The Horstman Laws of Management

I would like to share with you the Horstman's Laws of Management by a famous management consultant called Mark Horstman, who is a co-founder of Manager Tools.

The observations and aphorisms that comprise the Horstman’s Laws below represent 30 years of professional development leavened with a lifetime of leadership experiences.

Law #1: It’s All About People
This is actually a hard-nosed, scientific and financial reality. Any hour you spend on people is a better investment than an hour spent on systems, processes, or policies. Great people can overcome average systems; average people won’t live up to great systems.

Action: Spend time with your folks every week. Learn their strengths and weaknesses. Learn their projects. Learn their children’s names.

Law #2: More Communication is Better
No matter what the situation: work or home, professional or personal, boss or subordinate, it is always more communication that solves the problem or clinches the deal. And think about this: communication is what the listener does.

Action: Pick up the phone. Provide an update. Admit you’re behind. Over communicate, and you’re halfway there.

Law #3: You’re Not that Smart; They’re Not that Dumb
You can’t fool people. Ever. The fact is, people know when you mislead them. Yes, they might go along with you, but they know that it doesn’t feel right. That you don’t feel right. After all, didn’t you used to be “them?”

Action: Tell the whole truth. Don’t leave anything out. When in doubt, tell everyone. Use candor as advantage, rather than seeing it as weakness.

Law #4: Control is an Illusion
There is not a single person whom you think you “control” who would agree with you. If you really think you’re so good as to control another, then who in your organization thinks that way about you? Stop trying to control. You’re wasting your time. Build relationships that allow you to influence.

Action: Build relationships based on trust. Say, “I trust you.” Let your team choose their path at times, even when you disagree.

Law #5: The River is Wide, the Currents are Messy, but all the Water Ends up in the Ocean
Watch water flow down river sometime. It doesn’t march in nice straight lines. It meanders. It’s messy. Scientists say 20% of it is actually going up river. Your organization is organic – it’s made up of people – just like a river. Your projects and timelines are going to be messy and defy control. Stop fighting it.

Action: Don’t worry about or punish every missed deadline – wait for a pattern. Think about a chinese finger puzzle. Sometimes a light touch is the way out. Let go–flow–to get ahead.

Law #6: There are No Secrets
If you think you can keep something quiet in your organization, you’re kidding yourself. What everybody is talking about is what’s not being said. Everybody knows already. The one associate or friend that you felt you could tell has probably told someone else whom they trusted... and so on. If you try to keep secrets, others lose respect for you because you show you don’t trust them.

Action: Tell everybody everything. Forward every e-mail you get to all of your team...automatically. Don’t go off the record.

Law #7: How You Feel is Your Fault
If you find yourself saying, “that guy/situation/boss makes me mad,” you’re wrong. They did something, and then you decided how to respond. Think about the word responsibility. (Response-ability) You’re able to choose your response.

Action: Choose the right response. Choose not to get angry. Choose to understand why they behave the way they do.Your response will be more powerful.

Law #8: The “Other” Way Often Works Just Fine
There’s someone else out there who has succeeded to the same level you have with exactly the opposite intuitions you have. (They wonder how you got where you are too.) Your idea that your way is the right way is routinely controverted. You just think it’s right because it’s yours.

Action: Try the opposite every once in a while. After your first thought, wait for a second–different–one.

What are your laws and lessons? What have you learned? Your successes have no doubt catalyzed your knowledge into wisdom. Are you sharing your wisdom with your associates? Start now! Because it’s all about people...and more communication is better.

Pharmaceutical companies continue to invest in Malaysia

While there are some recent restructuring and/or downsizing news from electrical and electronic sector such as Intel Penang, Panasonic Melaka, etc., there are also good news from global pharmaceutical players to expand their investment in Malaysia.

The German-based B Braun which runs its Malaysian operations in Bayan Lepas, Penang has recently invested more than RM300 million to acquire a new plot of land to strengthen its presence with new facilities.

On the other hand, there is also news about US-based St. Jude Medical has confirmed its plan to invest in Malaysia and has already launched a $30 million site in Penang to set up Asia’s first pacemaker manufacturing facility.

Beside that, US-based Trustgen LLP and India-based Malladi Drugs & Pharmaceutical Ltd have also in October 2008 announced their decision to invest a combined $600 million investment in Malaysia to set up manufacturing facilities and their respective regional and global hubs.

All these are showing positive signs that the pharmaceutical industry in Malaysia will continue to grow despite the current worldwide economic downturn.

Financial Times Global MBA Rankings 2009

The London based Financial Times has just released their Global MBA School Ranking for 2009, naming University of Pennsylvania: Wharton (USA) and London Business School (UK) as the joint no. 1 business school for MBA programs.

The ranking is based on factors including the average alumni salary, their salary increment from before getting the MBA to today as a percentage of the pre-MBA salary, value for money of the MBA course, career progress, fulfillment of aims of doing the MBA, placement and employment success after graduation, alumni recommendation, female students, international students, doctoral degree availability, academic research publication, etc.

The top 10 rankings for 2009 are as follow:

• University of Pennsylvania: Wharton (USA)
• London Business School (UK)
• Harvard Business School (USA)
• Columbia Business School (USA)
• Insead (France / Singapore)
• Stanford University GSB (USA)
• IE Business School (Spain)
• CEIBS (China)
• MIT: Sloan (USA)
• New York University: Stern (USA)

Click here to see the top 100 business schools listed in the Financial Times Global MBA Rankings 2009 and their scores in each of the ranking factors.

JobsDB Compensation and Benefit Survey Report 2009

JobsDB has just released a 67 pages Compensation and Benefit Survey Report 2009. Opinion Research Corporation is the research consultant for this survey.

This survey is conducted to collate information on the pay trend of both full-time salaried employees working in different business sectors in Malaysia. Information on different types of benefits was also collected to complement the analysis.

The survey covered 107 companies from 36 business sectors. Only full-time salaried employees working in Malaysia were surveyed. Expatriates, part-time and temporary employees were excluded. Among the 107 companies surveyed, 58% of the companies employ less than 50 staff; 14% employed between 50-100 staff; 15% employed between 101-200 staff; 8% employed 201-500 staff and 5% employed more than 500 staff. The information gathered is recent to December 2008.

The salary range of various job functions in 2008 and 2009, and their increment in 2009, are detailed out in the report.

Here are some of the findings in the report:

• In 2009, 38.9% of the employees’ salaries are expected to be freeze. 54.8% of them will have an increase between 0.6% and 7%, whereas 6.3% will have an increase of more than 7.0%.
• The overall average amount of performance bonus for senior management in 2008 was 1.4 months (of the basic monthly salaries), for middle management was 1.0 months, for executives is 0.8 months, and for non-executive is 0.6 months.
• By 2009, 76% of the employees in the surveyed companies are expected to enjoy a five-day working week. Among the surveyed, 67% have already implemented a five-day working week policy in or before 2008. For those not implementing in 2008, 9% expect to implement next year.

Click here to download the JobsDB Compensation and Benefit Survey Report 2009.

You might probably also be interested to read on:

• Result of Robert Walters Global Salary Survey 2008
• Result of ZDNet Asia IT Salary Benchmark Survey 2008
• Malaysia Salary Guide 2008/09 from Kelly Services
• Malaysia Employment Outlook & Salary Guide 2009/2010 from Kelly Services 

Intel decided to close 2 plants in Penang

Intel has been one of the major foreign investors and employers in Penang for thirty over years, providing job for about 6000 workers in the island. The company is known as one of the good employers with great career prospects that most electronic and/or electrical engineers wanting to work for.

However, the current global recession is now putting a blow to about 2000 affected workers in Intel Penang, after they decided to shut down 2 assembly test facilities (PG6 and PG7) in the island as part of their global restructuring plan.

No doubt their move will affect the Malaysian economy, as generally Intel's employees are having relatively higher income, which have higher purchase power that contributes to the economy especially the property and retail sectors in Penang island itself.

It is hoped that their remaining 6 plants in Penang, as well as their plants in Kedah Kulim Hi-Tech Park will continue to operate and not be affected.

It is also hoped that the Penang state government currently ruled by Pakatan Rakyat and leads by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng can come out with some good measures in retaining foreign investors in Penang.

I feel really sorry to hear about this, and feel more worry about the global economic situation.

What management can do to gain staff loyalty

Staff loyalty is always important to the management, as productivity could be highly affected by staff turnover.

Apart from financial rewards, do you know what the staff are looking for in order to work happily and remain loyal to the organization? Here are some of my experience and observation to share with you.

1. Empowerment

Empowerment is a form of trust to the staff. Staff, especially of higher level, will be happy to have more control over their work and time schedule. A good staff will just need the manager to tell them what he/she want them to do, the expected result, and the deadline. The rest should be managed by themselves.

Only if the manager does not have enough trust on the staff, then he/she need to tell the staff how to do, closely check on the work progress, and try to monitor the time with tools such as time clock, timesheet, etc. Well, it is true that not every staff can work with minimal supervision, but for those quality staff that can really work with minimal supervision, you can actually gain their loyalty with empowerment.

Do you agree that employee will not be happy with those time clock, timesheet, etc. unless related to financial rewards, such as for calculation of overtime wages? In fact, most people will work more hours if they can have some control over when they actually have to work. Check this out with those companies that introduced flexi-hour scheme.

Management should work towards the direction to develop the staff such that they can be trusted and empowered. If this can be achieved, the management can even save operational cost by introducing telecommuting, allowing staff to work at home.

2. Relationship

It is not deniable that we have people that we like to work with, and we also have people that we dislike to work with.

When forming a project team, by putting people that are "compatible" to each other, you are actually promoting a good teamwork which can optimize the productivity as well as gaining their loyalty.

Management should work towards the direction to form teams with good relationship, and resolve any relationship issue once detected. You will have strong bonding teams working loyally for you then.

3. Task assignment

Every staff have their talent in something, or interest in something. If you put the right staff in the right place, assigning them with task that they are keen on, you can not only expect to get good result, but also boost up the staff loyalty.

Management should work towards the direction to develop the staff to love their job. If you tend to put the wrong staff in the wrong place, probably you will have a higher turnover rate.

4. Training and event

Staff will be always grateful if you send them for training and event that they are interested of. In addition, you can also earn gratitude from your staff by providing them opportunity to conduct training or to give talk in event, for them to share their talented knowledge to others.

5. Convenience

Let the staff have a peace of mind about their car parking place at work, their work place, tools and resources they need for work, food and refreshment, etc.

For outstation staff or expatriates, the management should also take good care of their accomodation, transport, Internet access, etc.

Some companies even provide nursery service, sport facilities, etc. to their staff.

It is not difficult to observe that convenience plays an important role in retaining staff loyalty and attracting new staff.

Do you agree with me on the above 5 points?

The 4 pillars of managerial competencies

If you are playing a management role in your organization, or plan to be in a managerial position, it is important for you to learn about the 4 Pillars of Managerial Competencies.

Developed by the Information Technology Unit (ITU) at George Mason University, this 4 Pillars of Managerial Competencies can be use as a framework for managers' development program, as well as an appraisal tools to check on the competency of the managers.

The 4 pillars don't stand independent of each other, but form a unified whole. They are:

• Knowing the Organization
• Leading and Managing People
• Managing Resources
• Communicating Effectively

Knowing the Organization involves developing knowledge and understanding of current policies and operating procedures to ensure that unit activities are effective and aligned with the larger goals of the organization. This pillar includes competencies related to policies, procedures, vision, mission, goals, strategic plan, etc.

Leading and Managing People entails developing skill in providing feedback and direction for staff, assuring the satisfaction of customers, and creating a collaborative environment that encourages initiative and problem-solving. Within this pillar are skills related to performance evaluation, staff development, team building, collaboration, customer relations, etc.

Managing Resources concerns understanding the tools and processes for planning to meet specific goals and place efforts in the larger context of strategic initiatives. This pillar includes skills in planning, project & budget management, information management, change management, organizational performance assessment, etc.

Communicating Effectively includes building skills to foster smooth and satisfying interactions among staff and with customers. The competencies include managing meetings, listening, constructive feedback, effective presentation, written communication, etc.

To assist managers in setting priorities for skill development, the skills within each Pillar are divided into 2 levels. Level-1 skills require knowledge and understanding of basic concepts and procedures, while Level-2 skills require more experience, analytical thinking, or evaluation. All told, the Four Pillars include a total of 109 skills important to managers.

Click here to learn more about the 4 Pillars of Managerial Competencies.

Auspicious dates and times to start business in new lunar year 2009

Here is the list of auspicious dates and times to reopen business (for businessmen) or start working (for employees) in the new lunar year right after Chinese New Year 2009, which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu.



Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

May a good starting brings you and me prosperity throughout the whole year.

Related articles:

• Auspicious dates for wedding/marriage in 2009
• Auspicious dates for signing contract, register for marriage, etc. in 2009
• Auspicious dates for moving to new house/office in 2009

Job hunters advices about ethics for job seekers

As a manager in my present and past companies, I had interviewed with numerous candidates for my department's job openings. And when I changed job in the past, I was also being interviewed by others. I have to agree that all interviewers are very concern about the integrity of the candidates.

Most job candidates would have encountered some or all of the following 4 scenarios. Did you react ethically and up to the interviewers' expectation? Perhaps you could learn something from the advices of the job hunter, and act smartly during your future interview sessions when similar scenarios occur again.

Scenario #1:

You had an interview arranged by a Recruitment Consultant. On the day of interview, you were not feeling well. What do you do?

(a) Call the employer to explain the situation and request the interview to be arranged on another day

(b) Did not show up for interview

(c) Send an email to the Recruitment Consultant to cancel the appointment

Allyhunt's advice: Keeping posted is important as this is somehow lost in today’s culture. So, (a) is the answer. In situation such as this, an email is not sufficient. The Consultant may not check the email at all. Even an SMS falls short. It is only courteous to make the call personally. And don’t get your boyfriend and girlfriend to call on your behalf too unless you are too sick to even get yourself a drink.

My comment: I had encountered candidates of (a), (b) and (c), and sad to say that majority of them fall under (b) or (c). As of myself, if I can't make it, I'll call the Recruitment Consultant asking for a rearrangement. I didn't call the employer directly because I believe I need to keep the Recruitment Consultant well informed about any changes to the scheduled interview, and I trust the Recruitment Consultant can make a wise arrangement for me.

Scenario #2:

You attended two interviews with A and B companies and both companies have expressed interest in hiring you. Company A came back to you first and offered you the job and you accepted Company A’s offer. Before you sign the contract, Company B makes you an offer, with a RM200 more in salary. What do you do?

(a) Don’t sign the contract and accept Company B’s offer.

(b) Call Company A and tell them you are no longer interested. Reason given was another company has offered you a RM200 more in salary.

(c) Reject Company B offer and tell them that you had already accepted another offer.

Allyhunt's advice: The answer is (c). KEEP YOUR WORD! To accept a position and then renege on it for a better offer is poor form. Believe me, it’s a small world and you would not want to be labeled as a candidate that can be bought over with money easily later in your career. What do you do in such situation? Best advice: accept offers only after careful consideration. Think critically rather than grabbing the first offer out of fear or desperation. It is unethical to continue to interview after accepting an offer and/or to renege on an accepted position. Company B will respect you for that. Who knows? The same company may have a senior position in the future and you may be applying for the job then. You probably stand a better chance for the ethics you hold firmly at the beginning of your career.

My comment: Yes, I did encountered last minute rejection from candidates who had accepted an offer, or worse still a no show-up when he/she suppose to commence to work. And frankly speaking, I did blacklisted those candidates with the HR, and for those no show-up candidates, I did file an official complaint and request for explanation from the head hunter (if the recruitment was done with this channel) or blacklist the candidate in the job searching website (if the recruitment was done with this channel, and the website has such function to blacklist candidates with poor ethics). As of myself, I did experience such moment, and I rejected Company B which offered RM1200 more than Company A. I also rejected interview invitation from Shell IT International (which was a good place where many IT personnels are eager to work with) because they called me a few days right after I joined Company A, which had been more than a month after I sent them my application. I'm still unsure if that was the best decision to stay put with Company A, but anyhow, I was promoted to managerial position later while I was serving Company A, which end up to be not too bad.

Scenario #3:

You have been short listed for an interview at employer’s office after attended an on-campus interview. During the on-campus interview, you were very keen on the job and you managed to convince the employer accordingly. But now, the more you thought about the job, you find neither the organization nor position is for you. What shall you do?

(a) Go for the interview anyway and pretend you are still interested.

(b) Ignore the interview completely as the employer would have also short listed other candidates.

(c) Tell the recruiter that you have changed your mind and do not wish to pursue this opportunity.

Allyhunt's advice: The answer is (c). At this stage of the process, it is not unethical for you to decline the offer to meet up at the office.

My comment: My own experience in the past, I did rejected a 2nd interview session with Intel, after I found out during 1st interview that the job position is a "Green Badge", which was employed under the job hunter company and outsourced to Intel, instead of being Intel's own employee, and I was not interested nor keen with such arrangement.

Scenario #4:

During an interview, you are asked to give an example of a part-time job experience, but you never had that exact experience. What do you do?

(a) Make something up.

(b) Reinterpret the question to something you are more comfortable with and answer that question.

(c) Acknowledge that you have not had this experience, but offer the closest experience you have had.

The answer is (c). Telling your employers what you think they would like to hear or what you think will get you the job is not productive for you or the employer. If they discovered that you have been less than honest, you may be disqualified immediately.

My comment: Yes, honesty is very important. Only tell the fact to interviewer, don't make story. If you make the interviewer to have a wrong expectation on you, you will be having a very hard time if you happen to be employed, because the employer is expecting you to perform up to the standard and level as you have told them.

(Source of the above 4 scenarios and advisable answers are from Allyhunt, an executive sourcing company in Malaysia)

Post Graduate Education Fair 2009

The 11th Post Graduate Education Fair(PGEF) will be organized by AIC this coming January 2009. The event is freely open to public.

Exhibitors consist of local and international universities and colleges, and over RM500,000 worth of scholarships and study grants will be available for application.

The event details are as follow:

Date: 16-18 January 2009
Time: 10am ~ 7pm
Venue: Mid Valley Exhibition Centre (KL)

The 8th Malaysia Career & Training Fair (MCTF) 2009 will also be held at the same time and same venue together with this PGEF '09.

Click here for online registration to PGEF 2009.

JobStreet.com Malaysia Career & Training Fair 2009

The 8th Malaysia Career & Training Fair (MCTF) to be organized by JobStreet.com is coming in January 2009. This event is freely open for public. The previous MCTF 2008 had successfully attracted participation from more than 116,000 job seekers and over hundred of exhibitors.

The event details are as follow:

Date: 16-18 January 2009
Time: 10am ~ 7pm
Venue: Mid Valley Exhibition Centre (KL)

Job seekers are advised to bring along their C.V., and some of the exhibitors might conduct on the spot interview with suitable candidates during the event.

The 11th Post Graduate Education Fair (PGEF) 2009 will also be held at the same time and same venue together with this MCTF '09.

Click here for more information and online registration of MCTF '09.

Click here to see the exhibitors' list in MCTF '09.

40% of IT jobs will be related to open source by 2020

Last week, the 78 pages 2020 FLOSS Roadmap Version 2.16 has been tabled in the Open World Forum (OWF) in Paris. OWF is a forum dedicated to free/libre/open source software (FLOSS), its players and projects.

This 2020 FLOSS Roadmap report is the OWF’s main manifesto, and is designed to support discussions taking place during the different OWF seminars and forums. It is a prospective and projection to the influences that will affect FLOSS between now (2008) and 2020, with descriptions of all FLOSS-related trends as anticipated by OWF contributors over this period of time. It also highlights all sectors that will, potentially, be impacted by FLOSS, from the economy to the Information Society.

Studies have been carried out in seven key areas:

• Theme 1: Public policies: promoting sustainable development of sharedresources
• Theme 2: FLOSS: the key to future innovation and competitive differentiation?
• Theme 3: Ensuring sustainability for FLOSS developer communities and businessecosystems
• Theme 4: Technological and economic breakthroughs: challenge or opportunityfor FLOSS?
• Theme 5: IT 3.0: towards new governance for information systems?
• Theme 6: FLOSS: a lever for employment and careers
• Theme 7: FLOSS in an Open World: Innovations and best practices from Brazil

The report predicted that within the next 12 years, 40% of IT jobs will be related to open source, and open source-based cloud computing will be solving many problems in the real world.

The roadmap has outlined seven areas of change for 2020, which are:

• FLOSS will become mainstream. It will be the de facto standard for areas such as development tools, infrastructure and scientific computing, as well as being widespread in other sectors
• 40% of IT jobs will be related to FLOSS
• FLOSS will free businesses from vendor lock-in, providing a "vaccine against abusive behaviour from a commercial vendor"
• FLOSS will help reduce the global digital divide, as it is a collaborative effort that works for sustainable development of a shared resource
• Open source communities will help build business ecosystems for specific markets
  Green datacentres will lead to business models with a low ecological impact, in "the next industrial revolution"
• Cloud computing will be ubiquitous, and social networking will be the main way to communicate with businesses and government

Click here to download the comprehensive 2020 FLOSS Roadmap Version 2.16.

Lower EPF contribution from 11% to 8% for 2 years from Jan 2009

Following an announcement made by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister YAB Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak during the winding up speech for the Ministry of Finance on the 2009 Budget on Tuesday 4 November 2008, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF, a.k.a. Kumpulan Wang Simpanan Pekerja, KWSP) has now made an official statement on the execution of this decision.

The reduction of the employees’ contribution to EPF from 11 % down to 8 % will be made automatically, effective from January 2009 until December 2010 wage. The employers' 12% contribution remains the same.

This means that if you don't explicitly inform EPF to maintain your 11% contribution as before, by January 2009 onwards, your contribution will be automatically reduced to 8% for the next 2 years. If you intend to maintain your 11% contribution, or any portion other than 8%, you have to inform your employer, as well as submit the "Form KWSP 17A (AHL) - Khas" to EPF office.

As at 31 December 2007, the total membership of EPF stood at 11.69 million. A total contributions amounting to RM28.93 billion were made during year 2007. Assuming the figure does not change too much in 2009 and 2010, a 3% reduction will mean (RM28.93 billion/23% x 3% x 2 years) = RM7.55 billion to be freed up for spending in the economy, in the optimistic case that all EPF contributors opt for the rate cut and don't maintain the 11% contribution rate by submitting the "Form KWSP 17A (AHL) - Khas".

This is not a high figure to stimulate the national economy, but it does facilitate a similar effect of lowering the bank interest rate, which is happening in many other nations right now. This also hints that the Malaysian government is trying hard to avoid an interest rate cut, which would probably further weakening the forex exchange rate of Malaysian Ringgit.

As an employee, this change in contribution rate means that if your monthly salary is RM2k, you will have an additional RM60 monthly disposible income; if your monthly salary is RM5k, then your figure will be RM150; and if your monthly salary is RM10k, it will be RM300.

Should you opt for the lower contribution rate, or should you submit the "Form KWSP 17A (AHL) - Khas" and maintain your normal 11% contributions? One thing to consider is that since the economic climate is not so favourable this year, we won't expect a good dividend payout by EPF to be announced.

I would say that it is not a bad idea to reduce your EPF contributions, and spend your money wisely to make more value from it. For example, you can use it for personal development (education, books, workshops, ...), investments, insurance, etc. just to name a few. However, if you think that you are not a wise person in money spending, you might want to opt for maintaining your 11% contributions to EPF as a form of "force saving".

What do you think?

Click here to download the "Form KWSP 17A (AHL) - Khas" for individual employee.

Click here to download the "Form KWSP 17AA (AHL) Khas" for employers who wish to apply on behalf of more than two employees.

Malaysia Salary Guide 2008/09 from Kelly Services

I have been waited for this for quite a few months.

Kelly Services published their hardcopy of Malaysia Salary guide 2008/09 around June 2008, but the softcopy only made available on their website yesterday.

You might notice that the figures in this guide is comparatively lower than those published in the ZDNet Asia IT Salary Benchmark Survey 2008 and Robert Walters Global Salary Survey 2008. One probable reason I found out is that Kelly Services' Malaysia Salary guide focuses on executives with less than 5 years of working experience, hence we can't expect the figure to be too high. In the guide anyhow, a Lead Electrical Engineer with 7 years of experience gets a salary range from RM5,000 to RM15,000.

Click here to download the Malaysia Salary guide 2008/09.

You might probably also interested to read on:

• Result of Robert Walters Global Salary Survey 2008
• Result of ZDNet Asia IT Salary Benchmark Survey 2008
• JobsDB Compensation and Benefit Survey Report 2009

10 questions to assess your job satisfaction

Are you happy in your job? How satisfied are you with your career? Do you agree that employees are happiest and most satisfied when they consider themselves fully engaged in their roles in the company?

Well, what could be making you to have such a good feeling? The 10 questions below can help you to perform a career audit and assess your job satisfaction. Ask yourself:

• Is the company capitalizing on my special talents?
• Does my supervisor have my best interests at heart?
• In the past six months, has my supervisor honestly evaluated my performance?
• Am I receiving challenging assignments at work to help me grow professionally?
• Do I have a mentor guiding me as I move up through the organization?
• Do I have friends at work in whom I can confide?
• Is there a career track to get me where I want to be in five years?
• Does my work give me a sense of higher purpose?
• Are my coworkers trustworthy and committed to excellence?
• Am I receiving the training I need to do my job well?

If you are an employee, the assessment above will help you in clarifying your career prospect and worthiness; If you are an employer or a human resource personnel, the assessment above can give you some clue in improving employee's relationship and hopefully reduce turnover rate; If you are a job seeker, don't be shy off to find out the answers from your potential employer.

If most of your answers to the above questions are "no" but you are still staying with your company, perhaps you are one of those not-so-happy employees who hang around mainly because of the 11th point: remuneration.

(Source of the above 10 questions are from Allyhunt, an executive sourcing company in Malaysia)

HP to chop off 7.5% workforce after merger with EDS

There is news that HP is going to lay off 7.5% of its existing workforce, which is equivalent to more than 24k headcounts, as part of its merger plan with EDS. So the concern that I blogged about exactly 4 months ago in the article of "HP to buy over EDS for about US$13B" has come to reality.

Employees from EDS are expected to bear the brunt of the cuts, and half of the jobs cuts will be in the US, with finance, human resources and legal departments expected to be affected. This mean that the "damage" will be minimal in their Asia-Pacific offices.

Hope that Mark Hurd is making a wiser move than Carly Fiorina this time.

The Invalidity Pension Scheme of SOCSO

The Invalidity Pension Scheme of SOCSO provides a 24-hours coverage to employees against invalidity and death due to any cause not connected with employment before the age of 55 years.

"Invalidity" means a serious disease or disablement of a permanent nature that is either incurable or not likely to be cured, as a result of which an employee is unable to earn at least 1/3 of what a normally able person could earn. Heart attack, kidney failure, cancer, mental illness, chronic asthma and other similar conditions are chronic ailments or diseases that could be considered for invalidity.

The benefits provided include:

• Invalidity Pension - this is only eligible for SOCSO members who contributed for more than 24 months, subjected to additional terms and conditions.
• Invalidity Grant - this is an outright payment paid to worker or employee who does not qualify for the Invalidity Pension but has made at least 12 monthly contributions to SOCSO.
• Survivors Pension - where an employee dies while receiving Invalidity Pension irrespective of his age, or has not reached the age of 55 years and met the conditions for receiving Invalidity Pension, irrespective of the cause of death, the dependants will be paid Survivors Pension.
• Funeral Benefit - this benefit is paid to the eligible next-of-kind if an employee dies while receiving Invalidity Pension, or has not reached the age of 55 years and met the conditions for receiving Invalidity Pension.
• Rehabilitation Benefit - an employer who suffers invalidity is also entitled to receive Rehabilitation Benefit as provided under the Employment Insurance Injury Scheme.

The Employment Injury Insurance Scheme of SOCSO

The Employment Injury Insurance Scheme of SOCSO provides protection to employees who suffer from accidents arising from work.

Its coverage includes:

• Commuting accident while travelling to and from work, and while travelling to and from place for taking meals during work, and also during business journey related to work.
• Accident that happens while performing official duty.
• Occupational diseases due to hazards by the nature of work and those listed in the Fifth Schedule of the Employees' Social Security Act 1969.

The benefits provided include:

• Medical benefit - free treatment under the coverage at a SOCSO Panel Clinic or any government hospital or clinic. Reimbursement for medical expenditure incurred at a non SOCSO Panel Clinic may only be submitted for consideration.
• Temporary Disablement Benefit - employee who has been certified by a doctor to be unfit for work for not less than 4 days including the day of the accident is eligible for this benefit. This benefit will be paid for the period the employee is on medical leave.
• Permanent Disablement Benefit - employee who has been certified by a Medical Board or an Appellate Medical Board to be suffering from permanent disablement as a result of an employment injury is eligible for this benefit. The employee may continue to work while receiving this benefit.
• Constant Attendance Allowance - this allowance is paid to an employee who is suffering from permanent total disablement or 100% loss of earnings capacity, and is so severely incapacitated that he constantly requires the personal attendance of another person.
• Funeral Benefits - where an employee dies as a result of an employment injury or while receiving disablement benefit, an amount of RM1,500 will be paid to the eligible next-of-kin.
• Rehabilitation Benefit - SOCSO provides facilities for vocational and physical rehabilitation free of charge to employee who suffers from permanent disablement.
• Dependant's Benefit - Where an employee dies as a result of an employment injury, the dependants are entitled to this benefit.
• Education Benefit - this benefit comes in the form of a loan or scholarship given to dependant children of an insured employee who is in receipt of a monthly benefit, provided that the dependent children fulfil the eligibility conditions set by SOCSO.

About SOCSO a.k.a. PERKESO

Most of us as employee in Malaysia contribute to SOCSO (Social Security Organisation) a.k.a. PERKESO (Pertubuhan Keselamatan Social) every month. SOCSO contribution is deducted from our salary by our employer in a similar way to EPF a.k.a. KWSP contribution. Also similar to EPF, our employer is also required to contribute to our SOCSO account in addition to our own contribution, and the employer's portion is larger than the employee's.

In fact, under the current Employee’s Security Act, SOCSO contribution is compulsory for all Malaysian employee with monthly salary less than RM3,000. It is optional for those with starting salary above RM3,000. Under the "once in always in" principal, once we become a SOCSO member and contributed to SOCSO, we will continue to be member even though our salary increased to above RM3,000 later.

This salary ceiling of RM3,000 for SOCSO contribution was revised from the previous ceiling of RM2,000 on 10 September 2003 by the Malaysian Cabinet with amendments made to Act.

Foreign workers are not covered by SOCSO. They are protected under a separate Workmen's Compensation Act 1952 instead.

Currently, our MyKad identity number is also used as our SOCSO membership number.

So what are the benefits of being a SOCSO member?

There are 2 types of protection scheme for SOCSO members, namely the Employment Injury Insurance Scheme and the Invalidity Pension Scheme.

The Employment Injury Insurance Scheme provides protection to employees who are involved in accidents arising from out of employment, occupational diseases and also commuting accident, while the Invalidity Pension Scheme provides 24 hours coverage for workers from invalidity or dies irrespective of the cause of death.

Employees with age below 55 are covered under both the 2 schemes, and those above 55 are covered under the Employment Injury Insurance Scheme.

A SOCSO member or dependants will be entitled to the following benefits :

• Periodical payments in the case of invalidity.
• Periodical payments in the case of disablement suffered as a result of an employment injury.
• Periodical payments to the dependants of member who dies as a result of an employment injury.
• Payments for funeral benefit or expense on the death of member as a result of an employment injury.
• Periodical payments to member who is in receipt of invalidity pension or disablement benefit and is so severely incapacitated or disabled as to require the personal attendance of another person.
• Medical treatments for the attendance on member suffering from disablement.
• Periodical payments to dependants of member who dies while in receipt of invalidity pension.
  

Changing Jobs in 2008: It Pays to be Gray

ExecuNet, an interactive membership organization for effective career management, has just released their exclusive 16th Annual Executive Job Market Intelligence Report.

Innovation, agility and execution are the key watchwords for both the employee and employer. For year 2008, a growth of above 10% within the executive employment market is still expected by search firm and corporate human resource professionals, albeit at a slower pace with quite a lot of uncertainty.

Among the predicted high-growth industries for the year are:

• High Tech + Defense/Aerospace
• Healthcare
• Business Services
• Pharmaceutical/Medical/Biotech
• Energy/Utilities
  

Executives of all ages expect large increases in their pay if they change jobs this year. Overall, executive pay is expected to increase by 6.2% in 2008. But average pay increases for executives who change jobs are expected to increase by well over 10%, regardless of the executive's age or experience.



The complete report is made available to all ExecuNet members, and you can also click here to download the 2008 Executive Job Market Intelligence Summary Report.