TIMES ARE TOUGH, but business leaders have not sacrificed recruiting “the right people” to manage and work for their companies, and they are continuing to spend money on staff training.
There is, however, a need for Barbados to urgently develop a larger pool of good sales people, as one veteran recruiter and trainer is reporting a shortage of these individuals.
Profiles Caribbean Inc. chief executive officer Peter Downes shared these views during an interview with BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY.
“My personal experience has been that companies have recognised the importance of hiring the right people, so they have not cut back on that.
“In terms of training, we are seeing a lot of business leaders recognising the importance of training their people and having them develop to the point where they could be very effective at what they do,” he said.
“At the end of the day, the right people in the right slots will produce the kind of revenues, or reduce costs in certain areas, that typically they might not have been able to benefit from in the past. So I think people are recognising that ‘if I invest a dollar today in my people, I may get back $10 over the next three to five years.”
He was speaking in the context of a new management and leadership development programme Profiles has introduced to Barbados and is looking to offer to countries in the Eastern Caribbean.
The company was selected by Crestcom International, a globally recognised leadership training company based in the United States to lead the roll out of its programme in these islands.
Last Thursday, the first six of 27 people enrolled in the Barbados programme run by Profiles graduated during a brief ceremony at Island Inn Hotel.
“We feel that this particular Crestcom training programme will also help to enhance a lot of what we are currently doing in terms of the recruitment side. This programme would be excellent for top and middle managers who are looking to sharpen or refresh their skills,” he said.
Downes said it would also benefit “managers/supervisors who have just assumed that role but have not had any formal training, and those high potential persons who are being considered for leadership or management roles.
“The programe examines ten core competencies and twenty-four key skills critical to your company’s growth. These competencies are communication, customer service, developing people, leadership, managing change, negotiation, problem solving, raising productivity, strategic thinking and team building.”
The first graduates are Samantha Kissoon, Damani Gilkes, Raymond Carter, Sonja-Leigh Didier, Andrew Guppy and Pedro Newton.
