Need Help? Preparing to Hire Your First Employee in Malaysia

If you’ve just opened your new business, you have to start thinking about hiring employees. Fortunately, the Global Talent Competitiveness Index named Malaysia the most attractive country for talent within upper-middle-income countries. Malaysia has a highly-skilled workforce that is multilingual and educated, and it offers great potential for businesses needing to hire.

Ask: Do You Really Need to Hire Someone?

Before you dedicate the resources to hiring a full-time employee, you need to determine the exact function and specific repeatable weekly tasks you need fulfilled. Figure out how much time it takes you to accomplish each task to help you calculate if you need someone full- or part-time. If you’re seeking specialized talent, such as a marketing expert or web designer, consider outsourcing or hiring a freelancer on contract.

Ask: Can You Afford It?

Your new employee’s salary isn’t the only cost you’ll need to consider. Calculate the costs of benefits, training, equipment, supplies and any recruiting costs. Those numbers might cause you to re-evaluate whether it would be better to spend that money elsewhere on your business or if the long-term investment in an employee makes the most sense.

Write a job description

Now that you’ve determined exactly what you need, you can write a compelling job description so you can attract the right talent. The ideal job description length should be between 700 and 1,100 words and should include:

• Job Title: Use the most appropriate title accepted within the industry to get the most applicants.
• Job Summary: Include a summary of the company, why someone might want to work for you, your expectations for the position, and where the job is located
• Responsibilities: List the responsibilities and day-to-day activities the new employee will be responsible for.
• Qualifications: List the skills you’re seeking, including education or training needed and prior work experience

Once you have an attractive and engaging job description, you can begin promoting the position. Ask your friends and family if they can give you referrals to candidates who might make a good fit. If you don’t receive many applicants, try posting on job boards or even paying for ads. Job posting sites popular in Malaysia include glassdoor, >indeed, LinkedIn, Jora and Monster.

How to Interview Your First Employee

Before bringing a candidate in to interview, screen them on Google, and hold a 30-minute phone interview. Prepare a list of questions that will help you determine if the candidate fits with your company’s culture, if their experience aligns with what you’re seeking, and if they have the potential to be trained. Questions such as “Why are you looking for a new job?” can help raise red flags, where as questions like, “What are your interests at the moment?” can help determine if you have chemistry with the prospect. Once you’ve found the right fit, check their references, and run any necessary background checks.

Once you’ve found the right employee, you can complete the legal aspects of hiring, set up their work space, create a detailed on-boarding and training process, and implement payroll. Apps that make the process easier include Trello to help with on-boarding and Gpayroll to establish payroll that integrates with your accounting software.