He stayed with them for seventeen years. And it is the fork that he remembers. Or at least, it's what he recalled when he spoke to me.

He remembers vividly his early start and the fact that he didn't have any orientation at work. He was left to his own devices, sitting alone and perhaps forlorn, in that office cafeteria as he came to grips with his new job at that manufacturing outfit. His fork broke while he was having lunch and he didn't see how he could continue eating. Feeling just a little frustrated, it got him thinking about where he was at and why he was in this situation and he recalls saying to himself that this was it. "I won't let others be in the same situation I am in."

A stack of files was passed to him to read and familiarise himself with. Having worked his way through a couple of files, he saw quickly that the process flow was the same for all. Despite this
bumpy start, Geh absorbed the intricacies of the work environment early on, acclimatising himself well and was promoted to manager at the age of 26. The passion he developed in the early days in working closely with people is what he says, led him to make the switch to HR. And he has stayed in the HR fraternity for the last fifteen years, as a generalist HR practitioner. Geh has worked in diverse industries and has spent the past eight years in HR at Sunway.

Meeting him in person in early November, Geh came across as a little formal initially but he warmed up eventually, quite content to give us an insight into his approach and philosophy. "I'm big on execution, on follow through," he said. "If you look at execution, I believe about 10% of people out there really execute." Positive reinforcement is one way in which he deals with execution. Rewards, for example. Sunway had a particular security guard who had been with them for the past twenty years and miraculously, never took a single day of sick leave. In today's world, it's unheard of. They gave him a very large Perfect Attendance Award. Needless to say, the guard nearly fell off the chair when he got the news.

With headquarters in Malaysia, the Group has however, gone global with a presence in Trinidad & Tobago, United Arab Emirates, Macau, India, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore,
Cambodia and Australia. According to recent reports in the Star last year, the Sunway Group was planning to make its maiden foray into China's property market next year via the launch of a
residential cum commercial project in Jiangyin in the Jiangsu province. Geh spoke about going up to China recently where among other things on his checklist, he looks at staff amenities.
This means the cafeteria, staff kitchen, living quarters and toilets. Part of his job description? Perhaps not to this level of detail. Crucial to him? Absolutely. He looks at this as part of the job - the fundamentals that need to be maintained and provided consistently.

"No point in talking about the big picture if you can't see the small picture," he clarifies. "You have to go out and be in touch with them. Speak their language. I can't emphasise that anymore than
this. I think that it's ok to make mistakes, but I don't think it's good to repeat the same mistakes."

In this regard, Geh sees the process of managing well as 70% planning and communicating.
Prior to his current position at the Sunway Group, Geh was Group HR Manager at Kris Components Berhad, a public-listed comprehensive solution provider specialising in the manufacture of precision metal stamped parts and tools fabrication. He's also worked at Hong Leong Assurance, TA Securities and Kit Loong Holdings. "But I believe that at Sunway, so much more has been achieved largely due to the executive mandate. HR is really seen as a partner here; we are willing to learn, we're hands on and we invest in our people."

Geh shared with us briefly the process of identifying and training their people. A tighter, more structured approach is taken now, contrary to earlier practices. Nineteen competencies have been identified. Essentially there are three applicable levels : executive level (first line managers), managerial level (middle management) and senior management level. Potential candidates are assessed using a combination of techniques : behavioral interviewing (BI), psychometric tools (Harrison Assessment), our Assessment Centre and interviews with the hiring managers, HR managers and depending on the seniority of the appointment, the Executive Committee (EXCO).

At the Assessment Centre, candidates are evaluated using a series of hypothetical scenarios, forward-looking activity as opposed to the output and assessment of past behaviour garnered through BI. There are four activities tackling responses based on an individual and group basis as well as time-based activities. A rating system is employed to gauge the response level and
typically, this type of assessment is action-oriented.

Started in early 2000, the Assessment Centre reviews up to twelve candidates at any one time, screened by between four to six assessors. Scheduled over the course of a day, the review gives them enough insight to make an assessment. Geh talked about GE's 20/70/10 rule and how Sunway also applies this same rule. The 20/70/10 rule is based on the concept of the
vitality curve. Commonly used at management consulting firms, it was big at GE where Jack Welch introduced it. It's a philosophy that justifies what some of us call the 'rank and yank'
system of performance management whereby the organisation's people are consistently assessed in terms of its performers. The top 20% represent the cream of the crop - engaged ambitious
and results oriented. 70% represent the workers - they get the job done, aren't fundamentally weak but still at an acceptable performance level. They form the necessary bulk to move things forward and get things done. That leaves the weakest 10%, the chaff in the organisation - the
laggards and a drain on the organisation.

“While we do follow the 20/70/10 rule employed by GE, we don't do it as religiously. After all, we aren't GE and we cannot be GE, we are Sunway!," Geh clarifies.

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Who is Geh Thuan Hooi?
Geh is the General Manager (Services) of Human Resources Division for the Sunway Group, a well-diversified conglomerate with business interests in construction, quarrying, civil engineering, property development and investment, healthcare and education, leisure & entertainment, IT, hospitality, retail and manufacturing. A certified Behavioural Event Interviewer and Trainer for Excellence/Continuous Improvement, Geh is also an certified
assessor for Quality Awards, Assessment Centre and a NLP practitioner. Geh grew up in Penang and holds a Masters of Business Administration from the Asia Pacific International University.

My most valuable experience to date .....My first manager. I don't think I would be the
man I am today if it weren't for him. He was a good mentor. He gave me patience. I think that it's imperative that you create an environment where you allow mistakes to happen, where you can tell the truth and yet be guided.