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STAFF
FEATURE
9
THE AMERICAN CLUB
NOV / DEC 2017
GARY TAN
Members who have enjoyed The Club for many years will know that the
Jackpot Room used to be a common fixture onsite. When the outlet was
closed at the end of August 2016, some staff took the opportunity to
retire, while others expressed their willingness to continue serving within
The Club.
Gary Tanbelongs to the latter group, and like several of his teammembers,
embraced the opportunity to be cross-trained and redeployed to other
outlets. As part of The Club’s efforts to groom potential staff like him
to take on future leadership roles, Gary was placed into an in-house
12-month F&B Management Trainee Program. The structured on-the-job
program provides staff with in-depth training in all of The Club’s F&B
outlets to prepare them for their career switch or lateral advancement.
With no prior experience in F&B, Gary has exceeded expectations and
transitioned into his new roles with ease. He spent six months at Eagle’s
Nest, two months at The 2nd Floor, and two months at Thyme café before
wrapping up his training with two months at Union Bar. In the one year, he
has had a hand in planning staff rosters, conducting daily briefings, and
handling Members’ feedback, and has gained knowledge and skills in
leadership, customer service and The Club’s overall F&B operations.
The proud F&B Management Training graduate is now based at Eagle’s
Nest – do say hi next time you’re at the outlet!
What have you learnt from the program and what were some of
the challenges?
Everything in F&B was new to me, from setting of tables to receiving
feedback from Members after their patronage. It was challenging
learning how to master the new skills, especially given that I only had
2 months in most of the outlets to digest everything. It was also tough
leaving an outlet after bonding with colleagues. Thankfully, my seniors
and mentors were patient and willingly shared and guided me with their
years of experience. I have learnt so much about the workings of the
entire F&B operation, and thoroughly enjoyed getting involved in the
preparation and execution of events, from marketing and sourcing of
decorations, to reservation taking, table management and deployment
of manpower.
How valuable was the program to your self-development?
I highly recommend this training program to my colleagues, to be
given the rare opportunity to work in different environments and
really get to know other team members during their careers at The
Club. I have learnt many new skills from various team leaders on the
functioning of The Club business, standing me in good stead for my
own career progression.