THE NATIONAL INITIATIVE for Service Excellence (NISE) has recorded success with its innovative project 100 Improvements In 100 Days, which chief executive officer Kim Tudor says generated “a huge number of world-class ideas”.
Businesses and other organizations responded favourably to the challenge and several were rewarded for their performance at an awards gala hosted by NISE at Hilton Barbados Friday night.
Harris Paints was the winner of the Prime Minister’s Award, the top honour for the organization with the highest level of staff participating and the most improvements over the 100 days, with the most significant impact on transforming the organization in a positive way.
The Caribbean Examinations Council and Scotiabank were the other finalists for this award, but won in other categories.
Accepting his company’s award, Harris Paints chairman Ralph Johnson said the NISE campaign came at “the perfect time to engage our staff, to challenge our staff, to activate our staff into action, [into] believing that they really could make a difference”.
He told the gathering: “We and our customers have seen improvements in many areas [including] health and safety . . . supply chain efficiencies; all of these things that directly or indirectly impact on our customer value proposition for the better.”
Commending NISE for the initiative and encouraging other companies to get involved, Johnson said: “Take it from me, Bruggadung Johnson, that nothing can ever replace the magic and the awesome power of engaged employees.
“We in this Barbados need 100 per cent of our employees in 100 of our companies on this beautiful island to get engaged, get involved and get competitive,” he added to applause from the large gathering in the Hilton’s ballroom.
The small photography business A3KD, managed by young business partners Korena Darnelle and Alex Carrington, carried off the award for the smallest organization with the largest number of improvements.
Trowel Plastics, Hilton Barbados, the University of the West Indies’ Open Campus, Globe Finance and the church, represented by the Church of God Reformation Ministries, also received awards for their participation.
According to Tudor, 100 Improvements In 100 Days was designed to help Barbados’ employers and employees to “ignite the spark of emotional and intellectual commitment to further their organization’s success”.
She said: “We were not surprised that so many organizations got on board, at the diversity in size and sector of those organizations, nor by the level of enthusiasm generated within and among them.”
