Hays regional director for Malaysia Tom Osborne
PETALING JAYA: Job seekers in Malaysia said better salary or benefit packages are the main reason why they wish to switch jobs in 2017.
Work-life balance was the number one reason why employees in Malaysia will stay with their current employer, according to the newly released 2017 Hays Asia Salary Guide.
The annual survey reveals the results of candidates and employers surveyed from across mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore. It also provides salary ranges for more than 1,200 roles based on research from 3,000 employers representing six million employees.
According to the tenth annual Guide, 34% of candidates across all countries are actively looking for a new job while 46% are open to new opportunities.
In addition to seeking better salary or benefit packages (61%) compared to 53% last year, the key motivators, among others, for job hunting are lack of career progression (47%), seeking new challenges (44%), management style and company culture (40%) and lack of training or development opportunities (31%).
On a country level, salary or benefit package was the main reason why job seekers are looking to switch jobs in Hong Kong, mainland China and Singapore whilst in Japan, a desire to seek new challenges was the main reason why job seekers are currently looking to switch jobs.
Among the key reasons candidates in Malaysia want to stay with their current employer are work-life balance (40%), salary or benefit package (38%), work location (31%), career progression (28%), and training or development opportunities (25%) and the management style & company culture (24%)
On a country level, work-life balance was nominated by candidates in Hong Kong and Singapore as the main reason why they wish to stay with their current employer. In Japan, career progression is the key retention motivator with mainland China respondents choosing job security.
Other key candidate trends from Malaysia include 44% are happy with their salary, bonus, benefits package, 79% are willing to relocate to a different country to secure a new role, 53% believe their job performance is fairly evaluated, 41% believe there is scope for career progression in their current role and 29% say there is no scope for career progression in their current job and 30% are unsure.
“This year’s Guide tells very different stories about why employees in Malaysia leave a job and why they stay, We have seen a significant increase in the number of job hunters motivated by salary and benefits but for many of those expecting to stay with their current employer, work-life balance is worth more than financial gain, ” said Hays Malaysia regional director Tom Osborne,
Asked about their salary expectations, 29 % of candidates in Malaysia expect an increase from between 3 and 6% whilst 7% expect no increase at all. Fifty per cent expect a salary increase of more than 6%.
Of employers surveyed in Malaysia, 46% plan to award salary increases from between 3 and 6%. Four per cent of employers in Malaysia have no plans to award salary increases this year whereas 36% plan to offer more than 6%.
During the last salary review period, 50% of employers in Malaysia awarded increases from between 3 and 6% with 9% providing no salary increases. 30% of employers gave salary increases of 6% and more.
“While those planning to stay with their employer have fairly realistic salary expectations, employers will have to be mindful of the higher salary expectations of the candidates they are trying to attract, especially those companies with hard to fill roles,” Osborne noted.
Of employers in Malaysia surveyed for the 2017 Guide, 48% believe skills shortages have the potential to hamper effective business operations this year and 49% expect shortages to have some impact on their business operations.
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