Overcoming Our Labour Shortage Issue

Overcoming Our Labour Shortage Issue

Like many other countries, Malaysia is facing labour shortages. Although the government has lifted the Covid-19 freeze on foreign worker recruitment in February 2022, there has not been a huge return in foreign workers. *According to diplomats and industry experts, ongoing worker protection negotiations with countries that supply foreign workers such as Indonesia and Bangladesh have delayed the process even further.

At Maclean, we hold ourselves to high ethical standards in our business and employment practices. Being in the cleaning services industry, we also face a severe shortage of cleaners due to delayed government approvals of new applications. Despite the pressure on many fronts to meet increasing demands for clean workspaces due to Covid-19, we have always been dedicated to employing a 100% legal workforce.

Although Maclean’s foreign worker recruitment process is rigorous, we uphold our commitment to our customers and ourselves to source reliable and competent workers legally. The foreign worker application process involves filing quota applications, juggling procedural works with various parties and agencies, managing workers’ arrivals and their subsequent legal settlement, and finally conducting training before workers are deployed to client sites. Unfortunately, coupled with the delay in government approvals and increasing demand for our cleaning services, fulfilling labour shortages has become a long process that cannot be achieved overnight and may even take up to several months.

Maclean’s foreign worker recruitment process is comprehensive and thorough. Before any workers are employed, there are two important stages in our foreign worker recruitment process – pre-employment and employment stages.

Pre-employment Stage

This stage begins with the initial filing of quota applications which takes approximately two months.

  1. Maclean’s Human Resources Department (HRD) needs to liaise with Jabatan Tenaga Kerja Semenanjung Malaysia (JTKSM), Jabatan Imigresen Malaysia, foreign embassies and other relevant government bodies in order to receive approval to bring in foreign workers.
  2. Once an approval letter is issued, Maclean then applies for a foreign worker quota from Kementerian Sumber Manusia (KSM), who will approve the quota application if Maclean meets the relevant criteria.

The next step involves the recruitment of foreign workers which may possibly take two more months.

  1. Upon their arrival, Maclean’s HRD arranges for the workers’ medical checkup by the Foreign Workers’ Medical Examination Monitoring Agency (FOMEMA) within 30 days from their arrival date.
  2. Once medical clearance is obtained, Maclean applies for the workers’ Visitor Pass (Temporary Employment) for them to commence work.

Employment Stage

This stage begins with the workers’ orientation and training which takes approximately one month.

  1. The workers’ orientation and induction training from TSA (Training, Safety and Audit) involves dos and don’ts, behaviour rules and the familiarization of tools and chemicals.
  2. Workers are given handbooks, site user manuals, clear job descriptions and instructions to attend regular staff and manager meetings for the crew to work together harmoniously.
  3. During training, TSA will identify the workers’ capabilities and competencies in performing tasks to identify potential Team Leaders.

Upon completion of training, workers are assigned to client sites based on request by our Operations Department (OPS). Maclean employs a buddy system where a new foreign worker will be paired with a seasoned foreign worker for approximately one month. This aids the new workers’ familiarization with tasks and company rules, as well as Malaysia’s culture.

Maclean has always believed in the importance of nurturing people. We have consistently invested time and efforts into ensuring that our human capital is turned into productivity and economic value. This is because employees must be fully committed, both mentally and physically, to be given the important responsibilities of keeping our clients’ sites safe and clean. Therefore, in the face of our current labour shortage problem, we ensure that workers’ morale is not compromised. Maclean’s comprehensive training program and buddy system are the few of many ways that demonstrate our commitment to our clients.

References:
  1. Malaysia firms turn down orders as migrant labour shortage hits

Beyond Cost Effective Solutions

“Thank you, Maclean team, for the good support and on time completion of the cleaning activities as required at the Phase 2 cafeteria and Phase 2 new wing office floor without any delays which met client satisfaction.”

Manufacturing

“The final cleaning has come to an end today. We appreciate your team's full commitment and cooperation in ensuring the successful completion of the cleaning work at Plot H. Your site person in charge and his team has performed well throughout the cleaning period. Their prompt response and action as well as their workmanship on the end-product satisfied us.”

Construction

“I would like to take this opportunity to first, thank you for the 9 years of services to the hospital. Maclean has offered a top-level cleaning service with the magnificent team of client service right down to the cleaner.

I am particularly writing to appreciate the cleaner, namely BAL BAHADUR, M. SUMON and MASLINDAH for their professionalism and exceptional work ethic. They are punctual, dependable and presented with more than what has been asked of them.”

Hospital

“We are writing to express my sincere appreciation for the exceptional work of the cleaning crew who was responsible for maintaining the cleanliness of our office premises. Over the past few weeks, we have observed the excellent work that Nur Alom has been doing, and we must say that his dedication and professionalism are truly commendable.

I have personally witnessed Nur Alom going the extra miles to ensure that the office is clean and hygienic especially during these challenging times post pandemic. His commitment to maintaining a clean and safe environment has been exceptional, and he has made a significant contribution to keep our workplace safe and healthy for all employees. “

Office

“We would like to express our thanks towards janitor Suriakala for excellent cleaning services rendered during Deep Cleaning activities on 14th and 28th January 2023. As well, we find her job deliverance is excellent and committed on daily routine tasks.

Hereby, we extend our thanks to Bobby, Fahmi for their prompt response of any inquiries and replacement planning during janitor's absence. We are also thankful to be supported by the Maclean team for

  • deep cleaning upholstery office chairs, sofa
  • fabric wall meeting rooms
  • fabric cubicle – employee workstation areas
  • lobby reception, breakout area, workstation area
  • floor scrubbing at carpeted area total approximately 3,617sqft
  • floor scrubbing at pantry vinyl floor area"
Office

“Excellent cleaning services. Prompt response of any inquiries and fast planning during your janitor on leave”

Hypermarket

“Excellent service during the summer break for the school opening preparations - efficient, gracious customer service, the level of detail and accountability you have demonstrated on the housekeeping service.”

Education

Our Supervisors and Crew Are Well Trained

“I received a verbal compliment from client on Crew’s performance & improvement after we had engagement meeting. Well done and keep up the good work!”

Office

“Services provided by the crew on site was good and amazing, especially the head of the crew obviously showing his excellent performance on managing his team that provided high quality cleanliness service throughout the year. They have shown a great team spirit and hope this can continue and maintained in future. I would also take this opportunity to congratulate Miss Nadia who trained such a good team and of course your good services to our company as well.”

Retail

“Thank you very much for the team you lead! Professional and high efficiency!”

Education

“Convey our outmost appreciations for the excellent service provided to our team in Bayan Lepas. Your team, which is Samy and his supportive team, have been doing great jobs & supported us. Samy has been committed to all the tasks given with fast response from him & the teams.”

Manufacturing

“Formally and sincerely express our gratitude for the amazing honesty your team shown during recently lost and found case. Nurhayati Binti Abdullah had shown exceptional discipline and dedication to her daily work. Her actions directly impacted our image and Maclean directly benefited the team and company on a greater level. Once again, thank you for the leadership shown by Maclean’s management team – Kak Mis on the diligence and integrity adopted for all the team on the site.”

Office

“Layanan yang sangat baik, berdisiplin, komited, sabar, berbudi bahasa dan sentiasa positif.”

3S Centre

“Thank You for the Good Service. I would like to express my deep appreciation for the women who are doing the cleaning at our premise. I am very satisfied with their work! I would like to thank Diana (supervisor) and Sajib who always monitor and ensure someone to cover when the cleaners go on leave. Good teamwork and dependable.”

Education

We Are Well Versed with Various Industry Compliancy Requirements

“Congratulations “Maclean Team” as all cleaners have successfully passed the EHS training that was conducted on site.

We are satisfied with their service”

Manufacturing

“Thanks for your team’s kind support to maintain the cleanliness of our LMM plant during our two important events:

(1) EHS Corporate Audit

(2) EHS Plan Forum Recognition”

Manufacturing

“Thank you very much for giving 100% support and for ensuring we followed and maintained proper social distancing amid the events.”

Manufacturing

“Gratitude for Maclean’s performance and support during our compliance audit held last October. Maclean’s team has made so much effort in order to keep our business running with full compliance. It's a good image that we comply to every legal requirement that was relevant with Maclean’s help. Maimunah has been key player into this Audit weeks.”

Office

“Many thanks to Zura for the last compliance audit which covered compliance in pharmaceuticals.”

Office

“Our management would like to take the opportunity to sincerely thank you for the excellent service provided to our facility especially for the fresh goods department, for maintaining cleanliness as per our standard.”

Hypermarket

“Able to answer questions from Auditor during ISO Audit.”

Office

Understanding Urgency and Providing Personalised Attention

“We would like to extend our greatest appreciation to you and your team for all the hard work going the extra mile ensuring everything is ready for the event. We know there were a quite a bit of last-minute requests, but you guys managed to extend your excellent service and that made a difference definitely. We appreciate your contribution and management also relay their appreciation and gratitude to all the Janitor team. Thank you so much for being good support for this event and hope this good performance can be maintained.”

Manufacturing

“Hope you are doing great. For the past few months Samy Rau has been supervising our Penang location. We are very grateful that he has been showing his interest and helping me to solve a lot of problems. His presence here during the site visit has made us able to voice up regarding most issues directly. Most pending issues have been resolved. We hope that we will make a better team in future.”

Manufacturing

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Samy and the team, especially Ali Raihan, Sajib Sikdar and all Maclean team members for helping our team on the water leaking issue that happened. Their fast respond to our call during midnight and coming to help us to handle the situation. Keep it up and continue to work together and support our Facilities team.”

Manufacturing

“They are remarkable with their attitudes. The way they go above and beyond to ensure that all our events are presented well, their sense of collaboration and attention to detail is greatly valued.”

Education

“I would like to extend our appreciation for the amazing work done by your team on site especially team leader, Maimunah in supporting several occasions of main event. They have been supportive in terms of logistic, pre-event preparation and on top of that making the event running smoothly.

Please pass my appreciation to Maimunah, Sulaiman, Susilawati and Haipah for their support.”

Office

In addition to the above, we are proud and grateful to receive 2 awards from CBRE:

  • Exceptional Service Award 2022 
  • Best Safety and Covid Response Award 2022

So, try us out and experience the Maclean service first-hand. 

To find out more on how we give you the best value for your budget without compromising your health or safety, please connect with us at 03-7773 0300 or enquire@maclean.com.my.

October 2022
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