Gain valuable insights into Malaysia’s dynamic job market directly from our experts, all captured in the 2025 Job Market Outlook and Salary Guide. This digital report offers analysis of labour market trends, hiring patterns and salary benchmarks across key sectors in Malaysia.
key employment trends in 2025
The Shared Services industry is undergoing a significant transformation. After three years of rapid growth fuelled by foreign investments in establishing new shared services centres in Malaysia, hiring activity is expected to stabilise in 2025. Instead, we anticipate to see greater focus on strategic hiring aimed at expanding existing services and creating high-value jobs.
Several established shared services centres are expected to broaden their offerings to include EMEA and Americas markets, alongside their APAC portfolios. Companies are also investing in high-value roles related to robotic process automation (RPA) and artificial intelligence (AI). The creation of these new roles encourages more talent to explore upskilling and career progression opportunities, as they develop key skills like critical thinking, analytical thinking and digital skills.
hiring will increase in procurement, manufacturing and supply chain
Hiring trends in shared services reflect broader global and national trends.
Companies in technology, pharmaceuticals, and professional services have properly established their shared services capabilities, leading to a decline in large-scale hiring in recent months. Instead, firms are prioritising the hiring of talent with specialised skills or expanding their geographical remit.
Large-scale hirings are now driven by the rapid influx of semiconductors, manufacturing plants, and data centres in Malaysia. Notably, procurement is emerging as a key trend, with more companies enhancing their procurement capabilities to optimise costs at a regional level.
government incentives and programmes shaping hiring requirements
In Malaysia, eligibility for government incentives and grants is increasingly aligned with a company’s digital capabilities.
Under the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint, organisations can benefit from the Malaysia Digital Tax Incentive when they leverage advanced technologies such as AI. The 4IR Catalyst Grant supports technology companies by covering up to 50% of project costs aimed at scaling operations and enhancing productivity.
These initiatives encourage companies to adopt new technologies such as RPA and AI. As a result, organisations are either creating new high-value jobs in areas like data analytics and business intelligence or relocating these roles from other markets to Malaysia.
malaysia wins on having the best shared services talent
Many global and regional companies continue to establish their first shared services centres in Malaysia, despite lower costs in the Philippines or India.
Malaysia offers a highly skilled workforce capable of building robust foundations and processes that ensure alignment with organisational structures and compliance requirements.
job seekers know what they want in an employer
Candidates are increasingly prioritising job satisfaction over high salary expectations, seeking workplaces where they can thrive. With significant changes in the global Shared Services industry, as companies diversify their resources, candidates are now more focused on a company's direction and career growth opportunities.
Flexibility in work arrangements has become crucial for shared services employees, who often work across different time zones. The flexibility to work from home or adjust hours helps them balance rest, social activities, and personal priorities.
in-demand jobs, hiring expectations and salary ranges in 2025
In response to these evolving expectations, companies are shifting away from creating large numbers of transactional-based processing roles. Instead, there is a growing emphasis on positions that involve business partnering and strategic planning.
As hiring expectations rise, in-demand skills that employers look for are:
- soft skills like stakeholder management and effective communication skills
- proactive in driving continuous improvement processes
- experience in continuous improvement, robotic process automation and advanced Excel are in high demand
- data analytical skills
Employers looking to recruit new headcount should focus their hiring efforts in Q2, as this is when many shared services talent actively seek new and exciting opportunities after receiving their bonus payouts. When looking for jobs, talent are looking for employers that can offer good career paths and competitive salaries.
Salary increment expectations for senior professionals when switching to a new employer are expected to remain at 20%. However, junior candidates can still negotiate for an increase between 20% and 30% if they demonstrate good technical skills and digital proficiency to meet new hiring criteria, as the Shared Services industry shifts towards providing more value-added services.
download randstad malaysia’s 2025 job market and salary trends report
Discover the latest talent insights and salary benchmarks for jobs in shared services, ranging from procure-to-pay (PTP) to project management; record-to-report (RTR) to tax and more, from our 2025 Job Market Outlook and Salary Guide.
The report examines key talent expectations as well as key sector trends and salary benchmarks in the following industries:
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