The relationship between Malaysian SMEs human resource practices and Generation Y's job motivation

The contemporary way of living and the economic effects has had its consequence on the way business activities today handle the motivation of employees. Hence, organizations need to determine the best way to motivate their employees. This study was conducted to examine the HR Antecedents that influence Gen Ys’ job motivation in Malaysian SMEs. Quantitative approach with self-administered questionnaire
method has been employed for data collection of this study. A total number of 125 respondents based on Convenience sampling was participated in this research. The response rate is 78%. The frequency, mean and standard deviation is computed to measure the average and the variations of the results to determine the differences. A Pearson correlation test is carried out for the HR antecedents and the level of
motivation of the respondents to see if there is a significant relationship between the two. Overall, this study found that Gen Ys’ in Malaysian SMEs regard Retaining
practices, Training and Development initiatives and Rewards and Recognition as influential HR factors for their job motivation. There appears to be a big gap between
the expectations of the Gen Ys’ and the HR antecedents inherent in Malaysian SMEs today. Based on the findings of this study, further research is needed to determine SMEs HR practices which effectively motivate Gen Ys’. These studies recommend to modify HR practices so that SMEs can produce a highly motivated workforce and achieve enhanced organization performance through the strategic management of
their Gen Y employees.