‘LISTEN TO YOUNG TALENT’
Organisations need to be restructured to allow ideas to flow through, says panellist
ORGANISATIONS need to be restructured to allow ideas to flow through, especially from young talent, said Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) president and group chief executive Jalil Rasheed.
He said Malaysia had a brilliant workforce as seen in the Malaysian diaspora overseas.
“We probably export some of the finest talent to the world. Look at our diaspora overseas — we have done a good job there, but I think what we need to think about is whether the organisations today are structured in the right way to allow ideas to flow through.”
Jalil said this during a panel session titled “The Corporate Agenda: The Game-Changers Revolutionising Malaysian Industries” here yesterday.
The session was part of the oneday Youth Economic Forum organised by Perdana Fellow Alumni Association.
Jalil, who took helm of PNB effective Oct 1, said organisations were still traditional and operating in silos.
“It is about loosening the hierarchy and flattening it. Which is what I have been trying to do in the last six weeks since I took over, to ensure a good flow of ideas.
“Many of the ideas on technology initiatives we have been working on have been coming from younger people.”
Employees Provident Fund chief executive officer (CEO) Tunku Alizakri Raja Muhammad Alias said one of the challenges faced by CEOs was bridging the older and young employees due to different expectations and experiences.
“One of the challenges is the need to create an infrastructure that allows the young to think ‘I have a say in the future direction of this organisation and I have the chance to make a difference’.
“It is also about managing the older people who may feel threatened by technology and the ‘snazzy young people’ who talk in a different language.”
Organisations might have issues managing the gap between these two generations and also the working environment, said Tunku Alizakri. “For example, look at the media industry. A few firms are on the verge of winding up. It is rather bizarre that their customers are the Gen-Y and they did not listen to what this generation wants.
“They continue to operate in the company like 20 years ago. This is a huge challenge, and when we talk about mindset shift, I think we have to start with the board first.”