Exclusive Interview | Karthik Paramasivam, Senior Manager - Operations & Training | Technique Control Facility Management (TCFM)
/“I believe in the saying “ A chain is as strong as its weakest link” one should always give respect even to the lowest level of staff working in the organization. Treat the staff with the same dignity, regardless of the nature of the work they do. Throughout my experience I had witnessed the housekeepers are treated in a low profile, however, the situation changed 360 degrees in this pandemic, and happy that the Housekeeper and the sanitary workers are given their respects as front-line warriors”
Editor: Tell us about your journey. How did it all start?
It all started in the year 2006 while I was still pursuing my degree, where I was selected as a Hotel Operational Training program in erstwhile Starwood group to undergo 2 years intense training in the Housekeeping department.
Before joining as a Hotel operational trainee in the Housekeeping, I tried to be a Garde manger chef, steward and as a receptionist. It was never late that I found out that I am passionate in Housekeeping department which I felt is closely connected to me.
I found very interesting to be working in the Housekeeping as we have the access to the entire hotel premises with no boundary to learn.
Post completing my training, I was offered to join in the Emirate for a preopening hotel with 826 keys and was given a challenge to set up and to handle the 626 hotel apartments. My career took a leap forward and never had to look back as I built my base very strongly. Over the 10 year of time, I am fortunate to work for well renowned hotel chains like Kempinski, Marriott, Radisson, and the Millennium group in UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi by building my career from a Hotel Operational Trainee to an Executive Housekeeper.
It didn’t stop there, I associated myself very closely to the Front office department which then made me to handle the front office operations as well for some time before returning to India.
Before my return, I was very much sure that I should set foot in the FM industry to explore the parallel vertical of Hospitality sector which made me to choose FM industry which I am currently associated with.
Editor: What do you think it takes to succeed in this industry?
Clear vison with strategic approach will sure help to take a leap in this industry. One should learn to embrace the challenges and surprises which will help us to shine our skills and knowledge.
The world is changing everyday and no wonder for the hospitality sector as well, one should keep themselves updated to the changes happening in the industry and try to implement those in the best possible ways.
Digitalization – The development of the technology is dominating almost all the industries, our industry as well should start to focus in digitizing all aspects like implementing green checklists, digitized PPM activities tracker, QR codes scanner for common areas etc.
Editor: You have worked in Hotels and in Facilities Management. For the readers who may not know FM well, can you share what career opportunities exist?
The careers opportunities in the FM is very vast and multiple positions are available for one to choose from. In a typical scenario, there might be 1 or 2 hotels operating in a city, whereas there might be a lot of malls, theatres, IT tech parks, educational institutions etc operating in the same city which will boost more career opportunities to choose from FM industries.
In the last decade, the FM industry has grown to the peak with almost managing every single commercial or residential places globally which provided jobs for a lot of newcomers and they continued to grow within the industry.
Editor: What are the attributes you look for while selecting or hiring? If someone wants to work with you, what should they do?
In my views, I always look for the “Yes We Can” attitude which is a key attribute to succeed in this industry leaving the education and experience behind.
Education can be taught in the institutions but not the attitude, one should possess a good attitude if they wish to work with me. A positive approach can change the perspective of the way they are seeing the things. I would prefer to have a candidate with a good attitude with minimal education over good education with a bad attitude.
Editor: Two things you would like to change in the industry.
The irony in the FM industry is that the staff working for this industry are not given the dignity of labour who are performing the task. The industry should understand that the Housekeeper working in the FM industry is handling more space and having more responsibilities to maintain the aesthetic of the Tech Parks.
A well-structured career succession plan and the right platform is what I see missing in the FM industry, whereas the Hotel industry continued to have the limelight and support to grow to the peak. I see this should change and employees working in the FM industry as well should be given equal opportunities to explore their options through the right platform.
