What is your role at Capella? I’m a Security Supervisor. I started off as a Security Officer, and was promoted to Senior Security Officer in 2016. I achieved the role of Security Supervisor in October last year. The security team protects the resort’s premises, prevents loss and to attends to incidents within the grounds like injuries, fire alarms, or theft.

How long have you been working here? About seven years.

What made you decide to join the hotel industry? I was looking for a job after I completed my National Service. In fact, I first came here through a security agency, I wasn’t a full-time staff member at Capella. But I thought that the management at Capella took my suggestions seriously, and they made me feel like I was part of the team. I also enjoyed working with the people here, they’re all very friendly and helpful.

So after about three years, I decided to join Capella full-time. I thought that it would be a good stepping stone for me to enter and hopefully advance in the industry.

What have you learned during your time here? I’ve learned a lot about how to professionally handle different incidents that happen within the hotel grounds. I was also given the chance to work alongside VIPs, so that is where I learned other skills like how to interact with guests.

Apart from that, the hotel also sent me for different courses to pick up necessary skills like First Aid and fire extinguishing.

What’s the difference between being a Security Officer in the hotel industry, and in other industries? Because this is a people-centric business, we have to be more professional. We can’t be too strict and inflexible when explaining or enforcing the rules, in order to uphold our service standards. Also, there’s room for a lot more human interaction when you’re working in the hotel industry. I personally like to find time to roam the premises and interact with guests and residents in Capella, so I can better connect and form a relationship with them.

What do you enjoy most about what you do? Apart from ensuring the safety of our guests, I enjoy being able to help the guests, even with issues that are not security-related like assisting with their luggage. I do as much as I can to make the guests’ stay more enjoyable, because being able to make my guests feel happy makes me happy.

What was the most memorable experience that you’ve had? Last year, I was presented with a National Kindness Award. I was nominated by the management on the basis of the service I have provided to our guests. A guest once requested for someone trained in First Aid to look after over 30 children who were having a pool party here.

I happened to be on duty that day, so I watched over the kids even though being a lifeguard is not part of my job scope as a Security Officer. I even had to forgo my dinner to ensure the children’s safety.

But the parents were very appreciative, and having them come up to me to thank me for my help gave me a sense of accomplishment and fulfilment. Receiving the award was an honour as well.

Are there any challenges that you face in your job? Definitely. You have to be able to adapt and think on your feet, especially when you have to attend to an incident which you haven’t handled before. Every situation is different, so you have to keep a level head and be prepared to handle any new incidents or challenges.

If you panic, you won’t be able to think of the best way to handle the incidents that can come up in the hotel. For example, the first time I attended to a fire, I rushed to the location because I thought that the sooner I got there, the better.

But my seniors taught me that I should have also taken some time to carefully understand the situation and plan out my actions, so I would know exactly what to do once I arrived at the location.

Do you have any goals you’d like to achieve? I’d like to try my hand at the management side of things, not just to supervise my own team members but to also hopefully watch over the whole security department.

Do you have any words of advice for someone who plans to join the industry? There’s a lot to learn – how to lead, how to react to a variety of situations, for example – and you can even apply whatever you’ve learned in the industry to other aspects of your life. So keep an open mind and learn as much as you can.