With the temporary closure of Gayana Marine Resort, Bunga Raya Island Resort and Borneo Eagle Resort due to Malaysia’s Movement Control Order (MCO), Sabah-based Echo Resorts has directed 50 of its hotel staff to render support to other parts of its business, specifically Green-Os (an organic vegetable farm), Borneo Eco Fish Farm by Bayu Aquaculture and Alu Alu Kitchen.
The move is believe to provide staff an opportunity to gain deeper insight into the group’s holistic approach, said the company in a press statement.
Emphasising that “employee welfare and well-being remain the very core of our business” and that nobody has been made redundant, Gillian Tan, Echo Resorts’ owner representative, also revealed that the company is also making available training opportunities for all employees, including arranging for department heads to take Cornell Online Education Programs.
“We understand it may take time for travel to return to a semi-normal state and have decided that this is the perfect time to go back to basics and reinvest in education and training,” commented Tan.
Community support has also become a key focus during the MCO downtime, with staff volunteering their time to produce 800 reusable masks for colleagues in the company and packing 2,000 meals for affected families in Pulau Gaya, the island on which Gayana Marine Resorts sits.
The company has also chosen to take the opportunity to direct its attention to its sustainable project, Marine Ecology Research Centre at the Gayana Marine Resort, which works on reef generation, giant clam propagation and renewing seahorse populations.
