Cleofe Albiso, managing director of Megaworld Hotels and Resorts, one of the largest hospitality chains in the Philippines with a growing portfolio of 11 homegrown hotel properties, describes how she put faith into the equation to weather the global health crisis.
During lunch at the inspirational, newly opened Kingsford Hotel Manila, Albiso, who manages 11 properties with 4,000 room keys to date, said when the companies had to transition from the pandemic to recovery, the associates were assured of job security and that they can telecommute, among other considerations offered by the company.
“All you need to do is showcase how far you can go, how resilient you can be… It all depends on you,” said Albiso as she makes sure the associates know she is supporting them.
“It is really about how you put in grit and resilience to come into play that doesn’t stop in the leader only, but also trickles down with the strength and confidence down to employees,” she added. “It’s always a work in progress; we all belong to organizations that have many key areas to work on.”
What the COVID-19 pandemic has taught them is that strength of character comes into play.
“More than anything, we really put in, in our circle of happiness, the faith in God that I think no matter what religion my people are in gave us that inner sense of unexplainable security — that no leader can do, but it is really divine intervention as well,” she explained.
“That made us survive.”
Albiso mentioned the importance of a culture of happiness in the workplace that involves loving oneself, family, work and the community- the four pillars. Later, faith was added as participating actively in a spiritual development program regardless of religion helped them during the tough times.
“It is really putting love for God at the center of it,” Albiso said, noting that they were also able to appreciate others more and develop empathy and compassion.
“Here, what we were able to accomplish on the soft side, which is so priceless, is really creating that culture where we know you’re not afraid. You’re with me; I can run to you when I have a problem. We can talk hard-core with our deliverables in numbers; at the end of the day, I know you’re family,” Albiso said.
Albiso also said a good leader is able to steer others through very challenging times, no matter the size of the organization. It helped that she decided to put her faith in the equation.
“When you are leader, you are expected to be able to give light, credence, be the source of strength; confidence and enthusiasm come from you,” she said. “I had the most confidence I had all my life.”
She advises leaders, especially those starting out, to make people believe that it can be done. In her case, during a time when they were merging two entities, they had to synergize and this presented her an opportunity to show leadership.
“That was a time to really show sincerity of how deep your concern of respective property leaders, down to the sales and marketing because nobody knew how long it will last,” Albiso said.
“It started off with the decision to continue to operate because when the lockdown happened, almost all the brands closed. It was an easy decision to say that we decided to open as the goal was to support the government,” she added.
The company also had rotational duties which was seen as a better option than putting people on furlough. A key differentiator was that the company had multiple properties.
“If one had a problem, there are talents to pull in. We had a lot of support. We were happy that we were able to do that,” Albiso said. “We get to share best practices, including issues and challenges.”
For instance, she said, a property general manager had to navigate through the challenges posed by the pandemic but he or she knows the bigger organization is supporting him or her.
The company thought of e-concierge to cope with the new demands of the market. “Even the times brought us a chance to innovate,” Albiso said.
Several activities were pursued such as a webinar for students where experts gave a talk to give them hope. The company also offered to help firms that used to give them business by catering to banquets and meetings, assisting in their online meetings and sending hotboxes.
“We were able to keep afloat because we learned to adapt by creating cost efficiency measures,” Albiso said.
“Them recognizing me from being group general manager to managing director inspired a lot of people in my organization and I’m sure in the industry as well because things can happen even in challenging times,” she also related.
Albiso said the company recognizes what she has put in. “I feel like I’m a testament to resilience and a living testimony to God’s faithfulness,” she added.
