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Employee benefits are crucial for companies as they help to attract and retain employees. In Malaysia, there are a number of common employee benefits which range from medical and dental coverage to retirement savings plans. While all of these benefits are important, some are more popular than others.
Continue reading to find out what are the types of benefits that Malaysian employees prioritise more than others.
What are employee benefits?
Employee benefits are compensations or rewards that reimburse your employees on top of their base salary. Some benefits are made mandatory by the Employment Act 1955, such as annual leave, sick days, working hours, etc.
Any other benefits are considered optional such as insurance, retirement plan options, training, and many more. This area is where companies utilise their creativity to develop attractive benefits to win the talent war.
But why would companies in Malaysia use nearly one-third (30.67%) of their total yearly expenses on benefits?
Why are employee benefits crucial?
Because Malaysian employees are unhappy in general.
A survey by Hays Malaysia found that 46% of employees in Malaysia were dissatisfied with their current compensation packages.
As a result, 52% of Malaysian employees are actively seeking a new job.
Conversely, it's not 'salary' that retains the employees.
What actually keeps them in your company are:
- Work-life balance (41%)
- Salary or benefits package (38%)
- Work location (37%)
- Management style and company culture (36%)
- Training and development opportunities (26%)
What are the most common benefits for employees in Malaysia?
Most companies in Malaysia are becoming more aware of the employees' needs. They start to understand that thoughtful benefits can drive employee retention and engagement. This is why more companies are revamping their benefits packages.
Besides the mandatory benefits, they are also offering a lot more optional benefits, such as:
- Insurance (medical, life, dental, or optical)
- Parking allowance
- Internet or mobile allowance
- Personal or professional training
- Employment injury coverage (SOCSO)
- Additional paid leave
- Additional paternity leave
- Remote working
- Flexible work hours
- Paid or subsidised gym membership
Read our 2022 Employee Benefits Trend Report to find out how much employers spend on benefits.
What benefits attract and retain employees the most in Malaysia?
It's worth finding out what employee benefits the top 3 winners of the Most Attractive Employer of 2021 offer.
Randstad reported that the top 5 reasons why Shell, Nestle, and Intel won the award are:
- Financially healthy
- Good reputation
- Attractive salary & benefits
- Job security
- Career progression
This shows that attractive benefits are one of the top priorities of employees. The question is, what those benefits are.
What benefits Shell, Nestle, and Intel have in common
Health and Wellness:
- Medical insurance
- Dental allowance
- Vision allowance
- Life insurance
- Disability insurance
- Mental healthcare
- Gym membership
- Sports facilities
Financial and Retirement:
- Car allowance
- Housing allowance
- Pension plan
- Retirement plan
- Performance bonus
- Company stock options
Family & Parenting:
- Mother's room
- Maternity and paternity leave
- Extended maternity leave
- Compassionate leave
Vacation & Time off:
- Sabbatical leave
- Paid leave
- Sick leave
- Volunteer time off
- Hospitalisation leave
Perks and Discounts:
- Employee discount
- Flexible work hours
- Part-time work
- Remote work
- Company social events
- Casual dress code
Unique benefits that make them stand out
Shell:
- Career break
- Working beyond retirement age
- Childcare support subsidy
- Half pay leave
- Leave bank
- Unpaid leave up to 3 months
- Mobile phone discount
Nestle:
- Company car
- Freeflow of foods and drinks (including ice creams!)
- 13th month salary
- Infant feeding scheme
Intel:
- Prepaid legal
- Severance pay
- Profit sharing
- Additional employer EPF
- Wellness coaching
- Free health checks
- Maternity expenses subsidy
- Travel discounts
- Examination leave
- Convocation leave
- Marriage leave
- Tertiary education subsidy (employee's children)
Conclusion
Shell, Nestle, and Intel are huge companies with big budgets. However, that doesn't mean other companies can't have attractive benefits.
You don't have to strain your budget to get a long list of benefits.
It is more about listening to your employees' needs and finding out what benefits they need most.
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