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The SME100-WTW Employee Experience Study 2020 revealed that Malaysian SMEs are ahead in employee engagement despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
The regional study was jointly conducted by Business Media International, the organisers of the SME100 Awards, and Willis Towers Watson, the leading global HR advisory firm to provide SMEs with insight on their employees amidst the current pandemic and to raise awareness around the importance of developing strong employee experience. Besides Malaysia, the study was conducted and completed earlier this year across Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam.
Despite being severely affected by the pandemic, Malaysian SMEs scored highly at 90 percent in employee experience. This is 6 percent better than the regional average.
The study showed that 9 out of 10 Malaysian employees:
1. believe in their company’s purpose, mission, and vision,
2. trust in their leaders and supervisors,
3. are provided the opportunity for growth, and
4. feel they are adequately recognized for their contributions.
92 percent of those surveyed are proud to be part of their companies, and as a result, 2 out of 3 have indicated that they are happy to stay in their current roles, while 3 out of 5 are willing to recommend their company to their friends.
However, the same study discovered that 2 out of 3 Malaysian employees are reporting high levels of stress. These include concerns around their financial situation, less than ideal working arrangements and not having the right enablement and support on a daily basis.
Yeo Ooi Keong, practice leader at Willis Towers Watson said, “We are glad to have partnered with BMI to conduct this first-ever regional study on SMEs. Our data shows that the ability to build trust and belief within a company is largely driven by how connected employees feel towards their leaders. A leader’s ability to communicate a clear direction, walk the talk and empathise are all critical factors that impact an employee's willingness to trust and believe in the company. This in turn, impacts their motivation to do better for your customers and the company as a whole.”
Datuk William Ng, group publisher of Business Media International and editor-in-chief of SME Magazine said, “Identifying challenges early are especially crucial for SMEs as it allows owners to strategize areas of improvement to their business operations and to be more effective in attracting and retaining talents for their businesses”.
Ng added, “It is enlightening to dispel the notion that our SMEs are not up to par when it comes to employee experience. In fact, Malaysia scored higher than our regional peers. However, we do need to emphathise more with employees during this pandemic; including watching out for signs of ‘burnt out’, help employees balance their work and personal commitments and perhaps even provide employees with financial education resources”.
Adapting and recognizing these challenges are half the battle to keep business productive as two third of the workforce in Malaysia are employed by SMEs, according to the Department of Statistic Malaysia 1 . While lockdowns are crucial to flatten the Covid-19 curve, employee mental health and wellbeing has become an emerging concern across many companies.
Yeo added, “Given the hyper competitive landscape for talent in Malaysia, being able to attract and retain the right talent is a critical advantage for SMEs. The survey data has shown that SMEs are equally able to provide an engaging work experience for their employees and we see the roles of leaders being key in supporting this. By leveraging on an experience that is focused on practical development, we believe that SMEs hold a distinct differentiator against the rest of the market.”
About Business Media International
Business Media International is one of Asia’s leading business-to-business publishers. Some of our media properties include SME Magazine, HR Asia, Capital Asia, Energy Asia, Logistics Asia, TruthTV and CXP Asia. As owners of some of the region’s largest B2B media and events properties, BMI is uniquely positioned to offer business owners and senior business executives up-to-date business intelligence across the region.
About Willis Tower Watson
Willis Towers Watson (NASDAQ: WLTW) is a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps clients around the world turn risk into a path for growth. With roots dating to 1828, Willis Towers Watson has 45,000 employees serving more than 140 countries and markets.
Source: Business Media International
