Interview with Jenny Goh – Assistant Director Environmental Services, City of Dreams, Macau

Jenny Goh

Lycette & Associates was on another assignment in Macau recently and met up with the City of Dreams’ Assistant Director Environmental Services, Jenny Goh. The City of Dreams, widely known as COD or COD Macau in the industry is an integrated entertainment resort in Macau with entertainment, nightclubs, a diverse array of accommodation, regional and international dining, shopping and 2 casinos. The City of Dreams is situated along the Cotai strip and opened its doors in 2009. The resort comprises 3 hotels Crown Towers Hotel (300 rooms), Grand Hyatt Hotel (800 rooms) and Hard Rock Hotel (300 rooms)

Liz Lycette caught up with Jenny for an interview. Here Jenny tells us about her experience at the City of Dreams (www.cityofdreamsmacau.com).

What is your cultural background, where were you born and where did you grow up?

I am a Malaysian, Chinese; I was born in Malaysia and grew up in Kuala Lumpur

What was your career path to date?

My first taste of the hospitality industry was working at Melia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and my first job there was as a Housekeeping Coordinator. Having never before worked in hospitality, it was quite an interesting and challenging role! I spent nine months working as a coordinator and then was promoted to the role of Public Area Supervisor, which was really tough and a good change. I was responsible for maintaining public areas to the highest of standards in line with company benchmarks. I had to ensure all staff members were trained to deliver a superior cleaning service in rooms and all public areas as outlined in SOP’s. I was really lucky to have had a wonderful superior, who shared with me all her years of knowledge. Her departure opened the door for me to be promoted to the role of Assistant Housekeeper. From there I moved to Director of Housekeeping, which is where I am today.

What was your first role as Executive Housekeeper?

My first role as a EH was with the Pan Pacific Johore Bahru, I joined them as an Assistant Executive Housekeeper and was promoted after eight months to Executive Housekeeper.

What are your current job responsibilities at your hotel?

I am responsible for the effective management of the Environmental Services Department, which includes property presentation, Waste Management, Pest Control, Employee Wardrobe and Kid’s City. I am in charge of quality control to maintain the five star standards and achieve its annual EBITDA budget by developing and implementing short and long-term strategies. This also involves entertainment departments such as The House of Dancing Water and Bubble Show cleaning operations. It is my job to come up with a succession plan for the whole department, to develop and implement a quality assurance program, cost control, review the quality of all uniforms and replace progressively as they complete their life span and another responsibility is to increase Kids’ City visitation and revenue.

How many staff are you responsible for?”
In total of 465 staff

What would your typical day be like?

I start my day on my computer and follow up on emails. My communication is usually done via email. I am usually ‘connected’ 24/7 and I’ll respond to work emails within an hour (during the weekend as well). It gives my guests or colleagues the support they require. They appreciate the extra attention and I don’t mind giving them that extra support. Then I meet all managers, supervisors and staff for the morning briefing, discuss with the overnight shift manager any follow up, special cleaning or staff issues.  Next I prepare for subsequent meetings, follow up with suppliers, external / internal departmental meetings, staff meetings. I spot check on garment quality being delivered from the vendor, inspect EVS areas such as lobby, casino, toilets, exterior and HOH areas. Review all reports for budget, approve stock for the day; follow up with other departments on any outstanding issues. I visit the Kid’s City and tour the area and find out what business issues we are dealing with.

What are your top three challenges this week?

The biggest issue for me and for Macau in general is the high turnover of staff. Inadequate wage levels lead to employees moving to competitors regularly. There are no other major challenges at the moment.

How did you choose those managers under you?

I will usually look for a team player. The person we choose doesn’t have to be very experienced but they do have to have positive qualities. We also look for a willingness to adapt to change and someone always prepared to go the extra mile to achieve better results. To be frank I don’t like lazy people in my team!

How does pre-opening work compare with working in an existing property? What are the top 3 challenges in an opening?

Initially I was working as a Project Manager in Shenzhen; I did the opening for a Resort Spa and managed that after opening. The main goal of the pre-opening team is to build on experience and create excitement about the Hotel grand opening. The most important challenges are:-

What are your top 3 tips for success in Housekeeping Management?

If you had to do it all over again what would you do differently?

I am most appreciative of all the opportunities I have had. Doing it over again, I would remind myself about the wonderful things in my life. For me personally I find that working on making each day a happy day is more sensible than trying to come up with a two or three year plan. I am always open to the opportunities that are presented to me. My philosophy is “Quality is more important than Quantity”.

What advice would you give someone starting out in housekeeping?

What do you do for fun?

How do you think housekeeping management has changed since you started?

The Housekeeping has had significant changes, especially in the area of productivity; we now have systems in place to measure this. Technology in this area has really taken off. When I started in housekeeping we only had basic reports from front office and basic communication, now we are able to manage the department using different technologies and improve communications.

Where do you think it is heading?

In the future we will have more technology and more systems to tackle the running of the housekeeping department with more precision.

 


About the Author

Liz Lycette, founder of Lycette & Associates was born in New Zealand and is a graduate of École Hotelière de Lausanne, Switzerland. She started her career in the hospitality industry in 1981 and at the age of 23 became Executive Housekeeper for the grand opening of Mandarin Oriental in Macau. She subsequently held this position at The Conrad Hong Kong, Mandarin Oriental Jakarta, Le Meridien Hotel, London, and The Regent Hotel, Sydney. Liz was also Project Manager for the opening of 3 properties in China for Harbour Plaza Hotels and Resorts.

Liz established Lycette & Associates in 1999 and has since undertaken hospitality consulting assignments and training both in Australia and overseas including work for Moevenpick Middle East, Taj Hotels & Resorts in India and Australia, Marriott Hotels India, Hong Kong Hotels Association, Langham Hotels & Resort, Venetian Macau, Hotel Nikko Bali, Galaxy Macau and Westin KL. Liz’s extensive international expertise and considerable Housekeeping knowledge, has given her a truly multi-cultural approach and a wide range of diverse contacts throughout the industry. Her excellent organisational skills, adaptability and integrity enable her to complete any assignment with energy, efficiency and positive results.
About Lycette & Associates 



L&A specialises in all aspects of Housekeeping Management including on-site consulting, training and development workshops including assistance with initial set-up of housekeeping operations at pre-opening. The Company also undertakes customised operational reviews of existing housekeeping operations identifying and further improving the effectiveness and efficiency of current departmental procedures. For more information visit www.lycetteandassociates.com or e-mail info@lycetteandassociates.com

 

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