Johannesburg, Gauteng, 10 August 2018 – Servest is pleased to announce the appointment of Kumaran Pillay, as Sales Director of Security.
Whilst being in a leadership role is nothing new to Kumaran, the lateral shift allows for greater experiential learning in a multi-faceted environment, in which Servest operates.
Kumaran, who joined Servest more than five years ago as Regional Sales Manager of Cleaning, where he worked for three and a half years, was subsequently appointed National Sales and Marketing Director, Office Services and served in this position for one and a half years, before his appointment to Sales Director of Security .
This ‘jack of all trades’, intends to become master of it all – or at least within the context of the facilities management business. A passionate man, who believes that if the company trades his time, it has to match his values and principles; and vice versa. Kumaran, who has gained a broad spectrum of skills, believes that imparting knowledge is of benefit not only to the other person, but also yourself and ultimately, the organisation.
Whilst security is new to him, as a people’s person, who makes an effort to get to know every colleague’s name, he has learned much about breaking the invisible fence. He says, “I’m a talker and I love people, so my work starts from the minute I leave home, in the way that I greet the person at the front gate, to the moment I close my eyes at night. I don’t know what it is to say a ‘quick hello’, much to the humour of my children, especially when we are out shopping because when I enter a space, I immediately see my colleague in the person cleaning the bathroom, the security guard and others. My work therefore, does not end when I leave the office – it forms part of my very existence.”
In terms of his new role, he does not plan to ‘re-invent the wheel’, but instead provide training and solutions where gaps exist. Security, as he sees it, is part of a business’s risk factor and needs to be integrated accordingly. He says, “I want our clients to clearly see the benefits of the service and whilst we always make our services fit for purpose, the success of the business is in fact the people, certainly in the case of security management.”
According to parts extracted from an article in Daily Maverick & Chronicle, the private security industry in South Africa is worth R45-billion a year, making it South Africa’s private security industry, the fourth largest in the world per capita. [https://goo.gl/YHp3eN]. Kumaran therefore sees another aspect of his new role, as that of creating ambassadors, rather than regimented ‘army personnel’. “Our team of security personnel encompass a wide range of skills, in varied portfolios, manned guarding, off-site monitoring services, intervention services, marine security, specialised services, and concierge services. It therefore spans a cross section of skills, from entry level persons, to that of ex police officers, all of whom fulfil their duties with pride. However, I want to bring personality into the security business.”
Kumaran thinks of his colleagues in terms of their entire family and measures his success in the success of his team members and colleagues. “We are not in the business of cleaning or security or landscaping or catering, we are in the business of people,” He says.
