(JP/Sudibyo M. Wiradji)The human factor is still essential in the serviced office business. Keeping updated in all related components, from infrastructure, facilities, systems and human resources, will have a positive impact on the business.

Lena Thong, the CEO of Marquee serviced office provider, said her sector was a people-focused business in which customers are king.

When there is a problem involving customers, for example, flexibility in contracts and conditions should be emphasized, said the mother of two children.

“Under the existing policy, a meeting room is charged by the hour with an extra 15 minutes. So, using the room more than one hour and 15 minutes, the rental room is charged two hours. Once, a client who had used the room for one hour and 20 minutes refused to pay the required two hours. I said to him, ‘OK, no problem, but I hope you will understand it next time’,” she said.

The customer-oriented business requires employees to be in tune with the hospitality industry, and employees could really give service.

”Through training, employees are supposed to develop a character that can stay calm and be willing to listen attentively to client comments, including complaints that might annoy them,” she said.

Employees must continually refer to the corporate values that include excellence, flexibility, integrity and innovation when it comes to daily operations.

”In this way, employees are expected to provide a premium level of service to clients,” she said.

“But there are those who, for some reason, decided to leave the office despite the fact that we spent funds to train them. It seems that human resources are an ongoing challenge in any company,” she said with a laugh.

Lena said the level of employee loyalty had declined from year to year and, therefore, she has established the means to cut the company’s too-high dependence on employees.

“We created a system in which tools and standard operating procedures (SOPs) relating to operational and accounting aspects are standardized in terms of premium service levels in every center,” she said.

“For example, the codes and forms used in the front office at all centers are the same and in this way, when a front-office employee is no longer with us, an employee from another center can replace her with a retained level of premium service.”

She said it was important to maintain a positive business environment in which employees could enhance their personal development through training, workshops and simulations, with subject matter changing each year.

”For example, the Challenge 2012 program is attended by all employees. They are encouraged to identify operational problems that may arise in 2012 and challenges that should be responded to. One of the expected outcomes is the importance of having the same character as far as serving clients is concerned,” she said.

”Living in a global environment, we have to be open and we have to be willing to listen. If we want to make progress we have to develop ourselves. If my employees develop and become capable and smart, then at the end of the day they will benefit clients because they will serve them better and know what the clients need. And, if more clients like our level of service, then automatically we can expand our business.”

Opinions welcome

She said that employee input was highly appreciated.

“I prefer a horizontal kind of company in which employees have a say and can share together because we work in a service industry and they know the day-to-day developments. If there is part of our system that is no longer workable, then I have to change in accordance with market conditions. So, we keep our system updated,” she said.

“For instance, we have simplified the wording of contracts that commonly used legal terms, which are somewhat difficult for today’s clients to understand.”

Lena acknowledged that her decision to pursue a career in the serviced office sector was thanks largely to her previous working experience with a Hong Kong-based serviced office company, where she learned a great deal about serviced office management and the nature of the business.

“Because my boss lived in Hong Kong, I often made decisions on various issues, including finance, by myself. That working experience really shaped my character and helped me improve my managerial, negotiation and leadership skills,” she said.

“It also meant that when I resigned from the company, I felt confident about setting up my own business in the serviced office sector. Apart from the desire to improve myself personally and financially, I could see an opportunity; plus, my passion is in developing business strategies.”

“When I decide upon something, I never look back and no one can stop me,” she said.

She acknowledged, however, that long before she entered the working world, a seed of entrepreneurship lay planted in her mind, which grew through indirect learning from her parents – especially her father, who had chosen not to work for someone else but preferred to run his own business.

“How he operated his business on a daily basis influenced me greatly and allowed me to be mentally trained and strong. Even though I did not carry on his electronic business, I learned how he struggled to ensure that his electronics store survived. And, I am fortunate because my parents sent me to study abroad as they wanted me to develop personally,” she said.

Now, she can boast the pioneering of a locally owned serviced office provider, which she said required huge investment. “Initial capital was needed to rent and renovate a building, completing it with cutting-edge technology for telecommunication infrastructure, room furnishings and so on. Therefore, I sought an angel investor,” she said.

Running a serviced office is different from selling a product. “If your product is not sold today you still own your product and you can sell it tomorrow. But if you run a serviced office and one room is unoccupied, then you still have to pay the rental on the room. Therefore, we work hard to ensure that all the rooms are occupied all the time,” she said, adding that being a CEO plus owner was a great challenge because she had to consider everything from A to Z, from operations to marketing to finance.

Besides keeping busy managing her business, Lena also engages with community services through the Rotary Club of Jakarta Menteng, whose mission is to support those most in need of assistance in and around Jakarta, particularly the impoverished and the sick.

Her many activities – she particulary loves shopping for brand-name clothes – and Jakarta’s traffic congestion often lead to Lena getting home late at night.

“I always spend my time effectively with my children in the morning before they go to school. I prepare breakfast for them myself and we sit together at one table to chat for around 45 minutes,” she said.

Lena and her family love to travel, both in Indonesia and abroad. But her mind is always racing with business possibilities.

“Every time I travel, I always look for new things that might inspire me in developing my business. It may not necessarily be related to the serviced office business but to other businesses. I am always keen on spotting opportunities,” she said.

Place/ Date of Birth: Jakarta, July 20, 1968

Education:

December 1994: Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

York University, Toronto, Canada

Work Experience:

October 2006 – Present: C0-owner, PT Karya Central Bisnis – Serviced office operator, Jakarta – Indonesia

April 1998 – September 2006: Center Manager, Plaza Business Center

August 1996 – March 1998: Assistant Marketing Manager, Procon Indah, Indonesian property consultant, Jakarta

Jan 1994 – October 1996: Marketing Executive, in First Pacific Davies International Property Consultant based in Hongkong – Salim Group

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