International relocations open up a world of exciting opportunities, but can also be stress-inducing and nerve-wracking for the individual making the move. As an employer, there are a number of steps that you can take to support your employee during the process, helping them to settle in and find their feet in their new home.
When it’s time to start planning your employees’ move to Malaysia, Allied’s corporate relocation services can help relieve the burden felt by both parties.
Benefits of Employee Relocation
Facilitating employee relocations may seem like a lot of work, but there are also considerable benefits to the business.
Employee Satisfaction
As the world has adapted to remote working, many professionals are eager to explore new countries. Allowing employees to work from overseas gives them the opportunity to continue their employment while they travel and gain life experience. This boosts employee satisfaction, which leads to greater employee retention in the long run.
International Presence
Having employees based overseas expands your company’s international presence. This means that people who may not have heard of your company before may learn about it through the relocated employee. Your business can also benefit from working in multiple time zones, as there will be a representative available for more hours across the day.
Diversity
Whether employees are relocating to the company’s existing offices in Malaysia, or this is previously uncharted territory for your business, enabling team members to relocate and work internationally will help to boost the company’s diversity.
Preparing Employees for a Relocation to Malaysia
There are steps that you can take to make the relocation to Malaysia easier, before the plane even takes off.
Cultural Shift
For your employee who will be moving to Malaysia, learning about the local culture will help them to settle in when they arrive. Depending on where they are moving from, the cultural change may be more or less noticeable. Malaysia is a multicultural country, but Islam is the most common religion, with over 60% of the Malaysian population identifying as practicing Muslims. It’s important for foreigners to be mindful and respectful of the traditions and modesty associated with this culture.
Language Barrier
Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil are the national languages of Malaysia. Employees who will be relocating should be given the opportunity to learn the language which is spoken in the region they’ll be moving to. This will help them to assimilate and communicate from the day they arrive.
Housing
Arranging housing or temporary accommodation for your employees will take a big strain off them when they land in Malaysia. If temporary, it should be for long enough to give them time to find appropriate long-term housing.
The most common areas for expats to settle are Georgetown and Johor Bahru, with Kota Kinabalu and Kuching growing more popular. For those who want to live in a bustling city, Kuala Lumpur, particularly the Mont Kiara, Kenny Heights, and Bangsar suburbs, are popular among expat workers. If you want to read more, see our guide on the best areas to live in Kuala Lumpur for expats.
Employees who will be working remotely and want to live the island life might find that Penang or Langkawi are the perfect remote working paradise.
Bear in mind that most rental agreements are two year contracts, and often require two months’ rent upfront.
Working Life
When your employee has arrived and settled into their new home and it’s time to start work, it’s important that they strike a good balance between work and life.
Working Rights
Malaysia has a number of work permits and visas available to those relocating to the country to work. If your business has offices in Malaysia already, then an Employment Pass will likely be the appropriate option. Employees who will be working remotely for a foreign company without a physical presence in Malaysia can apply for a Professional Visit Pass.
Finding Balance
In Malaysia, workers spend, on average, 15 hours more than their contracted hours working each week. While this may seem great from an employer's perspective, it can lead to burnout and dissatisfaction among employees, so it’s important to ensure that team members are managing their workload efficiently, and still having a life outside of work.
Check-In
As your employee settles into their role in Malaysia, it’s important to check-in with them regularly to ensure that they feel supported throughout their time there.
Contact Us
You can contact Allied's Malaysian team to help arrange your employees’ relocation to Malaysia. Along with our packing services, we can provide a range of services and support throughout the moving process.