According to UK-based recruitment firm Hays, the continued growth of shared service centers (dedicated points of service focused on defined business functions) in Malaysia is increasing demand for highly-skilled professionals as the industry finds it challenging to attract high caliber talent.

Hays met with Malaysian shared service centers (SSCs) and found that a growing number of SSCs are being established in Malaysia that require senior candidates with specialized process knowledge. According to feedback from candidates, career progression is the number one appealing factor. At the same time, candidates who say they will not work in an SSC cite the lack of career progression as the number one reason.

 “The shared service industry is increasingly turning to the commercial arena to obtain the core skills required to move up the business value chain,” Tom Osborne, Regional Director of Hays in Malaysia, said. “By recruiting more highly-skilled professionals SSCs can develop their technical processes and analytics functions.”

Hays spoke with 35 Malaysian SSCs to understand what challenges they face when attracting and recruiting talent. The biggest talent-related challenges employers say they face is retaining skilled talent.

 “The fact that career progression is the main detractor for candidates not wanting to work in SSCs, but also the main factor that attracts people who would work in an SSC, demonstrates that employers need to do more to establish formal career progression plans and promote them as part of their attraction strategy,” Osborne said.