By Tengku Murni, COO, CXL Group & Salinun Ghazali, Principal Consultant
In one of our recent projects, however, the original brief evolved significantly. Although we were initially engaged to address a different scope, our close collaboration and deeper understanding of the client’s challenges revealed a more pressing need. Within two months, the focus shifted towards leadership assessment and a succession planning assignment that extended beyond filling roles, outsourcing functions or delivering talent development programmes, and instead contributed to building a strong and sustainable leadership pipeline for the future.
The client in question was a Malaysian MNC and it had a more immediate need to look into their HR processes to see if there’s anything we can identify to improve on. The aim was to raise their game due to the dynamic market movements. But as conversations took place and more time was spent with each other, the discussions quickly escalated to whether CXL Group can help the monumental task of validating their succession plan, and not just any succession plan but one for the C-Suite leadership team.
So, how did we go from assessing the full works of HR to succession planning of their top office? To walk us through, let me introduce our long-time colleague, friend and one of CXL’s pioneers Salinun Ghazali. She is responsible for the success of this consulting job from start to finish and is also one of our highly decorated trainers for the Renaissance programme.
“The answer to the interesting question is trust. We achieved this by spending time understanding the client’s ultimate goals, its culture and ensuring that we didn’t unnecessarily reinvent or duplicate any existing internal processes.
“Our aim was to develop a practical solution from there rather than asking the client to spend unnecessarily on things that they already have. I believe our willingness to understand the problem in detail showed that we were committed to getting the job done properly.
So what did the project entail?
Drawing from the perspective of management consulting, the strategic approach begins with an integrated view of the four crucial pillars of Strategy, People, Process and Technology.
From a strategic standpoint, this requires understanding the organisation’s long-term direction, the future landscape in which it operates and the caliber of leaders needed to carry its vision forward.
From a people perspective, it involves assessing the organisational structure, culture and leadership framework to ensure they are fit for purpose.
On the process side, it requires evaluating the core competencies that define competitive advantage enabling business process execution and the technology journey that will drive transformation. These dimensions were then mapped against the proposed candidates for the respective C-Suite positions, ensuring alignment between organisational needs and leadership capabilities
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As mentioned above, the primary motivation behind the succession plan was to sustain beyond market dynamics and as such it is imperative that the chosen leadership team has the skills and experience to march through the peaks and valleys of the challenging business cycles. The chosen leaders should also possess the right mindset and foresight to anticipate market volatility arising from changes in leadership styles, business complexity, stiff competition and regulatory policies.
In the next and concluding part of this series, Salinun will share more about the insights derived from this interesting assignment, the kind of inspiration we can take away as a company at CXL Group and what all these mean to our clients. So stay tuned until my next blog.
Get in touch with our group of HR experts today at [email protected]
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About Murni
Tengku Murni serves as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of CXL Group, focusing on strengthening systems, streamlining processes, and fostering a culture of trust to support efficiency and sustainable growth. As CXL Group continues to deliver end-to-end HR solutions, including Contingent Workforce Management, Payroll & HR Outsourcing, and Learning, Development & Consulting services. Murni plays a key role in ensuring the company’s operations remain agile, effective, and aligned with its long-term vision.
