Author’s Blurb: I remember my struggles of finding a job just last year all too well. I was rather picky, because while I may not have known exactly what I wanted, I knew what I didn’t want. In the aftermath of COVID-19, I have no doubt that a flurry of Malaysians from different generations will be looking for jobs. How then can an employer ensure that they’re attractive to them?
Fret not, for WOBB has done the work for you. They recently released a report of their survey results about Malaysian working culture to find out what talents really prioritise, and companies can use this information to their advantage.
The age group that WOBB surveyed came from 3 generations:
- 6% were Gen X & older (40 to 54 years old)
- 56% were Gen Y (25 to 39 years old)
- 38% were Gen Z (18 to 24 years old)
All these respondents are currently employed.
Based on the information WOBB received, here are 5 takeaways about what a company should do to attract the best talents in the market.
1. Sharing Your Story
56% of job seekers will not apply to a job if a company doesn’t share sufficient information about its work environment online.
WOBB also shared that the less information you share about your company online, the more likely it is that you will attract job seekers who apply to more than 10 jobs a month.
This means that they might not be super interested in the job since they’ll have a bunch of other options, and this causes another problem.
Amongst job seekers who applied to more than 10 jobs, 60% are more likely to miss an interview.
Some of the reasons why candidates would miss an interview include: realising that the company isn’t what they’re looking for, loss of interest, already receiving a job offer from another company, had an emergency, forgot about it, and others.
So, one of the ways to tell your story to attract talents and keep them interested in a job offer from your company is by…
2. Increasing Your Digital Presence
90% of job seekers will conduct research before applying for jobs.
They will do their research through the company’s website, its social media, Glassdoor, via media coverage and online articles, other various portals, and of course, through WOBB.
WOBB stated that you should ensure your digital presence is strong to ensure that you share as much information as possible with potential job seekers so that applications for your jobs are from relevant candidates.
And speaking from personal experience, having little to no information about your company will not lead to me “reaching out to learn more”, I’ll just ignore your job listing and move on because I’ll be suspicious about your working culture, benefits, and etc.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that companies who list out every benefit they offer will be less suspicious, but at least I can set my expectations for those.
3. Have These Qualities
While you’re telling your company story, you should showcase the best qualities of your company.
Some of the qualities that WOBB found employees value the most are: career growth, social connection, progressive culture, entrepreneurism, wealth, prestige, and altruism.
They also found that while Gen Y and Gen Z both value career growth and wealth as two company qualities, their third choice differed.
For Gen Y, progressive culture is the third most important value, and for Gen Z, it is social connection.
According to WOBB, progressive culture refers to companies which incorporate practices like flexible and remote working, casual wear, and modern workspaces.
Social connection refers to companies that encourage healthy bonds and relationships between colleagues within a company, with employees often referring to each other as friends or ‘family’.
But while sharing that you have these qualities at your company can work in your favour when recruiting, it goes without saying that you should be truthful about it.
4. Offer These Benefits
Benefits can’t harm your company image, so if you have them, talk about them!
The top 3 benefits that employees hope to have in their company are, firstly, medical coverage, then flexible working hours, and insurance.
The other benefits in descending order of ranking are: high amount of annual leave, casual attire, remote working, free meals, and a stocked pantry.
WOBB noted that flexible working hours are one of the benefits that companies should incorporate due to its high demand from employees.
For my situation, I enjoy flexible working hours because it allows me to avoid the horrible traffic during morning and evening rush hours, therefore keeping me in an overall better mood for the day.
I’ve definitely noticed a significant change in my work routine thanks to this benefit, so I understand its high demand amongst employees.
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Another piece of advice that WOBB shared for companies was to act fast.
I think I speak for all job seekers when I say we hate being kept waiting for a response from the company we applied to.
Likewise, 75% of job seekers will only wait within 2 weeks for a response to their applications before moving on. The other 25% hold on a little longer, for about 4 weeks.
WOBB’s advice for all companies is to shorten feedback loops by cutting out unnecessary procedures in the hiring process. Ideally, respond to job seekers within a week.
If you’re also aware that your company’s feedback loop takes time, you should be upfront about it at the end of the interview so that job seekers don’t just assume that they’ve been rejected if they haven’t heard back from you after 2 weeks.
While the rejection may hurt, not knowing that you’ve been rejected is an overall worse feeling, in my opinion.
Bottom Line: Based on my experience with job seeking, I would definitely say that this information is accurate, and generally applicable regardless of the situation (during and outside of the COVID-19 pandemic). While we talents are doing our best to find a job, companies should also put in the effort to make the process as easy as possible too so both parties can have a win-win situation.
- You can read more about other Malaysian startups here.
Featured Image Credit: WOBB
