Prime Minister David Thompson (centre) as well as chairman of the National Initiative for Service Excellence Sir Keith Hunte (right), seem amused by something trade union leader Sir Roy Trotman is saying ahead of the NISE meeting. (Picture by Sandy Pitt.)

by Trevor Yearwood

Barbados is launching a $6 million project to make here a nicer place to live, work and do business.

The programme will address major factors creating poor service, among them the growing indiscipline in society, negative attitudes to work and "decreasing national pride".

The National Initiative for Service Excellence (NISE) Inc. announced the project, dubbed Live Excellence, during a meeting yesterday at Sherbourne Conference Centre.

NISE's chief executive officer, Kim Tudor, told the gathering of leading Government, business, church, labour and non-governmental organisation (NGO) representatives that the programme would be rolled out soon after feedback came from them.

The project will cost roughly $2 million per year and will focus on changing behaviours, attitudes, morals and the outlook on life of Barbadians, Tudor reported.

Some successes had been recorded under NISE in the last two-and-a-half years, but much still needed to be done about the factors impeding "service excellence", she conceded.

She logged "lack of mutual respect" and "lack of creativity and innovation" among those negative factors.

The NISE programme will promote courtesy, honesty, creativity, responsibility and compassion among virtues the Barbadian society needs to practise.

But another three dozen values, including patriotism, professionalism, kindness and honour, have been identified by focus groups, Tudor calculated.

NISE is launching the programme against a background of rising concern about poor service, immorality and indiscipline in the Bajan society.

Addressing the gathering, Prime Minister David Thompson pledged Government's support for the project, pointing out that its emphasis on service excellence was in line with the Administration's philosophy.

He underscored the importance of building values across all areas, including within the professions.

Thompson noted the high negative rating which the public gave certain groups, including politicians, in statistics made available by NISE, and said this might partly be blamed on how they treated their clients.

In some cases, this was marked by a degree of arrogance and insensitivity, he charged.

Head of the Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados, Sir Roy Trotman, stressed the need to promote good service among young people.

"Service excellence has to start in the womb, if that is possible," he said. "It certainly has to begin at home with the young child and it has to go through the school and we have to remember things like 'Good morning' and 'Thank you' and 'How may I help you?'"

Sir Roy called for Barbadians to bring back into their lives, work and family circle the values that were once considered important to them.