5 Workforce Trends Malaysian Companies Need To Consider in 2022
- By Winston Thomas
- April 19, 2022
Malaysia is a fast-growing economy with a rapidly expanding digital landscape. As the country continues to digitize at an accelerated pace, businesses are looking for new ways to stay ahead of the curve and attract top talent.
Based on the Hays Asia Salary Guide 2022, here are five digital talent trends in Malaysia to watch out for in the coming year:
1. Increasing focus on digital-first customer experience
The pandemic has pushed businesses to re-evaluate their priorities, and many are now placing a greater emphasis on delivering a digital-first customer experience. This means that marketers will need to be more skilled in using online channels to engage with customers and create compelling content delivered across multiple digital touchpoints. According to Hays, roles such as Customer Experience Journey and Content Marketing specialists will be in high demand in Malaysia over the next year.
2. Shifting strategies and expectations for talent
There is a growing demand for e-commerce, SaaS, and AI expertise as businesses continue their digital transformation missions. Companies' talent strategies may also be conditioned to focus on hiring contract or remote workers instead of permanent, locally based employees due to the increase in technological platforms and tools.
3. Resurgence of roles with recovery on the horizon
As the global economy starts to recover, businesses in Malaysia will begin to invest in growth again, leading to a resurgence of roles that were put on hold during the pandemic. Candidates with solid systems know-how and exposure in digital, e-commerce, and fintech will be in high demand.
4. The need for data-driven decision making
The pandemic has accelerated the use of data and analytics to drive decision-making across all industries. The Malaysian government has also placed a strong emphasis on using data to drive its National Transformation Agenda. This means that there will be a high demand for roles within software and programming, data analytics, and RPA (Robotic Processing Automation).
Hays notes that the digitization of sectors such as retail and healthcare and advancements in GreenTech are producing new methods to interpret data and discover insights. Employers in Malaysia are on the lookout for people with data analysis or data science skills who can assist them in making sense of this information and turning it into practical insights.
5. Fintech skills in demand as the sector accelerates
The acceleration of the Fintech sector will lead to stronger demand for Product Development, Product Management Lifecycle, and UI/UX Specialist roles as digital payments and digital banks expand. Bank Negara is also expected to issue its first digital banking licenses in Q3 to Q4 of 2022, which will drive further growth in the Fintech sector.
Candidates with the relevant skills and experience, particularly cross-functional skillsets across finance and tech, will be in high demand as the Fintech sector grows.
The digital landscape in Malaysia is rapidly evolving, and businesses are looking for new ways to stay ahead of the curve. The five digital talent trends discussed above are areas that companies will be focusing on in the coming year, on top of the traditional talent needs such as soft skills and industry-specific expertise.
Image credit: iStockphoto/gahsoon
Winston Thomas
Winston Thomas is the editor-in-chief of CDOTrends. He likes to piece together the weird and wondering tech puzzle for readers and identify groundbreaking business models led by tech while waiting for the singularity.