Outrigger project to affect staff

By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Staff Writer

Sandy Yoshimoto loves working as a switchboard operator at the Ohana Waikiki Village hotel, a job she's had for more than 30 years.

Sandy Yoshimoto, a switchboard operator for Outrigger's Ohana Waikiki Village, will be taking on a different job after 33 years, a change that resulting from Outrigger's Waikiki Beach Walk project. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

Yoshimoto hopes to continue working for the Outrigger chain. The company has offered to help employees affected by the renovations find other positions in the company if they don't take early retirement packages. But Yoshimoto is a little nervous about doing something different after 33 years.

"When you think about it for a minute and think about the switchboard ... you know that it's gone the way of dinosaurs," Yoshimoto said with a laugh. "So it's just a natural progression. But I am nervous about that and I was wishing I was 24 again."

Yoshimoto is among the Outrigger and Ohana employees who will feel the impact of the company's $400 million Waikiki Beach Walk project, which gets under way in the first quarter of next year. The first phase of the project includes extensive renovations of the former Ohana Reef Towers, Ohana Waikiki Village, Ohana Waikiki Tower, Outrigger Reef on the Beach and Ohana Islander Waikiki.

Outrigger officials expect that early retirement, attrition and higher occupancy in the remaining open properties should prevent layoffs. The company would not release numbers on how many workers may be affected by the job actions "because it's looking like everyone will be protected in some way or another," said spokeswoman Nancy Daniels.

While some employees will do the same job in another Outrigger hotel, others will be asked to take on a different position.

"Jobs will adjust and change and modify because the buildings will be different, the clientele will be different, the layout will be different," said David Carey, chief executive of Outrigger Enterprises. "But there will be a lot of opportunity."

Shifting to another kind of job may not be easy for some Outrigger employees who have worked long years for the company.

It's not uncommon for people who have spent years at one job to have to switch gears and do something else later in life, said Judy Bishop, general manager of CTA Staffing, a company that matches employers with employees.

The good news is that for those who must look elsewhere for a job, it's an opportune time. The local economy is "excellent," she said, and older workers are valued more than before.

People "have actually moved into a phase where companies respect and require a bit of maturity, experience and judgment, whereas some years ago it was really very undervalued; people were looking for youth," Bishop said.

Many companies, she said, have had bad experiences hiring workers who lacked experience.

For example, she said, "A lot of the dot-coms that start up, they all use very young, inexperienced but brilliant staff ... (and) that lack of maturity proved to be a problem in many cases."

"People value maturity now. People can't hand hold employees anymore. They don't have the time. So people have to be able to rely on their own judgment and that takes a little experience and maturity to do that," she said.

Her age, however, is still a bit of a concern for Yoshimoto.

A hotel front desk job would be a close match to what she is doing now, and "there's a lot of young people at the front desk," she said.

As a switchboard operator, she handles calls from guests and others who contact the Ohana Waikiki Village and three other hotels. Talking to guests — even if it's just on the phone — is what she enjoys.

"I like the part about trying to make the guests feel comfortable," she said. "They're in a strange place, and if I can do anything to make their stay more pleasant, that's the rewarding part. Not just telling them where the hotels are, telling them something special about the place."

Such personal skills are highly valued, and other skills can be easily learned, said Bishop.

"Companies are really looking for that ability to look at a problem and come up with a solution," she said. Workers who can deal with people, put forward a good image for a company, and genuinely care about people are invaluable.

"They (employers) can't teach them that," she said.

Despite the uncertainties, Yoshimoto is hopeful about the changes to come.

"We did agree that we would have sat in our office the rest of our natural lives because it's a good job and we like it and it's a good fit for us. But you have to look at it as an opportunity. Our new position may be something better.

"Either way, it's not the end of the world. It's the beginning of something. We'll just have to figure out what it's the beginning of."

Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 535-2470.