BARBADIAN COMPANIES should be operating on the premise that employees are their backbone.
And on this basis, they should be doing all they can to ensure they are providing the best work environment for their staff to thrive and the business to flourish.
This was a central theme at the launch of this year’s edition of the biennial Barbados’ Best Employers (BBE) programme, which is organised by human resource consulting firm Caribbean Catalyst Inc. and sponsored by The Nation Publishing Company Limited.
Speaking at last week’s launch at the Savannah Hotel, NATION chief executive officer M. Anthony Shaw said: “People are the backbone of any organisation, successful or otherwise. Even a company with a phenomenal leadership cannot make the desired strides without the support of an engaged, committed and productive workforce. It is therefore essential that companies continue to evaluate an environment and culture under which their employees operate.”
He said the BBE, which is being held for the fourth time, “has helped many leading organisations in Barbados to raise the bar even higher when it comes to their human resource practices and to make the necessary adjustments and motivate and support their staff and propel their business to success”. 
Caribbean Catalyst managing director Rosalind Jackson said BBE “is the real call to action for this generation of leaders and business people” and covered issues that were key to building a better country for future generations.
“What we are doing here is partly fulfilling our own mission and our mission is to be a catalyst for meaningful change, helping our clients achieve through their people. So we are about building sustainability and helping people to take their leaps and get out of the comfort zone,” she said.
This year’s theme is Maximising Productivity! Building A Better Barbados! Last year’s review panel of seasoned business executives Vancourt Rouse, Horace Cobham and Pauline Mager-Jordan has returned to serve.
Applications close on February 22 and the application form and information booklet are available on Caribbean Catalyst’s website, www.caribbeancatalyst.com and at the company’s office on River Road, St. Michael. (SC)
