After working in the manufacturing and agricultural industries, the bright lights of Sun International’s Flamingo Casino in Kimberley have been an eventful change for Financial Operations Manager Melanie Durant.
“Since joining Flamingo earlier this year it has been quite the ride, with business ramping up between March and May before going back into a full lockdown in July,” says Durant, who has a decade of Financial Management experience and is relishing the change to working on the operational side of a busy casino.
As a woman in the workplace, she has “built my career on empathy, passion, and sensitivity, balancing this with the right amount of strength and influence. I have worked in industries and environments where it has not always been a smooth transition into a strong leadership team, and where compassion can be misconstrued as weakness”.
Each day, she arrives at work early and checks revenues and reports from the previous day, before delving into anything from risks to finance to tenders. “I check in with my finance and cash desk teams and catch up with the managers.” Durant has 26 people under her, with two managers to interface with. “This is a people-focused role instead of purely numbers and spreadsheets. I enjoy the great variety within a day – we also offer a conferencing facility and have a restaurant and bar onsite.”
With the Covid-19 lockdown, the casinos are running 9 am to 9 pm instead of their usual 24 hours a day, but Durant says the workload remains the same, with less after-hours’ interruption. “My job is even more crucial at this stage, to managing costs in line with what the casino can handle, especially during the pandemic.”
When not at work, she “finds balance” by going for a milkshake with her family. “Finding time to share our experiences and news with one another is important.”
