“Cross training after Crossing 40″ – Learning never stops
I must say that I have returned from a high spirited, energizing visit to the Emirates. Although it has been 2 weeks, Le Meridien Al Aqah beach resort in Fujairah is just so close to my heart that I continue to enjoy this moment now thinking about all the people who made a difference and a great impact on me.
I am happy to write this blog about one such person (there are many more). There are two reasons why I begin this blog with him;
- It’s a promise I made to him that the next blog I write in my website – it will be about him.
- I was more than impressed by his action and genuine effort to help another department in the hotel.
Velayudan (in the pic) is the Chief security officer (CSO) at Le Merdien Al Aqah beach resort. Dedication to his role, respect for the job and honesty are always qualities that I have admired in this man. With due respect to all the CSO’s that I have worked with in my life, I have never come across anyone who is so specialized in fire fighting and one who trains the entire team with utmost sincerity on emergency procedures.
You might then be wondering what he is doing at the reception of this hotel. Yes, he is checking out a guest. This man is over 40 plus and has spent many years of his life in hotels with a different perspective (Safety and Security of customers and employees). In my view and also from what I have seen overs the years, “Security and Service mindset” are usually a kind of mismatch. So, I asked him what made him do a cross training at front office and learn Opera – the Front office system to check in and check out customers. He said that at first he just wanted to help the department on weekends when the reception gets crowded owing to 150 arrivals or more and an equal number of departures. Once he started to interact with the customers, he started to enjoy what he was doing. He said that through this exposure he understood his own job better, his perception about people and the way he looked at others changed. Above all, he realized that it takes very little effort to learn something new even when you are 40 plus. Most important thing is to take the first step. I probably have mentioned this before but it applies to this situation again and hence I write it as Zig Ziglar saiys – People who dont take the first step will never take the second.
I interviewed the Front office Manager (FOM) of the hotel later to find out if he felt the CSO’s presence as an intrusion to his operation. The FOM was candid to admit that at first he thought it minght be, but now he thinks Velayudan is a great help and god send on weekends in particular.
The General Manager in fact thinks it would be wonderful for all HOD’s to go through some cross trainings. A chance to discover oneself as well as a learning experience. But he would never push for it as such efforts are individual and cannot be a forced affair. I think he is absolutely right!
