THE Association for Community and Dialogue (ACID) is concern about the warning by the Malaysian Employers’ Federation (MEF) that the country will see 2 million retrenchments after Hari Raya.
It is unfortunate that the industrial leaders in this country keep on painting a gloomy picture of the economy, rather than coming up with solutions that would ensure the nation rises to the occasion.
While it is understandable economic times are not encouraging it would be good for corporate Malaysia to come out shining instead of speaking about doomsday.
Below are the approaches a few other countries have tried that corporate leaders could be apply to bring light to the situation:
Employee engagement
It is vital that employee engagement is used as a tool of social solidarity at the workplace. It is through this platform that ideas could emerge on how to work together through the Covid-19 crisis.
There could be new meaningful roles created for employees in this context. Heads of department could co-create new products and systems with their workforce that could help organisations to survive in the new normal.
For example, Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages has launched a virtual employee engagement programme that seeks to involve employees and their families online for their physical, and mental wellness.
The company is also conducting virtual town halls at all levels of the workforce to keep everyone updated of the latest and seek their inputs on the best course of action, at a given time.
Welfare of employees
Many organisations today, especially the small and medium enterprises in Malaysia, do not have enduring philosophical foundation in dealing with their human capital.
Are workers merely utilised during good times? Organisations have gone beyond their profit mentality by providing financial and psychological support for their workers in these trying times, instead of merely depending on the government for aid.
This is due to the handsome profits they made during the good times which they want to share with their workers.
For example, the Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate Reliance Industries issued a statement where it said that all employees who are earning below 30,000 rupees a month would be paid twice a month to protect their cash flow and mitigate any overwhelming financial burden.
In order to maintain the mental wellbeing of the employees due to Covid-19, ITC Hotels is maintaining a personal connection with the employees.
Each HR Manager calls a minimum of 10 employees daily to enquire about their health and safety and that of their family members.
More than 1,200 employees have been reached at their homes and extended necessary support.
Training and development
In this moment of uncertainty, it is vital that training and development is given critical consideration.
It about building resilience at the present to face the future. For example, McDonalds India has adapted many of its classroom training modules digitally, and introduced e-learning modules, quizzes, masterclasses by managers and many more creative learning sessions, which employees can access on their phone while in lock down at home.
This initiative by the company is aimed to make sure that the team continues to learn and grow even when they are staying home.
Therefore, it is time the MEF leaders advise its members that it is not just about retrenching their staff and depending more on government aid but the importance of doing the right thing in the moment of crisis by providing the right encouragement and vision to move an organisation forward.
Employee engagement, employee welfare, and training and development should be areas of focus. Hopefully, government should help industries to retain their employees, but it has to work both ways.
It is time the MEF rises from its doomsday prophecy. – May 22, 2020.
* Ronald Benjamin is secretary for the Association for Community and Dialogue.
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