period.​Companies have to get creative to enhance compensation beyond cash to differentiate and attract talent. Popcorn and ping pong are not the answer.​Think personalization: autonomous working and flexibility, parental leave and unlimited time-off/unplug policies to cultivate sought after well-being and improved lifestyle. ​Add attractive financial incentives and goodwill gestures that reward loyalty, learning and development like tuition reimbursement and student loan repayments – companies will be more likely to attract and retain the best talent.​2. Workers Want Personalization: People Strategy Must Be Both a Science and an Art​In an increasingly data driven world where algorithms in fridges know what items are missing and AI is suggesting you buy them, people expect the same from work. ​They want assignments that test their abilities, projects that demand the best from them and recommendations on the next role. ​They want insight and advice on fit today and potential tomorrow. This is where assessment comes in – critical for understanding human potential. ​It allow you to better match and motivate people while helping individuals to get to know even more about themselves. Assessment can remove bias and over-reliance on Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) that automatically filter suitable candidates out.​You will be able to fish from a more diverse talent pool, selecting people not on past experience but on the basis of future potential.​Like all consumers, workers also want a great user experience. They want personalized insight to understand their strengths and potential – as personalized as their Amazon Prime. ​For this they need assessment short, gamified and scientifically validated and they expect something in exchange for their data. They want career conversations and coaching to set goals, manage their development and control their career.​Ask yourself, when was the last time you had a career conversation with your employees?​When only 49% of workers globally have been assessed, it really is time to let the data do the talking – 81% of those who have been assessed report higher job satisfaction versus 65% of those who have not.​So if you are considering an assessment tool, here is useful article from SHRM that will get you started with the basics of pre-employment testing.​3. Variety is the Spice of Work Life: Workers Want Education, Experience, Exposure​Challenge is a top five priority for workers of all ages and means a multitude of things. ​Education and training, yes, but more than that: stretch opportunities; rotational assignments; on-the-job learning and apprenticeships; stimulating projects and agile work across various teams and functions; applying fresh skills in new roles; thinking harder; feeling more tested; being on a clear career pathway from this job to next.​In Malaysia, it was reported that 1 out 3 job seekers are looking to switch their career due to lack of growth opportunities in their current industry. ​Your people want portfolio work that offers variety, broadens their experience and builds knowledge and skills. They want the opportunity to develop and to earn more. They are realizing they need a long shelf life in this fast-changing, career-marathon world of work.​To deliver challenge and opportunities so people succeed and stick around, you got to understand skills, potential and desires. With assessment, insight and a culture of learnability you can coach individuals so they thrive in a supportive environment. ​A sink-or-swim approach, without support, can result in procrastination paralysis or even burnout. The eager entry-level graduate seeking stretch will need different support compared to the mid-career emerging leader. ​As a leader, seek coaching skills. They will help you guide people to choreograph career conversations that pace their own career mobility, embrace new experiences and welcome the exposure that drives personal and business success.​4. Flexibility and Well-being Combined Are Priceless: Productivity Beats Presenteeism​Workers are prioritizing balance and choice and it’s non-negotiable. Your people want to choose where, when and how they work, and that doesn’t mean millennials logging on in coffee shops. ​They want the social aspect of work with the flexibility to accommodate the demands of One Life, the sharing of caring and the desire to boost their well-being.​It was found that 75% of Malaysian mothers quit their jobs due to a lack of flexibility. ​People want flexibility — and that means all things to all women and men so you might want to consider loosen up. Nontraditional work hours with flexible start and end times that counter the rush hour and control the commute.​Work from Home (WFH) and Work from Wherever (WFW). Time to hustle and enjoy side gigs to nurture entrepreneurialism and boost pensions. ​Condensed four-day work weeks or five-hour workdays that peak productivity and preserve the weekend, and parental leave that balance family and care and can be worth more than pay.​To tap the whole talent pool and retain a well workforce, employers must strike the balance of flexibility and reward productivity over presenteeism. ​Your company culture must promote it and leaders must model it and the consequence of workplace equality may well kick in too as a result. Happiness off the job can be key to happiness on the job.​You can certainly see that skills needs and job roles are changing faster than ever. The defining challenge of our time continues to be the “Skills Revolution”. ​Even though our world is enabled by technology, people are in demand. You need to know what workers want if you want to find, build and sustain the best talent while others are trying to do the same.​Shift your workforce demands closer to match the needs and desires of in-demand talent and expand the pool from which you source that talent.​Read more on specific generational needs here:​​What Workers Want 2020 [Generational Perspective] from Mohammad Kashif​​​To get the full whitepaper on workers needs, fill the form below:​​​​​​

​3 Prerequisites to Boost Your Next Change Initiative [Lessons from The Human Age Forum]​If you are a business professional, you would probably agree that very often companies fail at implementing change in certain departments or functions. One of the reasons I believe this occurs is because companies forget to look whether their foundations are ready to be tested with a transformational project.​I was fortunate to organize the Human Age Forum last week, listen to wonderful keynotes and moderate a very insightful panel session, all of which revolved around talent, HR, and transformation related topics.​Listening to experts from the industry allowed me to realize the importance of the following 3 prerequisites to give your next change initiative a significant boost:​1- Change makers who possess CRC traits​This point was shared by Mr. Jeremy Lee who was stressing the importance of:Care, Resilience, and Curiosity as fundamental traits in facing uncertain future.​You need people who who “Care”. They are the ones who have a strong passion for something. They possess a sense of purpose and take responsibility for meeting goals. You also need those who are “Resilient”. ​Those who are committed and systematically overcome challenges without giving up. Being “Curious” allows growth and can help with unforeseen developments. ​Your team should have hunger to learn, understand why things are as they are and not otherwise, and question the status quo for innovation to take place.​These traits by the way mirror my views on the work values that will stand the test of time.​2- Brand’s personal and human connection​We tend to be significantly more involved when we feel that we are deeply connected to a person. This is why many NGOs share stories of a single individual or a family rather than discuss overall statistics in their marketing campaigns. Therefore, it is important for your brand to have a face. ​An ambassador who will personify what your company stands for, reflect its values, and build personal connections with stakeholders including internal teams.​Having this strong personal connection between those who are impacted by the change and the brand, will make them much more inclined to connect their personal interests with the ones of the company.​This point was highlighted by Dr. Aj Minai in his talk about attracting and retaining young people to your organization. He stressed that for young people it is important to develop a human connection with the company rather than merely an employer – employee relationship.​3- Solid understanding the current state​This prerequisite is more technical in nature. A very valuable evaluation model was presented by Ms. Dalia Alkatiri.​This model allows to look at the current state from 4 dimensions. Organizational Agility refers to the overall ability of the company to move quickly and adapt to changing conditions. ​Digital Savviness refers to the levels of comfort that employees have when it comes to digital tools. Process Readiness is about evaluating whether processes at hand are understood and standardized well enough to be digitized. ​Lastly, Stakeholders' Engagement is about the levels of urgency that impacted stakeholders posses to be motivated for making necessary changes.​All these factors determine your approach and strategy in driving improvement and innovation at your company.​Overall, from my experience, any change initiative will require much more than these 3 prerequisites. ​However, I find them to be a very good starting point for a constructive thought process and will serve as effective boosters to make a long lasting and a quicker transformation. ​Originally posted on LinkedIn​​

​The Future of Workforce In Your Factory [Mapping Skills That Will Power Manufacturing]​One of the challenges that The National Policy on Industry 4.0 in Malaysia mentions is the limited understanding of manufacturing firms of required future skills and expertise. To find practical solutions to this question and address acute talent shortages, ManpowerGroup and MxD convened more than 30 academic, government and industry partners to create an industry-recognized taxonomy that defines digital manufacturing roles of the future.​National Policy on Industry 4.0​As you probably have heard, In Malaysia, the government unveiled a plan in October 2018 to boost its manufacturing sector through technology, hoping to attract investment in high-tech industries to counter slowing economic growth.​The National Policy on Industry 4.0, named Industry4WRD, will support industry's efforts to rely more on technology and less on capital and labor, to increase productivity.​The policy envisions Malaysia as a strategic partner for smart manufacturing, primary destination for high-tech industries and total solution provider for the manufacturing sector and services in the region.​Among the key objectives of the plan is the increase of of the manufacturing sector contribution to the economy from RM254 billion, which is around 22% of GDP, to RM392 billion in 2025. It also aims at increasing the number of high-skilled workers in the manufacturing sector from 18% to 35% in the same time frame. ​Yet, one of the challenges that the paper mentions is the limited understanding of manufacturing firms of required future skills and expertise. ​The Future of Manufacturing Skills​Our collaboration with MxD found that almost half of all roles in manufacturing (49 percent) will need to change within the next three to five years as the industry transitions to become fully digital. ​More than a quarter of roles of the factory floor will disappear. At the same time, we identified 165 new roles. Most of the new functions, such as a ‘collaborative robot specialist’, couldn’t have been imagined a decade ago.​We created a taxonomy of a future manufacturing enterprise, mapping out the seven key areas of a typical organization - we called them domains - and forecast the future functional needs of each. ​While the domains apply to the impact on an organization, workers themselves will be impacted differently by the manufacturing shift. ​Within the seven domains, specific roles can be mapped by the impact they make on the organization and the way they connect to each other.​​Digital Leaders in The Manufacturing Sector​Our study also found that technology alone won’t be enough to deliver corporate resilience. ​Organizations will also need to develop a ‘D-Suite’ – a community of digital-ready analytically minded and connected leaders dedicated to creating the necessary culture and capability within the organization to unlock opportunities and drive successful digital transformation. ​We identified that D-suite leadership is enabled by three new capabilities: Building a company culture that encourages ongoing career development Championing cross-cultural collaboration to accelerate performance against near term strategiesFostering innovation by taking risks and managing courageous decisions The good news is leading through digital transformation in all industries, including manufacturing, does not mean a complete replacement of the makeup of strong leadership. Instead, the 80/20 rule applies.​ Foundational leadership skills like endurance and adaptability continue to be critical. Yet in the digital age, effective leaders must also nurture the additional 20 percent — unleashing talent, daring to lead, and at times failing, fast — all to accelerate performance.​Removing The Guesswork from Our Employment Futures​All of these skills are coachable for people with the right mindset, which involves being open to learning and prepared to change course quickly to optimize opportunities. ​Granted, this is not an exact science. But going through an exercise of this kind demonstrates that we know a lot more about the shape of our future workforce than we might have realized. ​Companies are already drafting sophisticated three to five-year financial plans, each of which is built upon complex operational assumptions.​It’s natural to fear the unknown. By dissecting an industry and developing a future playbook for each of the functions which that industry needs to perform, we are removing the guesswork from our employment futures. ​To get access to our Future of Factory Report, fill in the form below:​​To know more about the developments in the manufacturing industry visit: https://workforce-resources.manpowergroup.com/home/the-future-factory​

How To Tackle Talent Shortage?​In the past decade, you must’ve noticed, technology has transformed how work gets done, created new roles that require new skills. At the same time, organizations are increasing headcount in many countries making markets near full employment. ​As a result, talent shortages are more acute than they have been for decades. Employers just like you are struggling to fill open jobs. 56% percent in APAC say they can’t find the skills they need, and for large organizations (250+ employees) it’s even higher, with 66% reporting talent shortages in 2018.​No matter which industry you are at, you must have felt the impact. From manufacturing to mining, transport to trade, employers cannot find the people they need with the right blend of technical skills and human strengths. ​Keeping pace in this Skills Revolution demands faster, more targeted upskilling and talent management than ever before. It’s time for a new approach to the big talent problem: it’s time to build, buy, borrow and bridge to ensure we have the in-demand skills for today and tomorrow.​​1. BuildInvest in learning and development to grow your talent pipeline​Enabled with technologies and tools such as AI, psychometric assessments and predictive performance analytics you can map and upskill your current and future workforce like never before. ​You have to remember that although continuous learning is critical for your company to develop the talent you are short of, continuous learning is a two-way deal. Employees need to know that unless they upskill, they are gambling with their future employability. ​Identifying future potential, driving a culture of learnability through the organization and providing accelerated training programs will be critical to success in the digital age.​2. BuyGo to external market to find the best talent that cannot be built in-house in the timeframe required​With strong market competition for skilled talent, employers which have and consistently communicate strong value proposition, attractive culture and clear purpose, have the upper hand in the battle for talent. ​Not all companies however have the capability of doing so and if that is your case, you got to be prepared to bear the costs of premium salary packages and other perks. ​3. Borrow Cultivate communities of talent outside the organization, including part-time, freelance, contract and temporary workers to complement existing skills​Traditionally companies relied on permanent employees to get the work done. However, in today’s digital world, new work models have emerged. ​When you need to complement existing skills, fill gaps for short term projects, or quickly find expertise you do not have, it’s time to tap NextGen talent outside the company, including part-time, contingent, contract, freelance or temporary work.​4. Bridge Help people move on and move up to new roles inside or outside the organization​With the rapid changes the business world is experiencing today, you will undoubtedly find some people in your current workforce whose skills are no longer needed. ​As a leader, you have the responsibility to find pathways for those individuals to bridge them into new roles inside or outside of your organization. Remember to treat people with respect and dignity regardless of where their future employment lies, and help them transition smoothly. ​So, to win in the digital age an effective talent strategy should have four parts: build, buy, borrow and bridge. Build your talent pipeline, buy skills where necessary, borrow from external talent sources and bridge people with adjacent skills from one role to another to complement existing skills.​To know more about Talent Shortage around the world, click here: https://go.manpowergroup.com/talent-shortage​