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KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 29 (Bernama) — Local companies are urged to implement the flexible working arrangement (FWA) as a business strategy.
Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) executive director, Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan, said the FWA was mainly to ensure an organisation did not lose high-potential employees, who might be forced out for various reasons.
“The policy, which has been widely practised by multinational companies worldwide, is still not well-received here.
“Only about 30 per cent, mostly government-linked-companies, are currently implementing the system compared with 80 per cent of companies internationally.
“The employee attrition rate in Malaysia is high, with at an average of 24 per cent a year,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a FWA workshop organised by MEF and Talent Corp Malaysia Bhd here, Thursday.
Shamsuddin said in the US, if an employee decided to quit, the has to bear the cost of up to US$30,000 for the recruitment and training of new staff.
“On the hypothesis that a local company needs to cover even half the amount, they can actually save on the amount if it undertakes changes and the employee stays,” he said.
Shamsuddin said positive impacts of FWA included increasing employees’ engagement and commitment, reduced turnover and recruitment cost, reduced unscheduled absence and ensuring work continuity during emergency or crisis.
“FWA allows flexibility to choose and adjust daily working hours, compressed work week, project-based work, shift-swapping and telecommuting,” he said.
TalentCorp chief executive officer, Johan Mahmood Merican, said it was time for organisations to change the culture where employees were required to be in the office at all time.
“The culture is no longer suitable, especially involving Gen Y talents. The workers are supposed to be measured based on the outcome and productivity of their work,” he said.
Source: Bernama
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