My first part-time working experience
After “O levels” ended, I did my first part-time job as a waiter at a Japanese restaurant near Chinatown called “Ikura”. There I learned how to serve customers, take orders, clean, and operate a cashier machine. These might sound mundane, but as a first-timer, I found it a refreshing experience working as a frontline staff. However, 2 weeks later, the restaurant hired a full-time staff so I had to look for another temp job. Fortunately, I found a temp job rather quickly as a server at Shangri-la, The Line, where my real adventure began…
First day of work at Shangri-la
I was so clueless on my first day of work at “The Line”. I did not know where to report for work, where to collect my uniform, or even how to get to the bus stop! When the shift started, I was shocked at the number of different things a server had to do, yet I did not receive any instructions beforehand. Nonetheless, I did my best to pick up as much as I could while wondering how much smoother it would be if a simple guide was available.
The server job at Shangri-La was nice. I met good people and enjoyed the free buffet lunch they provided for temp staff. I gloated about it with some friends who got tempted and soon decided to join me at Shangri-la as servers too!
How the Shangri-la Survival Guide came to be
It was through these friends that I learned of Shangri-la's training guide. It was created to help out new part-time workers and somehow HR did not share it with me. I can't but feel that I missed out. However, I was surprised to hear that despite this training guide, they were still very nervous as they did not find the guide helpful.
To ease their anxiety, I quickly created my version of a guide using Google Docs. Mine covered all the key things they needed to look out for their first day. I cheekily named it “Shangri-la Survival Guide”. They would later feedback that they found it useful. I proudly showed Dad my creation. After looking at it, he said “Why don’t you put some effort into refining this document and send it to HR (Shangri-la)? If your friends found it useful, it may help future part-time workers at The Line as well.”
Reflecting on how anxious I felt on my first day, I took up his challenge and over the next few days, I continued refining this “Survival Guide”.
Creating the Survival Guide
Applying what I learned from SST’s design thinking class, I first identified all the pain points before attempting to solve them. To ensure that I did not miss out on anything, I did a task analysis and listed down all the tasks, including breaking down each task into simpler sub-tasks. After that was done, I then prioritized the list.
To create an easy-to-use guide, I took several photos to make my guide more visual and less text-heavy. Every day at work now felt more purposeful. I felt that I was giving more value to the company by going beyond my normal duties as a server. If my guide works well, it would mean that the repeated queries sent to HR (e.g. how to get there, where to go to collect uniforms, what to do, etc.) can now be resolved upstream. Saving everyone time and effort, allowing them to focus on higher-value tasks.
Birth of “special project” idea
After a week, I felt that the guide was decent enough to be shared with HR. I also prepared a proposal of how I could make further edits to it if they agreed to let me work on it as a special project. To my delight, Ms. Esther from HR replied that she liked the idea but counter-proposed that I create a training guide for “The Banquet” department instead as “The LINE” already has an existing guide that was recently created and already shared with new temp staff. This would be a newer version than the one my friends received.
I agreed to her suggestion and requested a copy of that official guide she mentioned, as well as permission to work x2 shifts at the Banquet. I explained to Ms Esther that her copy of the guide may have components that I could reuse. And by experiencing what it was like actually working as a server at the Banquet, I can better empathize with what the temp staff goes through. She agreed to my requests and linked me up with the manager, Ms Syazana who was in charge of the Banquet’s schedule.
Working “undercover” at The Banquet
My first day of work at the Banquet was not as traumatic as when I first started at “The Line”. Many things were similar but I focused on all the new items and different roles that a server does at the Banquet. I incorporated all those new items into the existing guide that I had built for The Line, so was able to quickly piece it together over the subsequent 2 days.
Envisioning an end state where I present my final product to HR, and do a handover, I created a BluePrint document. From Needs Analysis, and type of technology used, to typography, the blueprint gave readers a behind-the-scenes look at how I designed “The Survival Guide: Banquet Edition”. Along the way, I even created an infographic so that new staff who go to HR to register their thumbprints can see all the key steps at a glance.
Collaborating asynchronously
Although I finished the guide over the weekend, it would be more than a week later before I heard from HR again. This was because Esther went on extended MC. Knowing that for the time being meeting in person was not possible, I created a short 2-minute video explaining what I did and the next steps. This allowed Ms Esther to view it at her convenience, get some context, and then feedback via the comments feature on Google Doc. I then attached this video in an email, together with a proposed day/time when I could make a trip down to Shangri-la HR to do my final presentation as well as the handing over process. During which, I will transfer ownership of the Google Docs, and Canva project files as well as provide any training if required.
To my delight, this arrangement worked out perfectly. Ms. Esther used the Google Doc comments feature to add her feedback directly to the same document. This allowed me to clear most of the issues even before the final day of handing over.
Final presentation & Handing over
A few days later, I received a WhatsApp from Esther. “Please come over on 28 April at 10am. Three of us will be sitting through your presentation, including our director.”
Wow.
I could hardly believe it. What started with a simple document to help my friends turned into a special project that is to be reviewed by the Shangri-la HR director! To prepare myself for this presentation, I made a script and slide deck. I was so nervous, the evening before I was still refining my slides and practicing my lines past 3 am.
Fast forward to the day of presentation. I arrived early and had a 30-minute buffer to calm down and set up my slides. When the 3 HR reps arrived, I introduced myself and started my presentation. I was nervous, but as the presentation went on, my confidence grew and soon I was enjoying the process. The HR director asked a few questions, all of which I was able to explain. Towards the end of the presentation, one of my slides was a proposal to work on another project. I wanted to redesign “The Line” handbook. I received it from Ms Esther and identified several areas that could be improved. The director responded that she is aware that “The Line” handbook was not well designed and has already tasked another department to review it. However, she agreed that I could continue collaborating with them on this new project. She complimented that I did a good job with “The Banquet” Survival guide and thanked me for the effort. As she had another meeting, she excused herself. I seized that opportunity to request for a wefie.
After the HR director left, I spent another 30 minutes with Ms Esther and Ms Jolyn. I showed them how to configure permission settings within Google Docs and transferred ownership to them. They were satisfied with my handing over and complimented me on a job well done. Ms Esther said that she would check with HR on the payment for my services as indicated in my proposal. I took stock of how much time I spent on the project to gauge my current skill levels. To truly simulate a real-life experience, I checked Fiverr on what freelancers were charging and proposed an equivalent fee for my services. Ms Esther said that she would check with her colleagues and get back to me on the payment procedure.
Final reflections
From working as a waiter in a tiny restaurant in Chinatown to a server at Shangri-la to co-building a training guide with Shangri-la HR, it has been a blast! I shared my experience with my Dad who says I am already demonstrating what our government is advocating, i.e. job redesign and job upskilling to provide higher-value services.
This special project has been a most meaningful experience! One challenge was that it was extremely difficult to design a guide that was concise and simple to use, without compromising on the key information it needed to have. Good usability and good design do not come by chance. I am grateful that SST taught us problem-solving skills as well as how to see problems as opportunities.
It was hard work, but every minute invested was worth it. In summary, I got to apply skills learned from SST in a real-world situation. My product will impact all future temp staff working at Shangri-la “The Banquet” and possibly “The Line” as well. My product will also help HR save time and effort moving forward. I got to make new friends, and now have a mentor in Ms Esther who works in HR (Talent & Careers), and maybe a follow-up project soon.
This reminds me of Alexander Graham Bell’s famous quote, "When one door closes, another opens." So, while I was disappointed when “Ikura” shut its doors on me, but it inadvertently led me to find another at Shangri-la. A great reminder that there will be always other opportunities so long as we keep on moving forward.
Howie Chia
28 April 2023
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