AON PLC Kuala Lumpur, 28 August 2014 - According to the Best Employers Malaysia study by Aon Hewitt, the global talent, retirement and health solutions business of Aon plc (NYSE: AON), Malaysia's upward course in employee engagement over the past 10 years is presenting organizations with an opportunity to respond positively to imminent people challenges. How organizations harness "people issues" now will chart the course of future engagement scores, a barometer of the country's organizational health
The recent Best Employers Malaysia study, which examined 25,000 employee responses and survey data from CEOs and HR Directors, highlights that organizations that invest in engagement register higher revenue growth than the rest of the market in the long run.
Aon Hewitt's Best Employers research shows that being a Best Employer does make a difference:
- Best Employers fill40% more jobs opening internally
- Best Employers attain 40% higher growth in profits
- Best Employers achieve 25% lower employee turnover
- Senior leaders at Best Employers are better at providing a clear direction for the future (81 percent vs.60 percent of market average)
- 90 percent of job openings were filled at Best Employers in previous 12 months with 25 percent filled internally, compared to 77 percent and 20 percent respectively at the market average
- All Best Employers (100 percent) have implemented career development programs as opposed to only 51 percent at market level
- Gen Y employees are much more engaged with a 21 percent higher engagement score at Best Employers than market participants.
Drawing insights from 12 years of Best Employers research in Asia Pacific and around the world, Aon Hewitt found that overall employee engagement scores in Malaysia rose from 53 percent in 2003 to 59 percent in 2011, before dipping to 53 percent in 2012 but rallied back to 56 percent last year[1]. In line with the "advanced, high income nation status by 2020" initiative issued by the Malaysian government's Economic Transformation Program (ETP)[2], companies need to put greater emphasis on talent management and employee engagement as these areas are critical enablers in advancing business and the country's competitive sustainability.
With GDP growth of about five percent per annum since 2011 and the unemployment rate holding steady over the past three years at around 3.1 percent, Malaysia's economic growth corresponds with rising expectations from CEOs to raise the bar on human resources, posing a challenge for HR professionals striving to win the war for talent.
The Aon Hewitt Best Employers Malaysia study records that one in every two CEOs in Malaysia cited "People Issues" among the top business challenges impacting their organization's ability to succeed. The primary concerns on the talent front are:
- the availability of critical skills
- the ability to build an adequate leadership pipeline
- the ability to retain talent, and
- the capability of current leaders.
Top leaders today recognize these issues, and more importantly, their impact on business results if they are not addressed. "People issues have a far reaching effect on the working population in the long run, impacting employee engagement. Our research demonstrates that employee engagement is the glue that bonds people to positive business results," says Dr. Jens Ballendowitsch, Talent & Engagement Practice Leader of Aon Hewitt Malaysia.
Jeremy Andrulis, the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of Aon Hewitt in Southeast Asia, and one of the original thinkers behind the Best Employers study in Asia Pacific, its concept, methodology and best practices analysis, points out: "While the Malaysian engagement trend is generally on the rise, minimal movement in scores demonstrates how fragile this trend is. Registering this on a bigger context, Malaysian scores have shown to fall below the Asia Pacific market scores for three out of the last five Best Employers studies."
Andrulis highlights the importance for leaders to view people issues as an opportunity to improve employee engagement: "Actions taken today by leaders of organizations can make or break the engagement trend in Malaysia. Organizations that have focused on engagement need to step up their efforts to stay on course, and others need to start looking seriously into the activities that can motivate their employees to stay and strive in their jobs, as well as how to attract the best talent from inside or outside Malaysia."
What emerged from Aon Hewitt's study as the most noticeable benefits of being a Best Employer in Malaysia in today's "war for talent" were the following:
- At Best Employers, the role of senior leaders in driving employee engagement was clearly marked. Senior leaders at Best Employers scored 20 percent above market in their "capability to provide a clear direction for the future" (recognized by 81 percent of the employees at Best Employers vs. 60 percent market average) and "in making their employees feel like the most valued assets" (76 percent for Best Employers vs. 55 percent market average).
- Best Employers were able to fill 90 percent of their job openings, 25 percent of which were internal movements, (as compared to 77 percent and 20 percent, respectively at market level), thus reflecting potential savings in recruitment and induction costs.
- Best Employers have been more deliberate in enabling employee development beyond the classroom setting via "experiential learning" - rotational assignments (100 percent of Best Employers vs. 51 percent participant average), special projects (88 percent of Best Employers vs. 55 percent participant average), and interactions with senior executives (88 percent of Best Employers vs. 49 percent participant average), leading to overall employee satisfaction with growth opportunities (being 24 percent higher at Best Employers).
- "While engaging Generation Y is a key focus for organizations today, Best Employers have an edge, with a 21 percent higher engagement score for Generation Y compared to the market. Best Employers are reaping benefits from their focus on targeted programs designed to align with various demographic groups," comments Lee Ji-Hao, Project Manager of Best Employers Malaysia 2015.
Lee added: "Becoming a Best Employer is a journey, and it doesn't happen overnight. Different organizations are at different stages of this journey, and it is important to know where your organization stands today so you can chart and measure your progress".
Introduced in 2001, the Best Employers Program is an on-going service designed to improve employee engagement, leadership effectiveness, employer brand and culture in order to drive high performance in companies. Aon Hewitt has recently launched the 2015 Best Employers Study in Asia Pacific. Registration is well underway in Malaysia and will close 10 October, 2014.
To find out more about Aon Hewitt Best Employers Malaysia 2015, visit www.bestemployersasia.com or email Ji-Hao Lee at bestemployersmalaysia@aonhewitt.com.
Aon Hewitt empowers organizations and individuals to secure a better future through innovative talent, retirement and health solutions. We advise, design and execute a wide range of solutions that enable clients to cultivate talent to drive organizational and personal performance and growth, navigate retirement risk while providing new levels of financial security, and redefine health solutions for greater choice, affordability and wellness. Aon Hewitt is the global leader in human resource solutions, with over 30,000 professionals in 90 countries serving more than 20,000 clients worldwide. For more information on Aon Hewitt, please visit www.aonhewitt.com.
Aon plc (NYSE:AON) is the leading global provider of risk management, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human resources solutions and outsourcing services. Through its more than 66,000 colleagues worldwide, Aon unites to empower results for clients in over 120 countries via innovative and effective risk and people solutions and through industry-leading global resources and technical expertise. Aon has been named repeatedly as the world's best broker, best insurance intermediary, reinsurance intermediary, captives manager and best employee benefits consulting firm by multiple industry sources. Visit www.aon.com for more information on Aon and www.aon.com/manchesterunited to learn about Aon's global and principle partnership with Manchester United.
Editor's Notes
About the Best Employers Program
Best Employers Malaysia is part of a 12-country study of the Best Employers in Asia Pacific, built on a clearly articulated framework of four measurable key themes, identified as critical for today's HR agenda:
- High Employee Engagement
- Compelling Employer Brand
- Effective Leadership
- High Performance Culture
From the data collected, the results provide invaluable insights and best practices to employers and HR professionals in Malaysia as to how they can better manage talent and improve their business results. They also provide a useful benchmark against other countries in the region, as well as other parts of the world.
Participation in Aon Hewitt's Best Employers program brings a wide range of benefits to organizations, such as discovering how employees perceive and rate their employer, the reasons why they are attracted to certain employer brands, and the type of organizational culture they value sufficiently to "stay and strive." The study also provides a benchmark against competitors in the market. Participating organizations gain access to Aon Hewitt's latest market research insights, along with insights into the best and most innovative people practices.
Engagement Tips for Malaysia Employers
As resources are scarce and expectations from employees continue to grow, successful organizations need to be clear about how to improve employee engagement by focusing on a small number of high-impact initiatives:
- Develop Effective People Managers
Designing the right people programs to implement is only part of the solution to improve engagement. Long-term success rests on having effective people managers who have the accountability, skills, and incentives to engage their teams. Leading organizations develop effective people managers through a holistic approach. To implement such an approach in your own organization, we recommend the following steps be taken.
First, design the role of people managers to manage people. Often times, people managers do not have the time to coach, develop, or manage teams because their roles exclude these activities. Likewise, establish goals for all people managers on engaging, developing and retaining employees - and link achievement of those goals to meaningful rewards and recognition.
Next, create development programs for people managers that cover the core knowledge, skills, and behaviors essential to people managers and link these to career development and succession management programs. Effective people management needs to be an important criterion when evaluating people for promotions.
Finally, communicate and recognize people managers who have excelled in strengthening engagement to build a culture that recognizes people managers as the critical lynchpin to successful engagement. It is important to note that these practices are not mutually exclusive. Weak programs in one or more of these areas will result in mixed messages to people managers about engagement, and consequent failure to achieve positive engagement improvements.
- Define and Deliver a Unique and Compelling Employee Value Proposition
Best Employers ensure that a strong value proposition is clearly communicated and internally marketed, so that their employees truly understand and appreciate the overall work experience being offered to them.
For instance, a quick-service restaurant had troubles retaining talent because employees were, energetic, fast-learning, and rather prone to moving jobs. To cope with this problem, the HR team embarked on an EVP (Employee Value Proposition) to engage their staff by better promoting the brand. By asking employees what the brand stood for, three key attributes of the EVP were developed in the organization by:
- encouraging teamwork so employees work together like a family;
- welcoming all types of employees (e.g., students, housewives) and offering them a flexible work schedule to meet their needs; and
- investing resources in training, including interactive and experiential training courses, continuing education, and career development opportunities.
- Tailor Talent Management Practices to Engage Specific Employee Groups and Demographics
Beyond the economic and geographic conditions surrounding employees and organizations, numerous individual factors (by job level, function, generation, and gender) also influence an employee's point of view and engagement. Understanding the differences between the various employee groups allows Best Employers to better identify critical gaps where they need to invest their resources.
Targeting and tailoring people programs is an important step towards achieving optimum business outcomes. As demonstrated by recent research, Best Employers achieve a 40% higher growth in profit than the market average. To win the "war for talent" and improve employee engagement levels, employers need to devise robust practices that strike an optimum balance between supporting the business and engaging employees.
For example, a company established itself as a premier hotel and became a pioneer in the hospitality industry. The company realized that staff needed to be passionate about serving people and achieving high engagement as part of their business goals. They set up a detailed and clear process to ensure accountability for senior leadership, managers, and associates. This process included:
- establishing an engagement index that constituted one of the performance goals for managers;
- involving associates in providing feedback and participating in the development of specific action plans to ensure buy-in and an accurate reflection of their needs;
- having the general manager and executive committee members review, approve, and endorse all action plans. Progress reports were published in their internal newsletter to inform all staff of the hotel's determination to achieve high employee engagement; and
- publicly recognizing managers with good engagement scores.
Reminder of Best Employers Malaysia 2013 Award Winners
Aon Hewitt Best Employers Malaysia awards went to S P Setia Bhd (Best of the Best), Agilent Technologies, American Express Malaysia, FedEx Express, Holiday Inn Kuala Lumpur Glenmarie, Intel Technology, and McDonald's Malaysia, Technip Malaysia.
Special recognition for Best Employer Commitment to Engagement went to Intel Technology, Best Employer for Women went to Agilent Technologies, and Best Employer for Gen Y went to McDonald's Malaysia.
"Participating in Best Employers has made us take a close look at our own talent management practices. It has also given us access to other world-class companies, enabling us to learn from their ideas and practices",
HR Director, Intel, Malaysia
To find out more about Aon Hewitt Best Employers Malaysia 2015, visit www.bestemployersasia.com or email Ji-Hao Lee at bestemployersmalaysia@aonhewitt.com
Media Contacts:
Lee Ji-Hao
Senior consultant and Best Employers project manager, Malaysia
+603.2773.6800
j i-hao.lee@aonhewitt.com
Sivaraman Sabapathy
Associate Director, Hill + Knowlton
+603.2026.0899
sivaraman.sabapathy@hkstrategies
Aon Hewitt Data: 2013 Trends in Asia Pacific Employee Engagement Report and Best Employers Malaysia 2013 Country Report
Tenth Malaysia Plan - 2011-2015, Published by The Economic Planning Unit Prime Minister's Department Putrajaya 2010
The Malaysian Economy in Figures 2013, Economic Planning Unit, Prime Minister's Department of Malaysia
Aon Hewitt Data: 2014 Trends in Global Employee Engagement Report and Best Employers Malaysia 2013 Country Report
|
distributed by
|
