The Administrators of the North Caribbean Conference (NCC) re-emphasized their vision that the, “NCC will become the best-run organization in the world,” during a two-day, on-site professional development workshop. The workshop was hosted by the NCC Human Resources Department and designed to: Create the transformation for realizing the Vision; enhance workers’ professional growth; and, improve effectiveness. In addition to the administrators, directors, and staff of the NCC Office, attendees included the business managers and administrative assistants from three NCC educational institutions.
The University of the Southern Caribbean (USC) provided two resource-rich and dynamic presenters for the in-depth training: Mrs. Marsha Ramsamoojh-Harris, the Human Resources Director, and Ms. Sherri-Lyn Legall, an Assistant Professor in the School of Business.
Mrs. Marsha Ramsamoojh-Harris challenged the focus group of administrators, directors and business managers to set goals for the operation of the organization. She stated that the management of the organization is key to worker relations and productivity and also underscored the need for lifting the standards of Adventist office operations. Mrs. Harris said, “To do that, we must affirm and promote fairness and soundness of operation, embrace transparency, eliminate prejudice and be authentic.” She highlighted that Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is central to the development of office morale: “Success is strongly influenced by personal qualities such as perseverance, self-control and skill in getting along with others. Workers with a high EQ are better able to work in teams, adjust to change and be flexible. Simply put, the emotional needs of today’s workforce may seem like a tall order for employers but they’re worth your attention.”
Ms. Sherri-Lyn Legall’s succinct statement, “You are the face of the organization and it only takes seven seconds to make an impression,” provided the opportunity for self-examination. Ms. Legall empowered staff as she knowledgeably navigated impacting presentations such as, The Admirable Administrative Assistant, The Organized Administrative Assistant, Transformational Leadership, Effective Decision-makers, and Conflict Resolution Strategies and Team-building.
The Executive Secretary and Human Resources Director of the NCC, Pastor Wilmoth James, agreed that there is a need to address worker satisfaction and productivity at all levels of the NCC: “We see this as our way of engaging the skills and energies of our workers in order to help fulfil the Mission of the Church. We will continue to put a premium on this effort moving forward. Workers are now poised to better embrace the transformation that we speak about. Already, attendees have begun to exhibit and demonstrate lots of the things learnt at the workshop. We have received feedback from the field about noticeable changes in operations and management relations. It is our plan to make it an annual event for workers in the NCC.”
“We know that people don’t change easily,” said President James. “We have to put our heads to the process and seek to affect positive relations. God is the perfect individual to model the change we desire and under his guidance, we will move forward. We will look at all areas of our Conference and in an effort to model the Vision of the Administration we will keep working at it. Pastor James thanked the staff and presenters for their time and commitment to the work. He reiterated that it would be fatal if we allow such information to become dormant in us, “We challenge your dreams and embark on the road to excellence. Please come with us.” As the Administrators look toward the 2019 staff development workshop, plans are already being made to include other islands of the conference