PETALING JAYA: Malaysia has to accelerate its focus on elevating human capital as we enter into 2023 to sustain the country’s growth and competitiveness in the region, said Deloitte.
Deloitte Southeast Asia consulting director Lee Yun-Han said Malaysian companies must focus on strengthening organisation resilience and efficiency, as well as reconfigure fast as businesses face tough choices to stay competitive in 2023.
“Instead of going down the traditional route of downsizing, layoffs, or voluntary separation schemes, businesses would gain in the long-term by building and investing in ecosystems and partnerships that enable their businesses to weather the storm.
“Organisations should use this opportunity to eliminate work and processes that slow down the business and disempower workers. Simply reducing headcount and keeping the same bureaucratic and hierarchical structures will not contribute to long-term growth,” Lee said.
In addition, the companies must accelerate efforts to upskill and reskill their workforce instead of cutting back on talent development efforts, he said.
Lee explained that organisations need to shift from merely “sending employees for training” to investing in strategic and impactful talent development programmes that yield higher returns on investment.
The government also needs to continue with the right incentives and champion strategic programmes that would focus investment towards building the right skills for Malaysia as a country.
“Lastly, we need to focus on building the capabilities of corporate leaders in Malaysia, to be regionally and globally competitive. Leaders at all levels need specific skills and capabilities to bring their organisation’s plans to fruition,” he said.
Lee also warned that Indonesia is taking strategic steps to address their corporate leaders’ capabilities and if Malaysia does not act now, we would likely be complaining about brain drain of our top talent to Indonesia in the very near future.
Source: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/business/2022/12/13/malaysia-must-elevate-human-capital-to-remain-competitive-says-deloitte/