From the CEO’s Desk: 2023 Unwrapped: CXL Group's Reflection and Roadmap for 2024

Generally, 2023 has been a year of steady growth that saw a homegrown HR company like CXL Group having the opportunity to expand its wings beyond its home turf in Kuala Lumpur. We now have offices up north in Penang and down south in Singapore, and this a good and acceptable progress in a way because the world has only begun to get back on its feet about 18 months ago.

One of the greatest milestones we achieved in 2023 took place in the middle of the year, that’s when we made our foray into the healthcare industry. This represents a significant step forward because of the role we will be playing in this new found territory. The potential is immense and the coverage of this business will contribute positively to our bottom line. Although we’ve already signed the deal, it is not the time yet for me to make a full disclosure about this new business. As such, please bear with me a little longer until we’ve got everything ironed out before making the official announcement.

Out of this new venture however came another client, which grew from just a 100 headcount under our Contingent Workforce services to then doubling up to 200 candidates. I touched briefly on this in my previous blog but what I’d like to highlight here is the reason that convinced the client to pass the entire job to us - transparency in our billing.

Transparency - the New Currency

Unlike the previous vendor which billed in a lump sum format, CXL Group listed everything down including our profit margins so the client could see what every cost component such as salaries, EPF, SOCSO etc, looks like. In fact, we also helped this client save money because through our technologically-powered systems, we are able to extend a more efficient service without compromising on quality and compliance.

But in going back to what we discussed above, our momentum was raised a few notches after securing the healthcare business and although unrelated, there was somehow a surge in interest from potential candidates looking to join CXL Group. Not only did our new batch of? applicants grow by about 10 fold, we also have foreign applicants made up of students studying in Malaysia, hailing from as far as the UK, Russia and in the Asean region Indonesia.

Truth be told, this would not have happened if not for the diligence of our marketing and HR teams. Because aside from just promoting our brand and making sure of staff welfare, they have coordinated the frequent employee engagement activities and uploaded the same videos to the social media platforms. All I can say is that I am glad that the videos caught the young graduates' attention.

Up, Up and…

Another milestone worth celebrating is our Learning, Development & Consulting department, which is quickly shaping up as a legitimate[1]? business unit. In the last six months alone, all CXL Group staff have attended our proprietary PEAK (Personal Excellence & Attitude Kickstart) Training and we have also started formulating an MBA-like programme[2]? for working adults. While things are still underwraps, it may be opportune to share that we are working towards having these programmes fully endorsed by a respectable institution overseas. So stay tuned as I will share more about our upcoming training services which will also include upskilling modules, HR based and HR compliance lessons.

From a vantage point of sorts, I am also pleased to share that the momentum we enjoyed in the second half of 2023 coincided with our covert mission to automate our business processes. To me, this presents one of our most exciting undertakings because of how it relates to my early profession which began in the IT industry. To be able to see how automation truly works is nothing short of a dream come true and it can literally take your breath away.

What we’ve accomplished through robotics automation is the processing of the highly sensitive invoice in our finance department. This is due to the many different calculations the system has to cater to before the invoices are sent out to our clients.

Through this Fourth Industrial Revolution technology, processing time was reduced from about a week to less than five minutes;[3]? and this is just one business process we’ve piloted with, imagine what we can do when it is infused into the other parts of our business.

“Think about the value we’ll bring to our clients and the kind of efficiency and savings they may experience.

But beyond the achievements of 2023, we must also be mindful about our macro environment, especially the ongoing wars (Russia-Ukraine & Palestine-Israel), geopolitical tensions and the shifting dynamics of the business world. With reports suggesting 2024 will be a recession year, it should motivate everyone to be more prudent and embrace sustainability as part of life. Agility as such must be ingrained into our strategic mindset so we can withstand the tremors and waves in the new year, just like how we did in 2023.

Before signing off from this blog with the plans we’ve laid out for CXL Group in 2024, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone from the front to the back office for a job well done in 2023. Let’s continue to grow together and make history in every area of our business!

I’d also like to thank our clients for believing in us and our delivery. I hope we can continue to impress you in the new year.

And finally, to our shareholders, thank you for trusting us and for giving us a freehand to run CXL Group. The liberty to spread our wings is the best gift we can ask for and we look forward to a more successful journey in 2024.

Now back to the subject, what will it be like for CXL Group in 2024?

• We will be looking at setting up another office in another region of the country;
• Executing the plans we have in the healthcare industry;
• Be mindful about our spending and undertake prudent financial measures such as cost rationalisation;
• Enhancing the already improved staff retention rate; and
• Anticipating a bigger growth in 2024!

Wishing everyone a meaningful end to 2023 and a positively successful 2024!