Companies Should Balance Between Empathy and Business Amid Uncertainties

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 27 (Bernama) -- Companies should think and plan ahead to strike a balance between empathy and business operations moving forward amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Mercer acting chief executive officer for Malaysia Godelieve van Dooren said even though some companies might need measures to manage current cost during these uncertain times, businesses should not be short-sighted as they will need employees when the business starts to pick up again. “Companies need to balance between short term and long term. Yes, you need to preserve cash now, but do it in a smart way so that you can win in the longer term. Of course, businesses need to sustain, but when we make the decision, we should make it in emphatic manners. “Empathy doesn’t always mean to be nice, but it means placing yourself in the shoes of your employees, listening to what they have to say and from there, design the right programme so that we can get through this together,” she said in a virtual media briefing on Malaysia’s latest salary and benefits data and trend Tuesday. She said it is critical to balance economic decision and empathy with a longer-term outlook towards what is the next right thing for the company to do to succeed and build a better and brighter future moving forward. Meanwhile, Mercer’s latest survey, conducted in July and August this year, revealed that companies forecast average 4.5 per cent overall increase in salaries for 2021, with 14 per cent of companies forecasting a salary freeze. “The survey also found that salaries in Malaysia increased by an average of 4.7 per cent in 2020, despite the challenges triggered by the pandemic. However, close to two in 10 companies have reported implementing a salary freeze,” it said. Commenting on the survey, Godelieve said the economy is expected to stage a rebound in the range of 5.5 to 8.0 per cent in 2021, and businesses may be cautiously optimistic, taking a “wait-and-see” approach on their compensation strategy, depending on the course of the pandemic. “This is likely welcome news for employees as slowing inflation will also give real-wage increases a boost. “On the other hand, due to this uncertainty, companies may decide to delay the increase of salaries or lower the budget even further -- depending on the industry segment of the company. After all, affordability remains a key criterion for deciding salary budgets,” she said. With the cautious business outlook, she said recruitment efforts are expected to slow down in the year ahead, based on Mercer’s pulse survey, with 84 per cent of companies in Malaysia indicated that they have imposed a hiring freeze in 2020 and 81.4 per cent stating that the hiring freeze will remain until business stabilises. The survey has also seen a shift to remote working arrangements among Malaysian companies. It said 62.2 per cent of the organisations have implemented remote working arrangements, and 31.7 per cent have put in place flexible working arrangements in response to COVID-19. Godelieve said companies have seen some success with remote working, with close to 50 per cent stating that it has not impacted the level of productivity. “We expect to see more employers embrace flexible working arrangements post-pandemic, which may give companies an opportunity to consider how they compensate employees and review their total rewards packages. “Policies to cover commuting costs or other voluntary benefits such as parking allowances that may have been necessary before the transition might prove unnecessary to a remote workforce. Instead, companies could consider supporting work from home allowances to provide a good work experience at home as well,” she added. -- BERNAMA