'We want to be a major player in Macau, to have a restaurant in every hotel on the Cotai strip,' said Clayton Parker, managing director of Eclipse Management. 'We believe in the Macau story.

'Macau's economy and the hospitality industry are growing. We need a lot of good people to help us grow the business. We've hired 120 people in Macau.'

To cope with its expansion the company has deployed some staff from Hong Kong, and needs five to six managers and some people to fill 12 other positions there. Candidates for frontline positions must love hospitality, be dynamic and constantly strive to improve themselves. General staff can be trained to cook, serve drinks and take orders.

'At entry level, personality is everything,' Mr Parker said. 'We cannot teach enthusiasm, a love of people and good attitude, but we can teach skills and knowledge.'

The company is also recruiting in senior positions, including chefs and restaurant managers, which require candidates with experience.

'We're looking for people who are keen to get into management, so we can grow and train them to become managers,' said Mr Parker. Good leadership, organisation and administrative skills are definite assets.

Managers need to teach, coach, train and motivate people. This set of skills is difficult to find in a growing economy such as Macau, where it is an employee-driven market. 'There are many great people hungry to learn, but there is a lack of knowledge base as the economy has grown so fast,' said Mr Parker.

Eclipse Management was so named because the company strives to outdo all previous efforts, and do something that raises its benchmark in service and food quality. It runs several pubs, a Mexican restaurant, a Cuban restaurant, a Thai restaurant, and a Brazilian restaurant, among others.

Its diverse culinary service approach keeps the catering business on its toes. 'It is more interesting and also more challenging to run a restaurant group that offers customers a multitude of dining concepts compared with one that focuses on only one kind of cuisine,' said Mr Parker. 'With multiple concepts, every restaurant has different menus and operating styles.'

Aside from engaging customers, the company also believes in keeping its employees happy. 'We're competitive in our compensation package, even a bit above the curve because we want good people,' said Mr Parker. 'The working environment must be good, because someone else can always outdo our package, but the staff may not find it as rewarding an experience.'

For a small restaurant company, its staff retention was very good. Mr Parker said: 'We spend more time at work than with loved ones so it is important to work with positive, likeable, friendly and co-operative people.'

Besides being surrounded by good colleagues, the company's staff enjoy growth opportunities in their careers. There is a lot of cross-utilisation and cross-knowledge, and many concepts to learn from.

'A lot of people look to hotels for career opportunities because there is room for growth, which cannot be found in individual restaurants that don't belong to a group. Working for a restaurant group, there is much growth potential because we provide cross-training and a lot of cross-promotions,' said Mr Parker.

The company always promotes from within. 'The advantages are that the candidates have local knowledge of the company and the products it offers, and because they already have the skill set, we can improve their weaker areas to get them prepared for the upward move,' he said.

'It's a great industry if you like working with people. It's non-stop contact. If you want to express your personality, here is your chance to shine.'

Titbits

Eclipse Management operates 12 multi-concept restaurants and is planning further expansion in Macau

When hiring staff at entry level, the company sees the candidates' personality and attitude as a top priority

Managers need to teach, coach, train and motivate people

The restaurant group offers staff opportunities for career growth and cross-functional training

The company offers a more competitive remuneration package than the market average to attract good people