Just as our dedicated housekeepers keep your homes in peak form, they too have their own families to raise. For these employees, taking care of a young family while pursuing career success can be tiring.
We are thankful for the sacrifices that working parents make for us, and want to know more about how these employees feel. A young mother raising three children, Hartini gave us her take on how BUTLER has not only given her a sense of job fulfillment, but much-needed family time too.
Qn: Could you share a short introduction about yourself and your current position in BUTLER?
Hartini: Hi, my name is Hartini, and I’m currently working as a Supervisor under the BUTLER Department. As a Supervisor, I’m responsible for monitoring the housekeepers under me and for ensuring their discipline. I’m also tasked with checking the quality of their work — there’s a lot of things I can check for instance — whether their work quality is up to standard, are there any areas they have missed out during housekeeping, their punctuality when reporting to the client’s home etc. I’m like the big sister of the housekeepers under me and we’re pretty much like a family! *chuckles*
Qn: Could you share more about your personal life outside of work?
Hartini: I’m a proud mother of three children. I love to spend time with them and weekends are strictly for family time. Typically, on the weekends, we have breakfast together in the morning, before I send the kids to tuition classes. In the evenings, we prepare our own dinner together or eat out. Sometimes on the weekends we go to the beach or watch a movie as well.
Qn: Why did you join BUTLER and has this broadened your perspective, knowledge and learning?
Hartini: I joined BUTLER because I was yearning for a job that would allow me to think on my feet while enabling me to enjoy excellent work-life balance as a young working mother. That’s exactly why I chose to join BUTLER because it allows me to work five days a week, from 9 am to 6 pm. I can now spend more time with my family and my kids after I knock off from work. I can even make it for family gatherings and weddings, which are usually held on the weekends!
Thanks to BUTLER, I will no longer end up neglecting my personal life and family — both of which are very important to me — due to work. The feeling of being able to see your kids everyday at 6 when you knock off from work is one that resonates close to my heart as a mother, especially when I was only able to see them while they were sleeping at night in my previous job in the F&B industry.
Learning-wise, working at BUTLER has completely changed my perspective of customer service. Here at BUTLER, we are totally obsessed about customer service, which is reflected in our mission to serve with excellence in everything that we do. That’s why I strive to be as meticulous as possible when doing housekeeping and also try to inculcate the same spirit of service excellence in the housekeepers under me so that we can give the client the best experience possible. I fondly remember how there was once I had to bid farewell to one of my clients whom I was doing housekeeping for over the last couple of years, and he was reluctant to let me go because of how well my housekeeping service was! It’s always the smallest things that the clients will remember when it comes to customer service.
Qn: Could you use three words to encapsulate your experience working at BUTLER thus far?
Hartini: Happiness, family and challenging.
Happiness. BUTLER is one of the happiest things that has happened to me in my life, as I enjoy my work here. I’m happy everyday coming to work, knowing that my job allows me to make a difference to someone else’s life. Nothing beats the happiness in my heart when my client texts me after a housekeeping session thanking me for a job well done.
Family. Almost every week, we have an official meeting-cum-bonding session, which makes me feel like we are part of one big family. This is despite the fact that we are all from different races, different backgrounds, and different educational levels. The concept of family was brought about by the CEO, who was insistent on creating a family-like company culture so that we can treat our company like our second home. His efforts have clearly paid off as I feel very comfortable sharing with my colleagues and the CEO any challenges I face in my personal life. We even go out for meals occasionally outside of work and we can talk about everything under the sun during these unofficial meetups!
Challenging. It is challenging because you have to finish your job without receiving any complaints from the customer. This is especially so since I’m a supervisor now, and I have to ensure that the housekeepers under me also do their job well and don’t receive any complaints. That’s why here at BUTLER, we try to minimise complaints from our clients as much as possible through delivering excellent customer service.
With the above, we further asked Hartini on a few research questions.
Qn: Tell us more about your training with BUTLER.
Hartini: The training I received lasted for three months. BUTLER taught me many things over the duration of my training stint — customer service, the basics of housekeeping, the high standards we have to strive to meet et cetera. For housekeeping, it’s not just cleaning as what many people think it is. BUTLER’s training has taught me to be more meticulous as well as the importance of paying attention to small things that I wouldn’t even have thought of previously, like for instance, making sure that the labels on all of the clients’ toiletries are facing forward, their potted plants are facing the right direction, and so on. The training has been very helpful for me in elevating our clients’ customer experience.
Qn: Being able to grow in a career is a huge incentive for some people. Were career prospects a key reason why you joined BUTLER?
Hartini: Frankly speaking, career prospects or promotions were not at the top of my mind when I first joined BUTLER. I’m someone who possesses the mentality that if you do a good job, then you will get promoted. I’m really enjoying my job at the moment and just living each day as it is. However, having said that, I feel that the management at BUTLER really does a good job in ensuring that your hard work will not go unrecognised — you’ll definitely be able to climb up the corporate ladder here and become a supervisor one day as long as you’re willing to work hard.
Qn: A significant number of Singaporeans said they “do not know what their company truly stands for or represents” in terms of corporate values and the company’s mission [3]. So, what do you think BUTLER stands for having worked here for a few years?
Hartini: BUTLER places a lot of emphasis on making our customers happy as well as the value of going the extra mile to deliver an impeccable customer experience. BUTLER also stands for hard work and perseverance, which is why I feel so satisfied after every housekeeping session knowing that I’ve put in my all to make the client happy with my housekeeping services. These are the very values that I want my kids to embody when they grow up and enter the working world in the future.
Qn: What is some advice you would like to give to all the job-seekers out there, especially those who are hoping to join the local hospitality industry?
Hartini: This career is honestly fulfilling, but you also have to be patient and ensure that you deliver the level of customer service that is expected of you. You must also be willing to learn and be hardworking. Sometimes, it’s not just the physical work that will get to you, but also the mental exertion that comes with having to pay a close eye to the smallest of details. But as long as you are resilient enough to endure all of these, you’ll definitely be able to make it far in the hospitality industry.
Qn: Would you recommend BUTLER to jobseekers?
Hartini: Absolutely! If you are looking to join for housekeeping that has excellent work-life balance so that you can spend time with your loved ones, then this is the job for you. BUTLER has truly disrupted the traditional perception of housekeeper jobs, be it in terms of professionalism or work-life balance.
Happy housekeepers start with happy families
Many working parents struggle to find time for their families, and we want to change that by making sure our housekeepers have a great work-life balance. We are proud to have empowered Hartini to smoothly grow her career and family.
At BUTLER, we want our housekeepers to be happy. Satisfied clients start with happy housekeepers, and happy housekeepers start with happy families. Looking for a rewarding career that also puts your family first? Join us today!
About BUTLER
BUTLER is a property management and hospitality service company that provides individuals and businesses with property and hospitality services such as office management and events planning.
At BUTLER, we are driven to serve with excellence in everything we do.
References:
[1] https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/adopt-progressive-wage-model-companies-urged
[3] https://hrmasia.com/employees-want-to-feel-like-theyre-part-of-a-family/
