The Human Resource Management Association of Trinidad and Tobago (HRMATT) proudly hosted its much-anticipated C-Suite Conversation on Productivity on Wednesday June 12th at the Hyatt Regency. HRMATT’s PR Director, Desmond Lawrence kicked off the event by welcoming participants, while underscoring the significant role HRMATT plays in the national and regional business landscape. This premier event featured an opening address by HRMATT President, Cavelle Joseph-St Omer, who set the stage for a morning of insightful discussions and thought leadership. She highlighted the significance of the event, explaining that the only way to promote change in the way we approach productivity challenges is through mutual learning and collaboration. The HRMATT President also emphasized the need for finding ways for people to create more value during the time they are at work while focussing on a number of potential opportunities for the country to elevate its measures of productivity.
In today’s fast-paced and competitive business landscape, understanding and harnessing employee productivity is not just a luxury; it is a necessity. Recognizing this, HRMATT brought together officials from government, national and international organisations, academia, and experts on productivity and members of civil and business community, to discuss the best practices, the main findings of cutting-edge research, and on policies that impact productivity.
The event included a keynote address by The Honourable Foster Cummings, Minister of Youth Development and National Service, who provided an inspiring vision of the government’s commitment to enhancing national productivity, particularly through the engagement of the nation’s youth.
Distinguished speakers included John Bliek, Specialist, Sustainable Enterprise Development and Job Creation, ILO, Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean, who shared insights on productivity ecosystems. Dr Carolina Gonzalez-Velosa, Senior Specialist, Labour Markets and Social Security Division, IDB, then emphasized IDB’s dedication to driving productivity in her presentation and shared some very interesting productivity related statistics for the Caribbean and Latin American region.
At the C-Suite Conversation event, the panel discussed the productivity related challenges of the post COVID-19 period, including the green transition, the potential re-organisation of value chains, digitalisation, and enabling conditions for productive investments. The conversation also focused on effective ways in which Human Resources can help businesses with productivity efforts and strategies for enhancing productivity across diverse sectors.
The distinguished panel was expertly moderated by Paige De Leon who started the conversation by asking each panelist to give their opinion on the what is productivity.
The panel consisted of
– Gillian Chevrotiere, Senior Manager, People Leadership and Culture, The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago.
– Kiran Maharaj, President, Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce, and Managing Director, Caribbean Lifestyle Communications.
– Vashti Guyadeen, CEO, Trinidad and Tobago Coalition of Services Industries.
– Mariano Browne, CEO, Arthur Lok Jack Global School of Business.
– Dr. Paul Balwant, Senior Lecturer and Deputy Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, UWI.
– Dr. Marlene Attzs, Economist and Lecturer, UWI.
– Dr. Andre Vincent Henry, Chairman, National Productivity Council, and Director, Cipriani College of Labour and Cooperative Studies.
HRMATT extends huge heartfelt thanks to our Gold sponsors, The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago, The Inter-American Development Bank and our Silver sponsor, Caribbean Airlines Ltd. We extend many thanks too, to our Media partners, Guardian Media Limited and Freedom Radio 106.5 fm. We also thank Angostura Limited, Pat and Max Limited. Many thanks are in order for our door prize sponsors, Xtra Foods Ltd and Huawei, Trinidad, for their generous contributions.
To view photos of the event, click here
