Former gym coach went from pumping iron to flexing his digital muscles

In the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, fitness trainer Mohammed Fazil woke up one day in May to find that he had lost his job. The fitness chain where he had worked for 11 years was forced to slash jobs after gyms were ordered to close on April 7, when Singapore entered a partial lockdown.

The news came as a shock to Fazil, 38, who lives with his wife and their 15-year-old son. But with a family to support, he knew finding a job was critical. So when his brother-in-law sent him a recruitment ad for digital ambassadors under the national SGUnited Jobs initiative a week later, he jumped at the chance.

“My priority was to find a job. So even though I had no idea what being a digital ambassador meant, I decided to give it a shot,” he said.

In Singapore’s push towards a digital future post-COVID-19, the newly minted SG Digital Office — under the Infocomm Media Development Authority — has hired 1,000 digital ambassadors to help stallholders and the elderly here go online.

Fanning out to wet markets, hawker centres, coffee shops and industrial canteens across the island, they are assisting stallholders to adopt a unified e-payment solution via Singapore Quick Response (SGQR) codes and avoid handling cash. They are also tasked to help upgrade the digital skills of 100,000 seniors by March next year.

Though Fazil, who has post-secondary qualifications in Building Servicing, is digitally savvy, he soon realised that technical skills alone were not enough in his new role.

During the training sessions held via Zoom, he was also given tips to hone his people skills. For instance, he learnt that he should approach the hawkers at certain times of the day when they are less busy so they would be more inclined to hear him out. He was also taught to sprinkle his pitch with friendly colloquial greetings — such as “lao ban” (“boss” in Mandarin) when talking to Chinese hawkers — to break the ice and appear more approachable.

Challenging yet fulfilling

Still, he has had his share of hurdles on the ground. Some older hawkers were simply resistant to change. Others were not sure how to scan the SGQR code or receive payments. Each time, Fazil drew on his training and patiently explained the mechanics and benefits of going cashless.

His hard work has paid off. Since he started work on June 5, he has convinced “quite a handful” of hawkers to make the switch. His most memorable experience so far was an encounter with a drinks stall owner at Commonwealth Crescent Market and Food Centre. The man in his 60s had shared a problem common among small-time vendors: giving change to customers who pay with notes in large denominations.

But since implementing SGQR on Fazil’s advice, his work has become easier. He no longer has to prepare change in advance, stop in the middle of making drinks to make change, or count his daily cash takings. Another bonus for the drink stall owner is that now he sees more younger customers, who prefer hassle-free payment modes.

“He thanked me profusely for making his day-to-day job much easier and I was happy to hear that,” Fazil recounted. “More importantly, the job has taught me the importance of going digital, especially for stallholders during this period. Adopting cashless payment helps to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by reducing physical contact with customers.”

By August, he has covered 10 hawker centres in five areas — Adam Road, Boon Lay, Bukit Panjang, Pioneer and West Coast. He is currently based at West Coast Community Centre, where he teaches senior citizens basic digital skills such as using Internet banking services when shopping online, and getting on smartphone applications like WhatsApp. Some also require step-by-step guidance to install the apps.

While he now helps to raise people’s digital skills instead of their fitness levels, Fazil sees some similarities between his past and present jobs. He still gets to interact with people from all walks of life and has to build a rapport with them to get the best results.

The biggest difference is perhaps the age group of his “clients”. He now interacts mostly with those aged 60 and older, which requires him to change his approach.

“I can be stern and demanding with my gym clients to push them to do their best. But with the seniors, I have learnt to be more empathetic as they take a longer time to learn and absorb new information,” he explained. “You need to be extremely patient with them. When you don’t judge or scold them, they would then feel comfortable motivated to learn.”

The seniors, however, might not always be as patient. He recalls with a laugh how some of them expect him to have an answer for everything.

“They forget that I, too, am just starting out and still learning on the job,” he said. But all the stress evaporates whenever someone thanks him, and he shares in their pride when they master a certain skill. “It makes me feel that my effort is worth it when they show their appreciation.”

A blessing in disguise

Even though Fazil now draws just half his previous salary, the new job has one big advantage: better working hours. He used to work from 7am to 7pm from Monday to Saturday, sometimes even staying till 11pm to cater to clients’ schedules.

“In the past, I had to wake up at 4am every morning as some of my appointments were as early as 7am. Now, I have time to get breakfast before starting work at 8.30am.”

These days, he ends work at 5pm and can enjoy regular dinners with his family. He has also been taking on private gym clients on the side after sports facilities were allowed to reopen on June 19, with the free time he has now.

Despite the initial shock at losing his job, Fazil now sees it as a blessing in disguise. His stint as a digital ambassador is slated to end in one year. But having expanded his network through the job, he is optimistic about landing new career opportunities.

“Whichever job I take up in the future, I would still take on gym clients after work, but I would definitely not go back to working as a full-time trainer,” he said. “I appreciate the work-life balance now and would like to spend more time with my family and on my hobbies.”

The pandemic might have upended his life, but it has also given him a new outlook. “It is always good to embrace change — we get to learn new things and meet new people. It gets us out of our comfort zone.”