In early February, this year’s edition of the biennial Barbados’ Best Employers (BBE) was launched at the Savannah Hotel. Tomorrow it concludes with an awards luncheon at Hilton Barbados Resort.
More than two dozen companies applied to participate in the programme which is sponsored by THE NATION and its BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY brand. That list was reduced to ten finalists, who will receive awards in small, medium and large categories.
The finalists in the small category are Bitt Inc., Blueprint Creative Inc., and Harley-Davidson of the West Indies. In the medium category, the finalists are CGM Gallagher Insurance Brokers Barbados Limited, Guardian General Insurance Limited, Ocean Two Resort and Residences, and Duty Free Caribbean Limited (trading as Colombian Emeralds International).
The large category finalists are Bougainvillea Beach Resort; Duty Free Caribbean – Trading as Cave Shepherd Duty Free Caribbean Holdings; and Hilton Barbados Resort.
Of the 30 companies that participated in BBE this year, nine were in banking/financial services, six in the retail sector, five in the hotel/tourism sector, two statutory corporations, four insurance companies, and the others from the services sector.
BBE was conceptualised and introduced by Caribbean Catalyst Inc. to publicly acknowledge employers who provide work environments which are conducive to high productivity and who support positive employer/employee relations.
Commenting recently on this year’s programme Caribbean Catalyst managing director Rosalind Jackson said: “The participation rate in terms of numbers of companies is very similar to last time, which was 2014. The larger number of companies participate in the medium category but I think what is happening is that we are seeing quite a bit of improvement in what people are feeling and thinking.”
While much of the focus at tomorrow’s luncheon will be on the presentation of awards, Jackson said these accolades were simply “the icing on the cake”.
“The luncheon is great but I keep calling it the icing on the cake. The real cake is when we go out as consultants and debrief with the company and say, ‘these are your survey results, these are the areas I think you need to work on, and these are areas that you need to continue doing what you are doing.’ I think sometimes we harp on the gaps and not give kudos to strengths, not to beat up on but to encourage,” she said.
“And when we do that debrief I think that’s where the value of this whole process comes and I keep saying since 2010 that the reason we invest a lot of time and effort and expertise in this is because at the end of the day if we don’t have more companies really sustainable and succeeding, then where would will my grandchildren live, that’s my bottom line frankly.”
The luncheon will feature an address by American human capital consultant facilitator and coach Lori Stohs. Stohs will focus on human capital optimisation. Jackson said to topic “speaks to the key attributes that evolve a fully engaged employee culture, which results in a fully engaged customer base”.
On Wednesday Stohs will also be the presenter at a breakfast seminar on the topic Maximising Your Brand Through The Right Fit. It takes place at the Hilton.
As with previous editions, BBE 2016 included interviews with designated management representatives from participating companies and a staff survey which focused on culture, employee communications, performance management /recognition, work environment, work life balance, community involvement, development and career opportunities, and compensation and benefits.
The three business categories were small (no more than 25 employees), medium (26 to 150 staff), and large (over 150 staff). (SC)