KUCHING: The role of human resources (HR) in companies has evolved to, among others, provide greater work satisfaction. But many still rely on rigid grading, thus compromising employee productivity.
It is no surprise that Malaysia has the least employee engagement, according to research by global human resource solutions firm Aon in its 2018 Trends in Global Employee Report. It also discovered that only less than 33 percent of Malaysian employees feel fully engaged.It also recorded a high correlation between lower employee engagement and lower productivity. New Sarawak Tribune spoke to a local-based HR consultant company director, Feroz Hayat Khan from Blankscript Consultant Sdn Bhd, a talent engagement solution company.
He believed it is important to have an open work culture and a system to gather feedback. He said by engaging with workers about where the company is heading, it will build trust.“A happy and engaged worker is a productive and loyal employee.This also includes building a strong organisational culture that supports change,” Feroz explained.
He also pointed out that empowerment skill programmes help in developing and maintaining growth. Feroz recommended that HR go beyond payroll processing and putting up job posts to further develop its role.
“By using technology, it can minimise many tedious HR tasks and this can be replaced with more strategic work,” he said. He also advised HR to adapt technology to initiate a sense of belonging within the organisation.
“People in small firms tend to interact with management more, while those in larger organisations may have fewer regular encounters.
“Leaders must provide direction, ensure the team is walking in a same line towards the same goal and provide support,” he added.
At the same time, Feroz stressed emphasise in building talent rather than just look on how much they can produce within a certain time.
“Optimising talent development efforts can boost the effectiveness and capacity of the firms’ in-house HR staff.”
Feroz also revealed a very common excuse that is likely to be used among HR staff from local companies.
“Employees would reiterate that they have been doing the task for years and it has never changed. “Whether we like it or not, employees must be open to learning new skills and embracing new roles to boost career scope,” he stressed.
Feroz said taking the lead in facilitating change for improvement is the main asset to empower employees. “HR is the backbone of an organisation and workforce development should be one of the key focus areas.
“After all, rather than to measure on the cost if they leave after we invested in talent development, we should ponder on what happens if we don’t invest and they stay?” he remarked.
