TO WIN IN THE MARKETPLACE, you must first win in the workplace.
Those are the now famous words of Doug Conant. Conant is a former chief executive officer (CEO) and president of Campbell Soup Company.
This New York Times best-selling author has more than 45 years of leadership experience at world class global companies, and is credited with turning Campbell’s around.
But it was not Conant making that marketplace versus workplace statement recently when the 2016 edition of the biennial Barbados’ Best Employers (BBE) programme was officially launched. It was M. Anthony Shaw, group CEO of The Nation Publishing Co. Limited.
Shaw said it was the philosophy within Conant’s words that explained why THE NATION sponsored the BBE initiative from its 2010 inception until this year’s fourth edition.
“The philosophy behind these words is why the Nation Publishing Company is proud to once again be associated with the Barbados’ Best Employers programme through our BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY newspaper brand,” he 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 or an engaged, committed and productive workforce.
“It is therefore essential that companies continue to evaluate an environment and culture under which their employees operate.”
Noting that BBE 2016 was the programme’s fourth instalment, the business executive observed that “since its launch in 2010 this innovative 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 to motivate and support their staff and propel their business to success”.
“Being part of this initiative helps to determine whether a business is on the right track – it helps identifying areas for improvement, and provides the opportunity to build greater employee engagement.
“Greater employer/employee relationships are vital for the success of any company or business. If your employees are not happy, there is no way you can make any customer happy,” he added.
“The benefits of a company being a part of the Barbados’ Best Employers programme are tremendous. I can confidently say that participating in the BBE programme can and has raised the profile of many of the companies that were shortlisted as finalists and has made a contribution to their reputation and continuing success.”
In light of this, Shaw encouraged small, medium and large local organisations to “sign up for Barbados’ Best Employers programme and we look forward to profiling this year’s front runners in the pages of the BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY and showcasing the merits of exemplary workplace management to a wide Barbadian audience”.
“So we commend Rosalind and the entire team at Catalyst and thank them for allowing Nation Publishing Company to be part of a programme of this calibre.
“I send a heartfelt thank you to everyone that has supported the programme and encourage you to continue to be great leaders willing to confront unequivocally the major anxieties of your people,” he said. (SC)
