Wan Mariah has more than two decades’ human resources experience in various industries (Photo: Patrick Goh/The Edge Malaysia)
It is the rare female executive who raises her hand and says, “I want that”. And when the chance comes to prove how much, she takes the road less travelled and walks the talk.
RHB Banking Group’s chief people officer Wan Mariah Abu Hassan is among this handful of individuals.
In 2012, she had an offer to work in Vietnam on secondment. The youngest of her three daughters was about two then, and the oldest, 13. Her husband was working and they had no helper at home.
“I told him, ‘You need to let me go; this opportunity will not come again.’ Being female, you need to have the courage to make that bold decision and take the risks,” Wan Mariah says.
It was not easy convincing her spouse, she remembers. But knowing how much she wanted to go, he quit his job to care for the children and she went.
Looking at women who have worked their way to the top, Wan Mariah believes will and determination pave the way to recognition and reward. And the journey begins long before they raise their hand.
“If you want to grow vertically, you need to map your own development plan and self-advocate, to brand and market yourself,” she asserts. There is equal access to opportunities in most big companies today, “but women need to have that conversation with the boss and say, ‘I want to go up and I need help.’ Because, nobody can read your mind”.
That was exactly what she did. “Every time I had the chance to meet my boss over lunch or something, I would perlahan-lahan get it across: ‘I would really like to go for this programme … because it talks about how female leaders can facilitate change, adapt and make sure the team is also adapting to the same common goals.’
“He began to realise, this girl never gives up. When they heard about the opportunity in Ho Chi Minh, they came to me because they knew that was what I wanted. From young, I had this clear ambition to get somewhere at some time. I needed the exposure, and the company offered me the job.”
The stint helped her understand people of a different culture, from different backgrounds and ages, and fed her developmental needs. But sacrifice was part of the decision. She was away for two years, during which time her father passed away. “Flights were limited and when I came back, the funeral was over.”
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Wan Mariah has more than two decades’ human resources experience in various industries. She joined RHB in July 2022 as head, Agile and HR Centre of Excellence, and was appointed to her current position in April last year.
Female employees account for almost 60% of the group’s workforce and make up 34.2% of senior management at the end of the first quarter of 2024. This compares with 34% at end-2023 and exceeds its target of 33.3% by 2026, a reinforcement that strategic initiatives it has put in place — such as robust learning and development programmes complemented by targeted succession — are bearing fruit.
In March 2021, RHB launched its customised Women in Leadership League programme to create a culture of equal opportunity and build a pipeline of high-potential leaders in a holistic and structured manner. WILL supports talent, development and retention, and helps participants transition from middle to senior management.
The six-month programme was initiated to grow female talent in retail distribution. Feedback was good, with the first cohort saying, “It drives confidence.” So, it was expanded to include other groups of women leaders in the company.
The fourth cohort is in training now and a few graduates have progressed in their career. “Both acting group chief financial officer Phuah Shok Cheng and Cyrene Kong, our chief digital officer, are products of WILL,” Wan Mariah says proudly.
Another positive outcome is that participants have formed a network among themselves to offer peer support and advice. They talk about flexi-benefits for staff, work, career and personal matters, from raising children to lactation rooms and parental leave. Someone recently asked what policies are there for those who want to adopt kids, a question that has started RHB thinking about benefits for adoption.
Last month, it rolled out an “Emerging Women Leaders” programme to equip middle managers to move upwards and become part of the senior management pipeline, ensuring a force of people to choose from for sustainable growth.
Going down the line, the bank’s 24-month trainee programme is open to all fresh graduates, during which candidates are placed on job rotation to learn how the different departments work. Upon completion of this training, the focus dovetails to preferred functions following their own aspirations and “we will provide them with solid pathways to empower their development, with our core competencies” — such as digital appreciation, creative thinking and problem-solving.
How quickly an individual achieves his goal depends on his appetite for growth, Wan Mariah says. There are structured programmes to help them get there because RHB aims to give every one of its 14,000 staff equal access to opportunity and development. With that is its motto of “Together We Progress”.
“Having a culture of equal opportunity is really important because you may not realise that there is a diamond in the rough [in the team]. Sometimes, people need some encouragement to say, ‘Hey, I am a talent; I want to be assessed.’”
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At work, that involves periodic chats one-on-one and review sessions every couple of months to understand objectives and identify strengths and gaps. Wan Mariah believes in focusing on strength, not weakness, because if you empower, guide and affirm, it makes a better impact in a shorter time. “You leverage what people already can do.” Not surprisingly, in an employee engagement survey, 65% of responders chose RHB as their preferred place to work.
Conversely, the attrition rate for women leaders is 0.7% as at May this year — evidence, she would like to believe, of all the efforts introduced to help them grow and accelerate their career: workplace flexibility, critical projects with avenues to practise what they learn, exposure to new experiences, visibility and more.
As with every industry, people do leave — to pursue new things or for other companies. When the latter happens, Wan Mariah feels pride, not dismay. “They are in demand in the market because we spend a lot of time and effort investing in them.”
RHB selects talent based on performance, aspiration, appetite and mobility, the last because it has offices in Asia. Talent identification and assessment is rigorous, she says. Leadership, mindset and behaviour are key criteria, too, because “at the end of the day, these are more important than anything else, right?”
Which brings the conversation back to women who aspire to hit the glass ceiling. Wan Mariah says, with no disrespect to men, that women can multitask and are detail-oriented. They are attentive and connect well with people. “That’s the bit which helps them build trust better. And they have empathy.”
What they need is affirmation. “All it takes is for you to say, ‘You did a good job.’ This builds confidence, which came out well in WILL. We sometimes don’t realise we carry this value and strength,” she says.
In banking, numbers count. University statistics in Malaysia over the last few years show female graduates outnumber their male counterparts.
“If you ask me, in the very near future, there is no reason we cannot develop female leaders across all levels. We have enough women to be in senior management one day because we have more choices,” says this chief people officer.
This article first appeared on Jul 15, 2024 in The Edge Malaysia.
