Singapore Business Awards 2020

4 APAC / 2020 Singapore Business Awards 5 APAC / 2020 Singapore Business Awards , , Although the hospitality industry in Singapore is growing rapidly, the biggest challenge hoteliers face is securing access to ‘competent, dedicated and skilled manpower’. Workforce expansion has proven a dead end for many hoteliers, as a large majority of recruits either lack the skillset necessary to perform cleaning jobs with the level of expertise necessary, or they lack commitment to their employers. Aiming to tackle this problem head on is John Sartain, a renowned hospitality industry veteran, with more than 30 years’ industry experience, who launched his company, Hospitality Resource Solutions (HRS), to effectively remove the blockade that has stood in the way of real productivity gains for Singaporean hoteliers, time and time again. Established in 2013 with a laser-focus on assisting hoteliers drive efficiencies and increase operational productivity - all the while working within Singapore’s tough lean manpower environment - HRS is able to help hoteliers redefine and achieve business success by helping to turn their fixed manpower costs into a variable cost. The company offers a range of services but the outsourcing of manpower to hotels is over 80% of the company’s business. Other services include providing consultancy and guidance related to productivity solutions, as well as the training and lecturing of hotel staff. Having successfully operated a number of quality hotels in the both United Kingdom and across Asia, Sartain now calls Singapore home. As a Permanent Resident in Singapore, Sartain directed both the Grand Copthorne Waterfront and the iconic Mandarin Orchard Hotel as General Manager and was responsible for record years of profit growth at each. In addition, he has also worked with a number of the industry’s leading brands, Dec19383 Best Productivity - Based Cleaning Service 2020 Hospitality Resource Solutions is a productivity-focused cleaning services business based in Singapore that provides efficiency and professionalismto hotels and serviced residences looking to revitalise their core cleaning services. John Sartain tells us more about his innovative firm in the wake of winning Best Productivity-Based Cleaning Service 2020. such as Hilton, Millennium and Copthorne, Meritus Hotels & Resorts, and Resorts World Sentosa. With his extensive experience he has assisted hoteliers in China, Myanmar, Africa, Thailand, and the United Kingdom transform their hospitality challenges into success stories through his professional advice, training services and manpower support. It was while operating in the industry that Sartain realised that there was a shortage of skilled housekeeping manpower. As more hotels continued to pop up, a diminishing pool of capable workforce recruits was having a negative impact on both the performance and productivity of the hotels and was also failing to deliver the ultimate customer experience that every hotelier aims for. While some in the industry have tried hiring additional staff to ameliorate these problems and ensure that hotel rooms are properly cleaned and well- maintained, these actions have consistently failed to produce the kind of progress required - especially given the increases in cost. But drawing on his past experience and innovative mindset, Sartain knew that he could go some way to solving the problem by inspiring loyalty, effective training and driving teamwork. With over 65 dedicated, trained and experienced personnel to undertake hotel bedroom cleaning and public area cleaning, HRS is now able to successfully streamline systems, procedures and processes, and introduce technology where appropriate. The company’s outsourcing model offers flexibility to hotels, guaranteeing that they will only pay per room cleaned, regardless of occupancy – effectively turning a fixed cost into a variable one. ‘Working Smarter, Not Harder’ is a mantra the Company lives by. Many Singapore hotels are now moving to the ‘fully outsourced’ model that is so popular in Europe, USA, Japan and Australia, delivering even greater financial benefits to the bottom line. HRS educates staff on how to work smarter not harder, helping to drive productivity by performing cleaning services strategically. Through short on-job training sessions, staff become familiar with the tips and tricks that allow them to optimise the time taken to clean each guest room, and effectively save both time and money for the hoteliers – the clients. The solutions HRS offers are based on the individual needs of each of their customers but are rooted in finding efficiencies and productivity improvements. The talented team at HRS is consistently developing new methods, tools, and materials to help improve cleaning workflow, and they pride themselves on providing reliable, competitively priced services to those wishing to outsource their cleaning needs. Contact Details Contact: John Sartain Company: Hospitality Resource Solutions PTE LTD Web Address: www.hrsasia.com.sg Dec19244 Award-winning, Singapore-based immigration consultancy, Immigration@SG LLP (IASG) provides comprehensive Singapore immigration services to cater to the varying needs of businesses and individuals. At the same time, IASG also assists with outbound Singapore immigration to countries such as the EU, Cyprus, Malta, Australia and New Zealand. The firm’s in-depth knowledge of Singapore immigration laws and policies, as well as extensive experience in handling a myriad of immigration cases, allows it to offer clients sound and strategic immigration advice with full compliance to the local laws and regulations. Corporate Communications Manager, Muhammad Ryhan, tells us more. “Our team comprises of well-trained immigration professionals with over 20 years of combined immigration experience in Singapore, with close working relationships with relevant government agencies such as the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA), the Economic Development Board (EDB) and the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) Singapore. “We pride ourselves on a professional and solutions-driven approach to derive swift, effective, tailor-made immigration solutions in a time- sensitive business landscape for all our clients. We invest time and resources into building a strong team. In addition to this, embed into our corporate culture is a keen desire to delight our clients with excellent customer service and genuine relationships.” Leading the firm, is IASG’s Director and Managing Partner, Masood Mustafa who oversees the entire company. In addition to overseeing the management of the company, Masood is also responsible for providing the overall strategy and advisory for all inbound Singapore immigration matters, which are based upon his established policy planning experience with the various Singapore ministries. This knowledge is already encapsulated within the firm’s internal operational processes, which includes equipping and preparing IASG’s staff to be highly adept in handling various inbound Singapore immigration matters. In just over four years, Masood’s valuable and extensive experience has enabled him to grow IASG to over 40 in headcount, despite the highly competitive and niche nature of the business. During this period, Masood assembled an efficient and professional team which consists of ex ministry staff, as well as individuals with vast experience in a number of sectors, which includes banking and finance, medical, hospitality and also technology. As IASG handles clients from almost every sector, this gives IASG an edge as the combined experience from a broad spectrum of industries ensures knowledge from both the private and public sectors are strategically imbued into their approach. In recent years, one key observation made was the consistency in which the country is sticking closely to its selective Immigration policy Best Immigration Consultancy Firm 2020 - South East Asia Following their recent success in APAC Insider’s Singapore Business Awards 2020, Immigration@SG LLP’s Corporate Communications Manager tells us more about the firmand how its in-depth knowledge sets it apart from the rest. of allowing only 30,000-32,000 approved applications annually for Permanent Residents and about 20,000 – 22,000 for Citizenship applications. What makes the inbound Singapore immigration highly competitive is that the Singapore Government sees more than 3-4 times the number of applicants! Recent trends also point to an increasing focus on approving applicants with relevant skillsets in the Technology sector (automation, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence) amongst many others. Since incorporation, IASG’s track record in Singapore PR, Citizenship, and Work Pass applications remains stellar, and it has helped individuals and families from countries such as India, China, Philippines, U.S.A, South America,Australia, Malaysia, Japan and Korea amongst many others. IASG’s individual clientele ranges from both regular professionals to ultra-high net worth individuals. On the Corporate front, the firm’s clientele includes Google and IBM, amongst others. The firm’s internal culture has played a large part in helping it to secure the prestigious accolade of Best Immigration Consultancy Firm 2020 - South East Asia and Ryhan emphasises that it is the team’s professionalism through service delivery and knowledge which sets it aside from competitors. “We are in a unique industry whose product is almost entirely non- tangible, and whose final decision is at the sole discretion of the Government. Thus, our role as consultants is to ensure that clients have the assurances that their final submitted documents package strategically reflects their best and strongest possible profile as at time of application submission.” Contact Details Company: Immigration@SG LLP Web Address: www.iasg.com.sg Masood Mustafa, Director, Immigration@SG LLP