Why are F&B firms like Domino’s Pizza and Hard Rock Cafe Sentosa turning to door-to-door sales amid COVID-19?

Domino’s Pizza

Although the pandemic has intensified the digitalisation movement for many firms, some have taken a more unexpected path to improve sales. Selected businesses have proceeded with a traditional marketing tactic of going door-to-door to sell residents discount coupons.

Companies are collaborating with Salesworks

Ohana restaurant founder, Ms Shereen Anwar, stated her company started just three weeks before the circuit breaker began. “We had to re-strategise. We cannot have dine-in customers and we had just opened,” she shared.

Therefore, they went ahead with Ohana certificates where, at a lower price, consumers can get 10 sets of foods for S$30 via delivery.

Domino’s Pizza is also collaborating with Salesworks to offer its S$30 vouchers door-to-door. The pizza chain used to distribute leaflets in busy public areas, but it was no longer appropriate because of safe distancing initiatives.

Another food business that has taken the conventional path is Hard Rock Cafe Sentosa.

Hard Rock Cafe Sentosa

Image Credits: Kkday

A company representative said it wanted to get involved in neighbourhood sales. That is their attempt to obtain a more significant share of local audiences and provide locally tailored promotions. This is due to the firm’s realisation that the brand’s fame has recently upped among locals.

Though all three food outlets said their earnings have benefited by such a traditional marketing technique, they did not convey any sales data.

“A lot of people of all races come to try our food. The reach is further,” Ms Shereen feedbacked.

Hearing from the marketers themselves

New graduates or students who are preparing to enter university are among those who help distribute these vouchers.

Ms Celeste Koh applied to be a marketer as her pet boarding company took a hit due to COVID-19. The 19-year-old shared that her commission reaches up to S$500 a week, specifically on days where there are better sales.

After graduating from the Institute of Technical Education, she originally intended to fly but had to postpone her plans because of the pandemic. Besides her part-time position with Salesworks, she also does other jobs, such as being a barista and warehouse worker.

Since August 2020, Ms Soh Xian, 21, has been working full-time for Salesworks because she didn’t want to land an office role after finishing her studies from Singapore Polytechnic.

For Mr Shan Anders, the sales job was something he decided to try since he had some free time before enrolling in college. He makes around S$300 a week.

Door-to-door marketing is challenging but rewarding
knocking on the door

Image Credits: iStock

“When I first started, I was like ‘Oh, people are that mean.’ After a while, I got used to it. I just look forward to the next positive customer,” said Mr Anders.

The 24-year-old went on to share an incident about a client who purchased some vouchers but requested him to pass those on to someone else who requires it more.

Ms Soh admitted she encountered unpleasant people sometimes, but there were still those who addressed her with courtesy. “Some of them are very nice,” she remarked. “They give us drinks and food that they cooked.”

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Ex-HOD of secondary school with gross monthly salary of S$8,800 found guilty of misappropriating S$40,000 from students

maslinda-zinal

Today (Jan 11), an ex-Head of the English Department (HOD) at Woodgrove Secondary School was prosecuted for misappropriating S$40,000 paid by students for learning resources. Maslinda Zainal, 46, was guilty of two counts of criminal breach of trust as a public servant.

District Judge Ng Cheng Thiam said that the accused had misappropriated the entrusted monies and she was dishonest. “I therefore find that the prosecution has established beyond a reasonable doubt all the charges and you are accordingly found guilty and convicted,” the judge added.

Over-collection of about S$40,000

Maslinda was responsible for collecting funds from students for learning resources known as Excel packages. However, between January 2016 and April 2017, she over-collected about S$40,000 from the pupils.

The suspended educator, who has a masters in education and several teachers reporting to her, denied the allegations. In addition, she said she did not maintain cash documentations as no one told her it was necessary.

In testimony, she confessed that she had collected the amount of S$39,000 to S$40,000. She used the money on her food expenses and did not purchase anything extravagant with it. She also told a judge that she had used the money to acquire the students’ stationery and other products.

Caught red-handed by her colleague
woodgrove-secondary-school

Image Credits: Mothership

The crimes surfaced after she was caught red-handed by Jacqueline Chan, the school’s lower-secondary head for English. Ms Chan had requested the bookshop vendor for a copy of the receipts in 2016. But the vendor explained that Maslinda had instructed her to not pass them over to Ms Chan.

When Ms Chan finally got a copy of the receipts, she found a mismatch. There was a disparity between the sums obtained by the teachers and the numbers on the invoices.

She later raised the problem to the higher-ups, and the principal was surprised to see such a massive over-collection. The school later called in inspectors from the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the police, and Maslinda was cuffed away.

Investigations underway with other teachers testifying

Over the entire trial, all 20 teachers in the school’s English department appeared in court. They feedback that Maslinda did not inform them about the extra money being received.

In November 2018, MOE told the news that it took a significant view of teacher corruption. But at that time, could not reveal more since the case was before litigation.

The prosecution requested an adjournment to prepare arguments on the verdict. Maslinda may be convicted for criminal breach of trust as a civil servant in jail for up to 10 years and fined for each offence.

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28-year-old League of Legends e-sports coach earns 2x of a fresh university graduate’s salary

League of Legends e-sports coach Jenson Goh

A mechanical engineering graduate and League of Legends e-sports coach Jensen Goh, reveals that his salary is about two times that of a fresh university graduate’s. The 28-year-old Singaporean began his e-sports career as a shoutcaster way back in 2013. Over the years, he made the switch to coaching.

Mr Goh stumbled on an audition for shoutcasters, who provide running commentary for e-sports events in 2013, just a few days before his first-year university exams. He took a leap of faith and passed the audition initiated by Garena, a gaming corporation, and began his freelance shoutcasting vocation for League of Legends, a well-known online game.

Remunerated up to S$1,000 doing commentaries

After being exposed to League of Legends by a friend, Mr Goh only played the game for a year. But clearing the auditions marked the beginning of his professional e-sports career.

Working as a shoutcaster for four days a week making various live game responses, he received up to S$1,000.

Mr Goh bashed the teams’ game strategies when commenting for the Singapore and Malaysian circuits in 2015. He decided to “put his money where (his) mouth was” and therefore called out to these teams to lend a helping hand.

Held several responsibilities as a student
National University of Singapore

Image Credits: todayonline.com

Mr Goh had to coordinate shoutcasting jobs and to train amateur teams as an undergraduate student during his years at the National University of Singapore.

In 2016, a decisive moment emerged when he had to pick between an engineering internship and a Garena internship. He would be entrusted with the viewership growth, overseeing advertising content and player activities in the latter.

Mr Goh eventually picked the internship with Garena, which bolstered his commitment to pursue an e-sports profession.

Coaching a professional team for the first time in 2017

He got a coaching opportunity with the Taiwanese team Fireball at the beginning of 2017. It was his first time managing a pro team. He was stationed in Taiwan for the first four months of the year, balancing full-time coaching responsibilities while finishing his university capstone project.

“I had to submit (engineering) plans and drawings to people in Taiwan, so I had to write everything in Chinese,” Mr Goh shared. He was pointing to blueprints and sketches for his engineering project that he was undertaking. As part of his final-year assignment, he had to deliver planned designs of a smart trash bin.

Although his peers were encouraging, his family was worried that he would not complete his final year and even quit school. But thankfully, he was able to deliver his project and graduate as anticipated in 2017.

Trained nine professional League of Legends teams thus far
Splyce League of Legends

Image Credits: Inven Global

To date, he has led nine League of Legends teams in seven countries. He would fly to the city when working with overseas groups, and mentor them in person. 

Among them are Evos, who won the internal championship in Vietnam, and Splyce, who subsequently won the tournament in the Spanish European Regional League in Spain and finished in the top eight of the grand prix.

He was sometimes the staff cook and even cleaner when captaining smaller teams with less support. 

“In e-sports, there is no real certification to be a coach… no hard and fast rule,” he commented. “It’s the nature of the e-sports industry. Even till this day, there are many people who are trying to get into the industry.”

His biggest takeaway from e-sports as a career

Knowing how to manage diverse cultures is the largest lesson from working in e-sports. “It expands your horizons,” Mr Goh said. “(It makes you) think about and compare and contrast your experiences.”

At the end of January, he will fly to the United States to mentor the Immortals Academy, an American team. He is assumed to be the first Singaporean to become an expert American League of Legends team lead trainer.

He will be residing in Los Angeles and aims to grow Immortals Academy players to become a squad that individuals will respect and see as worthy challengers of the trophy.

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30% of Singapore employers intend to provide no wage increases in 2021

Singapore employees out for lunch

A global study of pay increases has found that 30 per cent of employers in Singapore intend to provide no wage increases in 2021. Compared to other countries, Singapore has a more significant percentage.

Based on research done by global consulting firm Korn Ferry recently, around 16 per cent of firms worldwide aim to bypass pay raises completely this year. Across 150 nations, the wage survey gathered data from 25,000 companies. 

Korn Ferry reported that roughly 450 organisations in Singapore were part of the survey. Here are some notable global trends:

  • Wage increases (if any) will be smaller than in past years. 
  • In 2021, more companies are planning stagnant wages than last year.
  • Organisations are primarily preparing to direct their restricted funds to talent acquisition and invest in those with vital roles.
Less than half planning to give an increase
Singapore residents at a traffic light

Image Credits: The Straits Times

Only 46 per cent of the Singapore employers who responded to the survey said they aim to offer a raise to at least 9 out of 10 employees this year. These businesses expect wage rises of 2.1 per cent in actual terms, which is still smaller than the 3.1 per cent pay rise introduced in 2020.

All in all, participants from Singapore are targeting a 2 per cent rise in terms of median incomes. This places Singapore in the lead compared to countries like France (1.3 per cent) and the United kingdom (1.9 per cent). But falling behind all other nations in Asia, except Japan and Hong Kong (both 2 per cent).

Pay raise dependent on inflation
women in masks working at a desk

Image Credits: Kelly Services Thailand

The findings showed that workers could also see a greater rise in their actual wages in countries where inflation is especially low. Based on official projections, Singapore’s inflation rate has predictions between -0.5 and 0 per cent for 2020.

Mr Kartikey Singh, a senior client partner at Korn Ferry Singapore, commented that jobs would be mainly contractual, temporary, service-led and technology-driven in a recovering economy.

“While the overall pay increases might look sanguine, talent scarcity for areas like product and application development, cybersecurity in certain sectors like e-commerce, technology and fintech can drive significant pay premiums for these job categories,” said Mr Singh.

He added that such a phenomenon would push companies to practice differential compensation plans for different staff and expertise classes.

Organisations need to focus more on a “total rewards” approach
professional development

Image Credits: The Straits Times

Mr Don Lowman, Korn Ferry’s global leader of rewards and benefits, shared that ensuring their employees continue to feel appreciated and commended will be essential for companies in the future.

Such a strategy entails non-financial incentives, like opportunities for professional growth, mentoring and guidance, and providing an energetic workplace culture with productive employee tasks.

“Korn Ferry research has found that while financial rewards are key to attracting talent into organisations, non-financial rewards can be key differentiators in retaining talent,” said the consultancy firm.

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3 strategies for creating less stressful brainstorm sessions from ex-vice president of innovation and creation at The Walt Disney Company

asians having an office meeting

It’s the first mid-week of 2021. Have you had an awesome start to the first work week of the new year? Or did you just receive a calendar invite titled “brainstorm” from your team leader?

A look at this term can bring about nervousness for some individuals. Especially for those who have been through uncountable brainstorms that have not ended up productive, it’s easy to assume that the next brainstorm will conclude with negligible outcomes.

A great brainstorm needs a strong basis to succeed, much like building a home.

“During my tenure as head of creativity and innovation at Disney, I conducted countless brainstorms. As a result, I developed a series of tools that I now use working with my clients to ensure every brainstorming session I facilitate ends with a handful of truly innovative ideas, which are achievable and your team can eventually execute,” writes Duncan Wardle.

Wardle is the founder of creative consulting company iD8 & innov8 and ex-vice president of innovation and creation at The Walt Disney Company. Let’s learn three strategies for creating less stressful brainstorm sessions from the man himself.

#1: Help your team get into the right state of mind
brainstorming in masks

Image Credits: unsplash.com

Ponder over the word “brainstorm.” To others, with a few ideas jotted on a whiteboard, this may invoke the idea of inefficient and disorganised discussions. It doesn’t signal the right state of mind, which means you’re unlikely to receive the best ideas from your team.

Your actions show your co-workers how to respond in return. You want to trigger a new way of thought by not entitling it as a brainstorm. By modifying your brainstorming session’s name, you can dramatically shift the thought patterns of the people involved before you even begin.

“I ran with this concept while at Disney, where I developed the “ID8” (or “ideate”) room, which later became the name of my company. Everyone stepping foot into the ID8 room knew that they were attending an “expansionist” session, which meant that the meeting was meant to generate and grow ideas,” Wardle shared.

#2: Foster brilliant ideas with the force of “Yes, and…”
the importance of teamwork

Image Credits: unsplash.com

Have you ever met a negative person so much so that the person’s response is always “No, because..”? Such reactions take large thoughts and render them lightweight, ultimately making them meaningless.

But flip it to “yes”, and perhaps it will take you to places. By reacting to suggestions using an open-minded approach, you demonstrate that you listen and prohibits joint discussions from crashing due to a lack of traction.

#3: Your golden key – a “naive expert” out of your department
woman having discussion with her colleagues

Image Credits: unsplash.com

When Wardle was heading brainstorms at Shanghai’s Disneyland for restaurant architecture designs, he searched for a way to inspire his team of Disney Imagineers (mostly males over 50 years old) to begin thinking creatively.

“So, I invited a young Chinese female chef to participate in a session as our “naive expert,” or in other words, an outside individual whose criteria for success were not tied to our team,” he noted.

An ideal “naive expert” is one who has no direct involvement and prior work experience in your department. Thus, such individuals are more likely to pose concerns and suggestions that your squad has never contemplated.

In the wake of the pandemic, we may not often be gathering for in-person discussions and brainstorms. But it shouldn’t be an excuse to hold you back from conducting fruitful sessions! Tap on digital platforms to create an online environment that promotes positive involvement, interaction, and teamwork to develop fresh ideas.

Good luck!

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