Local employers are being faced with a three-pronged challenge at this point in time namely: a demand for higher salaries from employees, lack of necessary experience and skills, as well as difficulties in attracting talent.
The sixth annual Misco Survey on HR Developments in Malta found that 75 per cent of specialists working in the human resources sector list salary demands as the main challenge being faced by their respective organisations.
The Misco Survey on HR Developments in Malta is an essential survey published by Misco to help Malta’s employers to understand better how the HR function is evolving.
The survey confirmed that the top three priorities of the HR function in their organisation are staff retention (76 per cent) which stands at nine percentage points higher than 2018, followed by the management of employee engagement and motivation at 43 per cent and the wish to strengthen the organisation’s culture at 36 per cent.
Respondents were also asked to state what they consider to be the main obstacles that the HR function is facing within their organisation for it to function effectively. The obstacle that received most mentions was the difficulty in setting up an effective performance management system, mentioned by 49 per cent of respondents. The lack of resources in the HR department received 43 per cent of mentions, while the lack of appreciation of the value of the HR function by the rest of management received 40 per cent of mentions.
Other obstacles mentioned were a lack of an adequate HR budget (40 per cent), lack of appropriate skills in the HR team (29 per cent), no engagement of senior management in the HR agenda as a strategic element (28 per cent), and lack of empowerment of the HR team (26 per cent).
The survey also highlighted the fact that it is not yet generally accepted that the HR function needs to form an integral part of the business strategy of a company.
“Misco is committed to continue developing partnerships with its clients by helping them understand Malta’s labour market environment, maximise the engagement of their employees to their organisation’s goals, and face successfully their HR challenges,” says Joanne Bondin, director at Misco.
“This survey is the result of extensive research and analysis which groups together our four main pillars of activity – HR consultancy, selection consultancy, marketing research and training and development. In fact, we support this report through a range of consultancy services which include employer branding, organisational design, development of position descriptions, job evaluation, analysis of training needs, measuring employee engagement, development of a performance management system and reward management,” added Bondin.
As in previous years, this year’s Misco Survey on HR Developments in Malta was published in parallel with Misco’s 34th edition of its annual Salaries and Benefits Report for 2019, a reliable reference report for employers on employee compensation in Malta with detailed information on salaries and related benefits, as well as an analysis of recent developments in Malta’s labour market.
This year’s Salaries and Benefits Report for 2019 found that while the average salary increase in 2019 was of three per cent, and salaries have in some areas remained static, the entry level salary of some positions has decreased, thereby leading to a decrease in the minimum level, minimum quartile and mean salaries for these positions.