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Goal-driven Manoko helps keep The Maslow, Sandton in tip top shape
Keeping her own house in order is a task that Manoko Nong enjoys, so it comes as no surprise that she enjoys her job keeping The Maslow Sandton ship shape as Maintenance Coordinator.
She joined the four-star luxury business and leisure hotel in Sandton in 2012 in the housekeeping department as a room attendant and was promoted to the Maintenance Department in 2018, which she describes as being “life-changing”.
“My mentor at the hotel was the Maintenance Manager by the name Wilson Bantwini, who trained me all the duties and responsibilities of a maintenance coordinator– I admired his leadership style and gathered the courage to tell him I would like to learn from him.” When a Maintenance Coordinator position became available, she applied and got the job. “Wilson pushed me and that gave me the encouragement to strive for excellence even when I did not have the confidence, and I am very grateful for the step I took.”
Nong’s daily tasks includes capturing of Kronos, sending reports to different service providers, ensuring that all the services monthly, biannually, and annually are scheduled and completed. She is also responsible capturing orders for maintenance and security. In the absence of the maintenance help desk, the capturing of maintenance calls, allocating job cards and following-up to ensure work is completed becomes her responsibilities. “I am also fulfilling functions of a Safety, Health & Environmental (SHE) Coordinator – looking after health and safety data - and would like to progress to a SHE Officer in due course.”
The maintenance department appealed to her because the work has visible results. “If someone reports a dead lightbulb, my team is responsible to replace it, and once the job is done there is evidence,” she said.
“My approach with the team is not abrupt, I treat people with respect and it makes my job easy. In our team we are a family, we are able to talk freely and are relatable.”
The Maslow has a focus on reducing its environmental impact, and in line with this, Nong helps to monitor monthly emissions as well as petrol, diesel, electricity and water usage. “We aim to reduce our carbon footprint and reduce electricity and water use. We are on track to meet Sun International’s group objective of zero waste to landfill by 2025.”
Nong describes herself as a shy person, however a straight talker who is considerate of others.
“My four-year-old daughter is the love of my life, I named her after my late sister, and I see her love shine through her every day and that gives me joy.” In her spare time, she enjoys binge watching Investigations Discovery and staying on top of tasks like ironing and laundry around the house.
Not one to shirk on work, she has helped out with various tasks at the hotel including babysitting for guests attending a wedding.
She has completed a course in administrative duties and wants to study the flagship course in occupational health and safety management, SAMTRAC as she works towards her goal of becoming a SHE Officer.
Her advice to other women this Women’s Month is to always have faith in yourself, because the harder it gets; only means you are getting closer to your goals. Lastly, don’t get too comfortable because nothing good comes out of that.