The Extra Mile And A Golden Touch

It’s the people that make a workplace much more than just a building. We award the Star HOST Awards to exemplary staff members of our service partners for their excellent customer and operational service.

What makes a work space feel more welcoming? While interior design can go some way, it’s often the people that elevate the experience. Whether it’s the concierge staff, cleaners, or security guards, it’s the day-to-day interactions that make each working experience a comfortable and delightful one.

CapitaLand’s Star HOST Awards aims to recognise service staff who have gone above and beyond the service excellence standard by anticipating tenants’ needs, and taking pride in all that they do. The HOST framework—which stands for Hassle-free; Operational excellence; Serve with passion; and Trustworthy—was developed by CapitaLand as a standard of customer service to guide all staff of our service partners to develop a culture that stands out, and to deliver the CapitaLand hospitality experience to our tenants working in our properties. Trainings are provided to introduce the HOST service framework, building on the ability to consistently deliver the desired experience and equip employees with the right tools. Twice yearly, staff of our service partners are awarded for going the extra mile to bring smiles to tenant’s faces by delivering their very best.

We had a short heart-to-heart chat with three winners—Madeline, Angel, and Vasanth—to learn more about their experiences at work and their thoughts behind winning the award.

Madeline

Madeline Anak BungKong of ISS Facilities Services has been working at CapitaGreen as a cleaner for the past six months, where she takes care of the high-touch common areas such as the toilets and lifts from levels 14 to 19. Madeline was nominated for the award for her exemplary performance, and tenants praised her consistency and perseverance to go beyond the satisfactory rating for all the toilets that she’s in charge of. 

How does she manage to maintain such high standards of cleanliness? Madeline takes pride in her work and double-checking the work done is something that she takes very seriously, going for a second round of cleaning if she doesn’t find her work satisfactory. This personal standard of excellence has been recognised by her colleagues and managers, who make it a point to continuously encourage her. Tenants have also complimented her for her good work.

When asked about how she felt about winning the Star HOST award, Madeline beamed with pride and joy—it was her first time winning an award, and she didn’t expect this honour at work. “It encourages me to do better,” she said. “Good service to me is when tenants are happy with my work, and all the amenities inside the restrooms are in tip-top condition."

Angel

As a concierge at CapitaGreen for the past three years, Santos Antoniette Angel Cobar (fondly known to most as Angel) and like her name, has been a guardian angel for many tenants with her quick thinking and empathetic nature. There have been several instances where tenants have found themselves in a bit of a pickle, and Angel immediately swooped in to save the day.

One tenant shared an incident when she had accidentally locked herself outside of her office, with all her belongings inside. Empathising with her situation, Angel immediately offered to lend her some money so that she could go home. Another tenant also shared that Angel reached out to her immediately upon noticing her cast on her leg while returning to office. Angel helped her enter the building via the exit gantry, as it was nearer for the tenant to walk towards the turnstiles. The tenant complimented Angel’s friendliness and service attitude—just a few of the many glowing words that have been shared about Angel. 

Aside from bonding with the tenants, Angel of Certis touched on how each day at work is a different experience. Being the first touchpoint at CapitaGreen for tenants and visitors, there's a certain decorum required, besides just greeting anyone who walks in. Angel undergoes regular training on customer service, as part of her company’s learning and development programme, and that has also aided her in inculcating a customer-first mindset. “Good service means consistently exceeding customers’ expectations and going the extra mile to serve,” she says. “It’s important to be helpful and professional at all times.”

In another instance, a tenant had dropped a personal belonging into the lift shaft and a small fee had been charged by the lift vendor to retrieve the item. As the tenant did not have cash at that point in time to pay for the service, Angel offered to pay the vendor first, knowing the tenant was really eager to retrieve her item. Very often, it’s the small things that tenants seem to notice. “One day, a tenant approached us at the counter and thanked us for greeting them everyday. I know it's just a simple gesture, but I felt happy knowing that my small action can make such a large impact on other people.” Angel recalls.

Winning the Star HOST award is an honour to Angel, who knows that her hard work is well-appreciated. “I am most grateful to the people who nominated me,” she says. “Please rest assured that I will strive to do better every day."

Vasanth

A technician at The Rutherford & Oasis, Murugesan Vasanth of Evergreen might be new to Singapore and the building, but he’s already making waves as he proactively ensures he learns things quickly. He can be found diligently completing daily inspections, and carrying out his tasks on time.

A normal day for him starts at 8.00am as he switches on all the lights and the temperature screening machine, followed by his daily inspections. Nothing is overlooked as every room is checked under his watchful eye. Each issue is immediately taken note of and reported . Vasanth would be one of the first responders if a flickering light has been reported in the building.

Although it appears that most of Vasanth’s work is behind the scenes, he says that good communication skills are also crucial as he has to speak to many different people at work. Knowing that he’s done well is important, too, Vasanth says. “Some of the most heartwarming things the tenants and my supervisors have said to me were “well done” and “good job”.”

It was a huge surprise and motivation for Vasanth when he found out that he won the Star HOST award, especially as he’d only been with his employer for six months. He hopes to provide even better customer service, and upgrade himself for the future.

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The CapitaLand Star HOST awards are a reminder to continue to strive for excellence, and a benchmark for all our service staff – our own or those of our service partners – who make every tenant and visitor feel more than welcome.

The next time you see Madeline, Angel, Vasanth or any of our frontliners, wave a friendly hello or give them an appreciative smile; a little kindness goes a long way to make someone’s day. 

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