PETALING JAYA: An 'attractive salary and benefits' made up seventy-two per cent as being the most important employee value proposition (EVP) workers seek in an ideal employer.
This was followed closely in second place at 69 per cent of employees looking out for a "Work-life balance" based employment, revealed leading human resources solutions agency, Randstad.
The EVP was based on the results of its annual Employer Brand Research in Malaysia, which is released today, commissioned by Randstad and independently conducted by Kantar TNS.
The Randstad Employer Brand Research explores the top EVP factors that influence employees and job seekers in their search for a new career.
"The issue of unmatched salary expectation is not new, yet it's the most complex to resolve.
"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," said Randstad Malaysia's Head of Operations Fahad Naeem.
"Employers need to conduct regular audits to ensure salary equality and competitiveness, and find out if their investment in skills development of their workforce is adequate enough to retain their high performing talent", he said in a statement.
The top five employee value propositions that Malaysia's respondents seek in an ideal employer in 2021 are:
- Attractive salary & benefits: 72 per cent;
- Work-life balance: 69 per cent;
- Strong management: 64 per cent;
- Covid-19 safe work environment: 63 per cent; and
- Financially healthy: 62 per cent.
Naeem said employees and job seekers are increasingly looking to their employers to tide them through the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly to protect their income and ensure job stability.
"A strong management has a critical role to play in ensuring good corporate financial performance and a Covid-19 safe work environment to keep their employees safe.
"This means being able to take actions quickly to protect the business and their workforce, even if they have limited information to work with," he said.
The survey also revealed that 73 per cent of female respondents value work-life balance in their search for an ideal employer.
This is in comparison, 65 per cent of male respondents see work-life balance as an important EVP factor.
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, the Employer Brand Research showed.
"As more and more women join the workforce, it is essential for employers to create a safe working environment.
"As female employees tend to seek different factors than men, it is therefore critical for HR (Human Resources) professionals to develop fair and equal HR policies and benefits that address the needs and aspirations of both genders," Naeem said.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, 17 per cent of respondents switched employers.
However, between July and December of 2020, only 11 per cent of respondents switched employers.
The study also found that 23 per cent of respondents have plans to switch employers in 2021.
Millennials are the most likely to switch employers with 28 per cent of them looking to do so. This is followed by Generation-Z workers (24 per cent), the survey showed.
"Many of our Millennials and Gen-Z workers are self-taught digital natives. They know the latest social media trends, 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-Zers 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," explained Naeem.