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At the age of 32, Lauren Olivier, a manager at Kelvin Grove Club, has made her mark by winning a prestigious award on Friday 31 August.
Olivier scooped the Young Manager of the Year award at the Club Management Association of South Africa’s (CMASA) annual awards ceremony held at Pearl Valley on Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 August.
According to a statement, the awards, presented in association with Jonas, Go Sport Travel, Toro, Club Car and Syngenta, recognise top managers and employees who lead with distinction at a variety of South Africa’s sport and recreation clubs.
Olivier leads the finance and administration team at Kelvin Grove and reckons she has a wonderful team that makes each day interesting and enjoyable for her.
She joined the club in 2016 and has never looked back, not even after starting her own family.
Olivier says it is by the grace of the Lord and thanks to healthy working relationships with her staff as well as hard work that she won the award.
“I feel extremely honoured, firstly to have been nominated by my club and secondly to have been chosen by the association to win this prestigious award. It is inspiring to be recognised by such highly respected leaders in our industry, from whom I have learnt a lot and hope to follow suit in the future.”
Talking about the secret to her success, she says she prefers to stick to what works for her and continue striving to improve on it to enhance the services they offer.
“I am not sure there should be a secret to success. As we succeed in our profession, we should be sharing our knowledge and skills with our colleagues. While the club needs its members to survive, it would not be able to operate without its staff and therefore it is vital to have happy, dedicated staff on board. Working hard pays off, but strive to work efficiently, and most importantly build relationships wherever you go!”
Olivier has a dream of becoming a general manager and finding like-minded people to help her further her qualification through the education and training offered by CMASA.
Jana van der Merwe, general manager of Kelvin Grove, says it is inspiring to witness a future-generation leader and to see the commitment, dedication, enthusiasm and passion Olivier demonstrates in her role.
“It is a motivation for Lauren to further advance herself in qualification, towards becoming a club manager. It is also motivating to other staff members to see what you can achieve if you put in the effort and go the extra mile,” says Van der Merwe.
