Call for Malaysian companies to upgrade soft skills of employees

• Nov 14, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: Given the ongoing threat of machines replacing human jobs, Malaysian companies should upgrade the soft skills of its employees to thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4.0) that embraces digitalisation and artificial intelligence.

For employees to have a productive future, founding chief executive officer of Thriving Talents Michael Teoh said companies must put more emphasis on improving the soft skills of its employees rather than technical skills.

Teoh: If we do not embrace the soft skills in the gig economy, machines will take over human jobs.

“The soft skills that employees should possess are critical thinking, being adaptive in learning multiple technologies, building their social media networks professionally in order to tap into global expertise of talents and resources as well as maintaining a healthy mental well-being.

“If we do not embrace the soft skills in the gig economy, machines will take over human jobs, ” he told StarBiz.

Teoh pointed out that leadership qualities of companies in today’s era would be more crucial than ever as the millennial generation make up the workforce in vast numbers.

“Average leaders react to problem. Great leaders anticipate the challenges coming.

“Companies that invest in the millennials to be more adaptive, resourceful and open to partner with different technologies would be successful in this digital age, ” he added.

According to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Malaysian millennials make up 40% to 50% of the workforce currently.

Teoh, who has trained leaders and millennials from 51 of Fortune 500 companies across 41 countries, will be one of the speakers in a one-day conference “People 4.0: The Future of Work”, organised by Star Media Group on Nov 19 at Menara Ken, TTDI Kuala Lumpur.

The conference would gather up to 200 human resource professionals, corporate leaders, culture-makers and key players who have the potential to influence change in the workplace.

It would look at two key factors driving the shift towards the future of work- technology and people, with people being the fuel to the change.

There will be more than 20 speakers sharing their insights on that day, including thought leaders from CIMB, Celcom Axiata, Petronas, UEM Edgenta , Sunway Education Group, Teledirect Telecommerce, Teleport Asia, GoGet and Favser.

Among the speakers are comedian and motivational speaker Gajen Nad, partner of CnetG Asia Raj Kumar Paramanathan, director of people possibilities Ramya Balakrishnan and deputy executive editor and producer of R.AGE Ian Yee.

Raj Kumar will be sharing insights on how women leaders can drive the digital transformation.

Given that industries would be changing rapidly with automation, Yee, who will be moderating a panel about how working spaces is expected to change in the 21st century, would give the audience a better idea on making companies’ working environments more effective.

“Companies should strive to incorporate some of these technologies into their working spaces and arrangements in order to make the most out of IR4.0.

“The insights shared in this conference will be really useful for everyone. I can’t wait to hear what they have to share so I can apply some of it at R.AGE too, ” he noted.

Raj Kumar, who will be sharing insights on how women leaders can drive the digital transformation, noted that women possess communal leadership traits which give them an edge to drive the transformation.

“I will be diving into what are the leadership traits that are critical for success in digital work and opportunities for women as leaders in driving digital transformation.

“I wish to share some insights from the women leadership survey we did in collaboration with Center for Creative Leadership across Asia Pacific, ” he said.

While the participants widen their perspective on digitalisation, Gajen, who will emcee the conference, said participants can also expect a fun time with simple games and exercises.

People 4.0 Conference aims to defy traditional conferences and create conferences of the future with initiatives such as gamification and interactive polls to keep participants engaged throughout the day.

Click on the link to register bit.ly/people40 with rates starting from RM1,150.

The gamification partner is people psyence and the venue partner is Menara Ken TTDI.

Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2019/11/14/call-for-malaysian-companies-to-upgrade-soft-skills-of-employees#BkCqmIW2vOYeJe69.99