CONSIDERING the expectancy of the “new normal” has a more permanent status, it has become more imperative for businesses to relook and pivot their processes to remain operational and profitable. Upskilling and reskilling can no longer be casually side-lined by organisations any longer. They have become integral to ensuring the relevance of a business in a post-pandemic world.
With the aim of paving the way to digitisation for Malaysian SMEs, the Malaysian Digital Economic Corporation (MDEC) has launched the “100 Go Digital” Initiative. This effort includes the “SME Unplugged: 100 Go Digital Series”. A collaboration between MDEC and Wordlabs Business Network’s (WBN), the webinar comprises six events which unfold over the course of six weeks. In the fifth event of the series, the “proven holistic approaches that SMEs could adopt for sustainable talent management during the crisis and beyond” was discussed.
“Continuously and effective learning is imperative for the upskilling and reskilling of our talents, and ensuring relevancy in our workforce. Wordlabs is no stranger to this, we have embraced eLearning and developed our very own eLearning platform to see that eLearning goals are being attained, for the benefit of staff and the company,” Sritharan Vellasamy said during his opening remark.
In the first session, Vu Tran, Consultant of Wordlabs eLearning, explained that education was one such approach. In such unprecedented times, business owners should consider learning as a fundamental aspect of futureproofing their organisations.
“Learning is the key driver on how we change the world. Learning will drive retention and how we engage our workforce. It is the human capital that will transform businesses as retention and engagement will power productivity and revenue. Learning is often seen as a cost centre in a business, but we need to change to see learning as a profit centre.
With the rise of technology how we consume content has changed, e.g. traditional cable television has given way to Netflix and printed books are being replaced by kindle, etc. All these platforms offer a choice on demand. Similarly, eLearning has enabled remarkable changes in how educational materials are accessed, consumed, discussed and shared,” Vu explained.
Regarding SMEs and their upskilling journey, Vu had this to say, “Online training is perfectly suited for SMEs as it is a more efficient and cheaper way of training. Learning should play some component of your survival. Engage with someone who knows how to do it, do not re-invent the wheel. As important as learning is, make sure you do it the right way, running your business is still your main role.”
The theme of learning was continued in the panel discussion in the second session. During this session, the panellists discussed what talent management should look like during and post Covid-19. Sitting on the panellist board this week were, Sam Haggag, Country Manager for Manpower; Dr Sumitra Nair, VP for Digital Talent Development in MDEC; and Professor Pervaiz K Ahmed, from the Head-School of Business at Monash University Malaysia. Sritharan Vellasamy, CEO of Wordlabs Global moderated the session.
When considering what measures SMEs might need to adopt in talent management, Dr Sumitra stated the following, “SMEs will need to rethink what the workforce will look like going forward. Are SMEs’ existing workforces and processes ready to embrace the digital wave that we are facing? Even as you move up the value chain, you need to consider digital tools. SMEs have many other conflicting priorities, but digital adoption and upskilling is a must. Organisations like MDEC will help SMEs to sift through the myriad of resources available to find what is best for each business.
Having the right company culture is key to driving productivity. Is your current work culture agile and adaptable to changes, especially in this current world? Is your company able to accommodate flexible working hours and achieving KPIs. These are all vital factor in maintaining a healthy workforce.”
In reply to this query, Professor Pervaiz offered the following insights, “People are one of the most important assets in a business. Companies having happy, satisfied, and engaged employees is an important asset. It is not enough to just have good customer service. We need to ask ourselves how are our employees doing, what is their current state of mind? High-performance teams with engaged employees have shown a 20% increase in productivity and revenue – this is known as the happiness dividend.”
Haggag’s answer revolved around the stance business owners might need to adopt.
“One of the key themes is that we live in an age where the type of leader now is quite different from any type of leader we have seen before. Leaders must navigate unprecedented measures, unpredictable economic climates, stress, emotional upheaval, etc. Leaders also need to be able to drive human interaction in the digital world. You are forced to survive by making very tough decisions. How do you balance a humanitarian perspective while balancing it with a hard-nosed approach?”
He added that employers will need to take a “fresh eyes view” of their organisations and shape it for business post Covid-19. They need to consider employee roles might change, i.e. those in back-office roles might emerge to have more upfront roles because of their specific skillsets.
When asked what was one of the best ways SMEs could approach talent management in this era, Professor Pervaiz stressed that empathy and care is essential to retain and strengthen one’s workforce currently, “Communicate - anxieties come through when people do not understand what is happening in their environment. Give your employees concise and succinct facts. Make space for conversations, people are emotional beings. When it comes to managing people, we have to be aware that EQ trumps IQ. Tonality and empathy are important.”
In the closing session, the SME Unplugged Clinic, Effon Khoo, Founder of Kakitangan.com, shared on how adopting automated processes would help SMEs to prioritise employee engagement. In his presentation, he illustrated that eight out of ten companies deemed payroll as the most important aspect of human resources. Leave application processes came in second. With this ideology, most companies would focus their resources and efforts onto employing payroll officers, bookkeepers, etc. However, he said those processes and expenses could be streamlined if automated processes were utilised for those operations.
According to Khoo, company culture is a key factor to retain talent. Employees will not only be more likely to remain in a company, but also have higher performance rates if they feel they have a purpose to invest in and work towards. Creating a community within the company also creates internal marketing and branding for the company. This is why eminent brands like Google focuses so much on advertising the working environment in the company and their culture - which reflects well on their brand.
Other things that SMEs should do to ensure talent management include having strong performance review markers in place for their employees; provide upskilling opportunities for their employees’ growth; create SOPs and regularly review and update them. All these things will help to build a strong brand that your employees will voluntarily carry.
Stay tuned for the grand finale of the series happening on the 02 June 2020. To wrap it up, we will return to the drawing board to plan, mitigate risks and devise a business continuity plan to rise up strong post Covid-19.
To know more about how MDEC can help your micro or SME businesses – register at this online link: bit.ly/SMEquickwins
About MDEC
Established in 1996, MDEC was the Government’s response to the then new concept of “Digital Economy”. Today, the global Digital Economy is estimated to be worth US$3 trillion, and MDEC continues its role to organise and lead Malaysia’s Digital Economy forward. For more info: https://mdec.my/
About Wordlabs Business Network
WBN assists business organisations to adapt and grow in an increasingly uncertain and volatile world. The outfit looks into the subjects of globalisation and digital transformation through content development across multiple media platforms and events. Wordlabs also offers eLearning platform to its audience. For more info: wordlabs.com.my
SME Unplugged: 100 Go Digital Series
Is an initiative by MDEC & Wordlabs Business Network focusing on essential discussions for SMEs on ways to evolve and rebound during and post crisis. This actionable webinar series will be held every week starting from April 28 across six weeks.
To join these virtual events just log on to: wordlabs.com.my/biz-network/wbn-webinar-series/
