Multi-skilling keeps you relevant

Proficient. Mercy Kateera is a Chartered Personal Executive Assistant and a member of the American Academy of Project Management (AAPM). She is the first and only East African to win a PA award. Kateera has worked at Kampala Serena Hotel,  Parliamentary Network on the World Bank and Dr. Hoffman Foundation Zürich Switzerland, among others.

How did you get where you are now?
I started working in my second year at university where I was pursuing a degree in Development Studies. One job led to another and I found myself at Dr. Hoffman Foundation Zürich Switzerland. 

When it closed its operations in Uganda in early 2013, and as a newlywed, I was not in a rush to find work. However, one month into my honeymoon break, I became restless because I wasn’t used to sitting around with no defined schedule. 

Around October that same year, I was informed about an opportunity at the Kampala Serena Hotel, but it was a Personal Assistant’s Role on the flip-side. I will be candid that the alteration in career paths and perhaps my slight ignorance of the profession at the time did not make my decision easy. 

I also had my sights set on a marketing role in the same organisation; but, the available PA role offered a bird’s view into the company, so based on that, I accepted the offer. From the start, I was determined to utilise my transformational capabilities and a strong background in administration to execute my duties to the best of my abilities, and most importantly, differently. 

Also, as one of the fastest-growing industries, I was aware that there were countless and excellent opportunities to learn best practices. Let us face it, the Serena brand is a market leader in Uganda and Africa. 

What does your job entail?
My role (pre-Covid-19, to be specific) was very dynamic and would take different directions primarily because of the nature of the industry. However, the primary anchors were management and all kinds of meetings, presentations, training, interviews, speechwriting, maintaining appointments and equally preparing for them, etc. Also, since we encourage an open-door policy in the hospitality industry, our client interface is more exposed, making the feedback mechanism more consequential. 

So on most days, I could go from averting crisis by making critical business decisions to a translator, a help-desk attendant, reservations agent, diplomat, human database, travel consultant, amateur psychologist, photographer, and public relations manager to both the inside and the outside worlds.

Executive assistants strongly reflect their boss’ image, values, and levels of service, so being able to handle all that with great ease and poise always gave me purpose and made me feel like I was a part of something bigger. Although it can sometimes seem like a lot, the passion that I had and still have for my profession, and the service industry gives me the drive to excel.
 
How important is the notion that your network is your net worth?
I have been privileged to meet, freely interact and learn from some of the most incredible human beings from all walks of life and age groups. I can attest that even my time at the Parliament did not offer me that level of exposure but, most importantly, the opportunity to make meaningful connections. It is essential to nurture diverse relationships, ultimately gaining more respect and trust fostering more collaborative and meaningful relationships.

What have you learned while at this job?
Our role as executive assistants is often downplayed, and more often than not, our “supposed” inexperience in high-level management further negates our contribution to the organisation.  

Fighting these perceptions is our primary challenge because we can no longer carry the burden of an uninformed society. It is entirely our responsibility to disprove people who think that we haven’t earned the right to be taken seriously by taking advantage of the endless resources at our executive’s disposal, as well as the willingness to stretch beyond our comfort zone to assume new and challenging responsibilities.

At very senior levels, the return on investment from a skilled executive assistant can be substantial. Excellent assistants save their bosses a lot of time on trivial responsibilities, freeing up the leader’s time to proactively set the organisation’s agenda. Thus, a top-notch assistant is crucial to their boss’ productivity.

How do you think the Covid-19 pandemic will impact your job and the hospitality industry?

The world has seen several outbreaks over the last couple of years, but nothing quite like the Coronavirus. Never in the recent history of the hospitality industry had we recorded less than 40 per cent below-average levels of occupancy; and following the government’s understandable response measures to combat Covid-19 in 2020 and again in 2021; regrettably, Kampala Serena Hotel was and will continue to be severely and adversely impacted as most other businesses in the Travel and Tourism sector. 
With restricted travel in and outside Uganda, our operations may limp for a little longer than earlier anticipated. 

Nonetheless, we are privileged to be operational as some businesses, particularly hotels within the region, have closed due to unprecedented circumstances. With this in mind, and I don’t speak for my colleagues in the industry, but multi-skilling and multitasking are extremely important to keep one relevant.

The second lesson is to protect one’s cash flow during normal operations and allocate the resources carefully.  Like individuals, companies with good money habits (not abundance) rode and continue to ride out this wave. 
 
Which people have had the most influence in your life?
My father, a retired Anglican Bishop, was my first best friend; we spoke about everything growing up; he is a cool guy.  However, I am not sure that if my mother, a teacher by profession, a self-made architect, and farmer; generally a jack of all trades but above all a very strict disciplinarian had spared the rod, I would not be where I am today. If only I can be half the woman that she is, I would be set for life.

In my professional life, I would say Mr. Anthony Chege – my former boss and former Country / General Manager TPS (Uganda). He is one of the most passionate, hardworking, and disciplined hoteliers I have met. 

It is incredibly challenging to maintain a highly productive work environment and keep operations running smoothly while being approachable. Mr. Chege continuously challenged us to examine our management styles to bring out the best in our team. In addition, he was an effective communicator, so we were indirectly trained to anticipate guest’s needs and fulfill them.