If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together

My name is Mahathir Mahmud and I have been with Sodexo for 6 years as a Unit Manager, since 2017.

On a day-to-day basis, I start the day by conducting toolbox talks, where we cover topics such as Health and Safety, Food Hygiene, Operations, Corporate Responsibility and administrative matters with my team. This allows my team to be aligned and that we all have the same understanding especially towards safety matters, to ensure a safe workplace environment.  

Next, I will walk around the site to check on the Critical Control Point to ensure the freezers and chillers are of optimum temperature and all equipment are working.  

This role is also challenging because I have to communicate with client, ensure all client's needs are met, as well as meet our business goals. To meet these goals, I try my best to understand client needs and chat with my operations manager frequently to discuss what we can do more for the client and customers. My tip to overcome problems would be understanding them with the 5W and 2H (Who, When, Where, What, Why, How and How Much). This method helps us describe a problem precisely and accurately, which can result in an efficient solution. Assessing all elements of a problem can generate clarity about how to best correct it and can also help improve an existing process.  

I enjoy working in Sodexo as the company genuinely cares for the staff and takes our safety as their priority. Even during the pandemic and lockdowns, our operations manager called us to check on our well-being and goes the extra mile to make sure we are coping during this rough period. Hence, I do the same for my team members, by calling and checking up on them and even sending food to those who were in quarantine so that we can all get through this together. 

I choose to treat my team members like family members more than colleagues because I believe that if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together. Therefore, to meet our common goal and make the workplace livelier and warmer, we often encourage one another and sit together during meal times to share about our lives and dreams. 

I’m also grateful for the opportunity to be able to help others. Our annual Servathon event and year-round community engagement programmes strive to alleviate hunger for disadvantaged groups. I signed up to be part of the Servathon committee as I'm always passionate about this cause and I enjoy getting to know people outside of work and coming together to help those in need. 

Lastly, I’m thankful for my team members and what we’ve achieved together, and I believe it is rapport, respect and communication that allows us to continue to strive towards the same goal.  

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