#SGUnited, in partnership with Singapore Tourism Board
As the Group CEO of Mandai Park Holdings (MPH), Mike Barclay oversees both Mandai Park Development, the entity set up to drive the rejuvenation of Mandai into an integrated wildlife and nature precinct, and Wildlife Reserves Singapore, the operator of four award-winning attractions – Jurong Bird Park, Night Safari, River Safari and Singapore Zoo.
In this episode, we catch up with him on how Wildlife Reserves Singapore has been keeping its animals, team and customers engaged at a time when its parks are closed for the first time in history.
Here are the key soundbites of this conversation which covers workplace changes, virtual experiences, the habits of African penguins and elephants and popcorn.
Will Singapore be disadvantaged because of its small domestic market?
“If Singapore was one of 8-10 countries on the list of where the Chinese could travel to, we could over-perform with that market. We don’t need a particularly big market share to get the tourism that we need. If we have arrangements in place with a handful of countries, it could work out.”
First closure in history
“Our first park opened 48 years ago, and we haven’t missed a day of operations, 365 days a year, except for leap year when we have an extra day, therefore it was really a big decision to close our park. It was quite an emotional day because it was the end of a 48-year continuous run.”
“The animals have had quite a good time”
“We have almost 20,000 animals under our care, day in-day out. Since the beginning of the circuit breaker here in Singapore, we’ve had almost half our staff going in to work as essential services workers, preparing the food for the animals and looking after their welfare. That means making sure they’re fed, exercised, engaged and if they need medical help … So I’d say, on the whole, the animals have had quite a good time.”
Protecting jobs
“An early decision we made was if we were really going to protect jobs, the first thing we need to do is cut back staff costs that we can manage – staff costs are a very high percentage of our overall costs. The senior executives volunteered pay-cuts way back at the beginning of February. We’ve collectively committed to keep that in place to the year end. And then the rest of our staff agreed to not work overtime from that point on. And that makes a big difference for cost.”
How will remote work change workplace organisation in the future
“… whether the default will continue to be work-from-home, I am not sure about that. I heard someone talking about the value of osmosis in the office, how you absorb ideas that you bounce off each other. One of the virtues of working collaboratively are those moments which trigger new ideas and you have these unexpected conversations … that spontaneity is hard to recreate online.”
On ensuring a smooth transition for animals when parks reopen and humans return
“We’ve been talking to some other zoos that have opened already. And they have talked about the need to recondition some species – some will take to it very naturally, some others are a bit more shy and need a bit more time. So we will learn from what other people are learning. All our animal ambassadors who take part in our shows have also been doing the shows every day through the circuit breaker period, because we need to keep the conditioning of the animal and we need to keep reworking the activities that they do. So restarting shows is not going to be challenging for the animal.”
Social media breakout moments for African penguins
“Ultimately, the biggest heroes of the day have been our animals. And you know, we talked about the African penguins when they visited our playgrounds, I think we got over a million views on Weibo in China. And we had a reach on Facebook of about 700,000. So really, it went viral.”
“Hello From The Wild Side” virtual shows proving popular
“We began with about 60 slots, and they were sold out in a matter of hours. And now in June, we’ve scaled up with more species and more slots. And it’s a really nice idea … many of us are having these sometimes-dull Zoom calls and to be able to invite animals into your Zoom call with the keeper that you can engage with and ask a bunch of questions, it’s really interactive and fun, and also plays out really well with kids.”
From “My Animal Buddy” to VIP Tours, virtual is limitless
“We have got a programme called My Animal Buddy – this allows kids at home to choose their buddy animal and that programme can really grow and doesn’t have to be confined to Singapore. I could be sitting in Iceland.”
“We also see potential in our senior Life Sciences Executives who can take people on VIP back of the house tours. I think it is kind of limitless what we could do, but it’s trying to work out what’s truly scalable – that is really what we need to flesh out.”
Good time to diversify revenue sources
“I think diversifying revenue sources is going to be really important and we’re also launching some other initiatives … we’re really looking at generating some completely new revenue streams off the back of our parks. Every time you have a major crisis, all businesses say, Oh, we should have diversified more before. Well, now’s as good a time as any to try it out, right?”
The role of Zoos in urban life and animal conservation
“The reality is, the vast majority of humans now live in urban environments, where they are really cut off from wildlife and nature as a whole. I see a really important role for Zoos, to make that connection for people – a window into the wild.
“You know, kids are really sponges for learning important messages – how do you live with wildlife? The importance of conservation, importance of reducing your own carbon footprint and managing your impact on the planet. I sincerely believe we can be a strong force for good and we’ve got to hold ourselves to very high standards to justify that.”
Looking forward to reopening
“We’re pretty confident we can operate a safe environment. We are outdoor after all. And you know, I think from a mental health point of view, there are so many positives, about a family day out in an environment where you’re deep in nature and you’re looking at animals, it’s a really positive experience.”
Have a listen.