Benefits of Proactive Recruiting Processes

Kee Meng Yeo has years of experience in talent development and human resources with multiple companies across the world, including serving as Amway's vice president of global talent development. Kee Meng Yeo and other human resources professionals use a variety of strategies to acquire and maintain talent, including proactive recruiting.

Proactive recruiting starts the recruitment process long before positions open up. A proactive recruiter's focus lies in building relationships, so when positions do become open, the talent to fill them can be found more rapidly. Proactive recruiting has several benefits over an open requisitions model.

Both time and effort can be reduced by using proactive recruitment strategies. Those who have already cultivated a relationship with someone with the appropriate skills can have a position filled and a person at work within a week, and have to interview fewer prospective employees. While proactive recruiting doesn't eliminate the need for interviews and a getting-to-know process, it does make these steps go much faster.

Likewise, proactive recruiting pipelines tend to lead to more durable relationships between employee and employer. Employees who have known the recruiter for years and built a relationship with the company before even entering its service will be more motivated. The transactional nature of interviewing also fades somewhat, and feelings of loyalty come into play.

Diverse Cultures in Singapore and Business Etiquette

A senior talent development expert with international experience, Kee Meng Yeo currently serves as the director of global talent development for Amway. Kee Meng Yeo was raised in Singapore, which exposed him to a wide range of diverse cultures and aided in his ability to help global companies to be competitive and successful.

Singapore, a city-state located in Southeast Asia near Malaysia, has a long history as a regional trading hub, which contributed to the diverse cultures that can be found there. Over 10 different religions can be found in Singapore, and encompasses Chinese, Malaysian and Indian cultures, among others. In addition, several languages are spoken throughout the region. 

These cultural factors have influenced the diverse and unique business practices that can be found in Singapore. For example, business cards are treated with great respect, and are often exchanged at initial meetings between individuals. Cards are presented with both hands and handled with interest and care to convey respect for the business relationship. Other practices, such as formal meetings and the use of body language in negotiations, are also important elements of the Singapore business culture.

Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) Training Programs

Before starting his professional career, Kee Meng Yeo attended Capella University in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he earned a master of science in organizational psychology in 2004. Kee Meng Yeo is also a member of several professional organizations, including the Society for Human Resource Management. 

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) features onsite training and a development website that allows you to sign up online for several different training programs, including the SHRM Essentials of HR Management. Created to help human resource management personnel to build a solid foundation, the SHRM Essentials program teaches how to avoid potential lawsuits and reduce costs while managing HR issues.

The SHRM Essentials of HR Management program discusses federal legislation impacting human resources and explains what the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission does, as well as expands participants' understanding of employee orientation procedures, the purpose of conducting a performance appraisal, and employee recruitment policies and processes. The program also stresses how properly communicating employee benefits and expectations is critical to the employee development process.

Strategies for CEO Transition Planning

Kee Meng Yeo leads as vice president of global talent development at Amway, where he applies in-depth expertise in facilitating professional growth. Kee Meng Yeo focuses largely on the development and succession of senior executives, including chief executive officers (CEOs). 

Despite the importance of confident leadership in a company's growth, approximately 35 percent of companies surveyed lacked a distinct CEO succession plan. Such a plan can support the smooth continuing operation of a company from the existing CEO's resignation announcement through the early days of the new executive's leadership. For this reason, the plan should be developed and in place long before the standing CEO steps down.

A proactive CEO transition plan should begin by defining the leader's role in the context of the existing company culture. This allows the transition team to then define criteria for selection and even to identify potential successors in advance of the actual process. 

Similarly, the company's board of directors must clarify the steps needed for succession and identify the professionals responsible for each step. These steps range from the ongoing training of potential candidates by senior executives to the actual appointment of the successor by the board chairman. 

Directors should also specify how and when to communicate news about the transition, so that stakeholders receive information from the correct sources. Plans must include a conversation with both incoming and outgoing CEOs, so that both know when the exiting professional will officially step down and hand over leadership to his or her replacement.

Asian Americans Who Have Succeeded in the United States

National University of Singapore graduate Kee Meng Yeo has seen many successes in his lengthy career. Among Kee Meng Yeo’s many reasons for pride is his Asian American heritage. Here are a few other successful Asian Americans who have made in impact in their fields.

Debra Wong Yang. This Californian of Chinese descent received her juris doctor from Boston College Law School and was appointed a United States Attorney, the first Asian American woman to do so. Recently, she was under serious consideration for the position of Securities and Exchange Commission chair. 

Steven Chu. Doctor of Physics Steven Chu is well-known for his research at Bell Laboratories and Stanford University. He received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1997. Under the administration of President Barack Obama, he served as Secretary of Energy. 

Ming E. Chang. After immigrating from China in 1946, Chang served 33 years in the U.S. military, becoming the first Asian American to reach the rank of rear admiral. After retiring from the Navy, he continued to excel as a prominent businessman.

The MASIE Center Helps Businesses Enhance Learning within Companies

Kee Meng Yeo serves as vice president, global talent development at Amway. Like others in his field, Kee Meng Yeo relies upon tools and programs developed for the talent management industry, like the MASIE Center.

Based in Saratoga Springs, New York, the MASIE Center is a think tank aimed at helping organizations enhance learning and education within their companies. The MASIE Center is headed by Elliott Masie, an innovator, adviser, and speaker in the field of corporate learning and performance. The center has developed several collaborative programs and projects to facilitate its learning objectives. One such project is the MASIE Learning Consortium.

The MASIE Learning Consortium is a conglomeration of 230 of some of the world’s top organizations collaborating to develop strategy and solutions to enhance the learning and training field. Leaders of companies like Starbucks, Walmart, Turner Broadcasting, American Express, and McDonald’s lend their expertise and experience to consortium efforts. Some of the consortium’s current projects include yearlong learning labs to explore key issues within the industry, monthly dialogues directed by Mr. Masie, targeted research surveys to determine the pulse of the industry on certain issues, and monthly brainstorming sessions.

Capella University Free-Trial Mini-Course

Prior to beginning his career in management and talent development, Kee Meng Yeo earned a master of science in organizational psychology from Capella University. Kee Meng Yeo built on his degree from the National University of Singapore as well as his continuing education at Cornell University, where he completed a certificate in human resources management.

Capella University offers a majority of its courses online, including courses for the master’s program in psychology. For potential students who are not sure how online courses would work for them, Capella offers free-trial mini-courses for both bachelor- and graduate-level programs.

The free-trial mini-courses are designed to give potential students an accurate impression of online learning at Capella. Each mini-course runs for one week and includes seven to nine hours of coursework, which includes reading an essay on critical thinking, viewing two brief videos, participating in a group discussion, and writing a position paper of two to four pages in length.