Employers Urged to Empower Workers to Make A Difference

Employers are being urged to establish an environment where workers are empowered to undertake service that makes a difference to the organisation and wider community.

Making the call, Regional Director for the Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA), Michael Bent, said that when leaders of a company foster a spirit of team-building and goodwill among staff, this transcends into “significant differences that can change lives.”

“It is important for leaders in organisations to empower and respect each team member, so that he or she will take active interest in wanting to make a difference,” Mr. Bent stressed.

He was addressing the recent handover of refurbished facilities at the Racecourse Health Centre in Clarendon by the three 2021 Civil Servants of the Year.

He commended the public sector workers, particularly Clayton McCalla who is the Civil Servant of the Year in the technical support category. Mr. McCalla, a driver at the Lionel Town Hospital in the parish, recommended the project.

Mr. Bent noted that at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many persons with the virus were being shunned, even by their own family members, it was workers in the health sector, such as Mr. McCalla, who were “running to them” and taking measures to cauterise the spread of the disease and save lives.

“If we did not empower and respect him, he would not have become one of the three Civil Servants of the Year and would have no interest in taking on a project to benefit the organisation where he works,” he said, while also calling for workers to not only show respect to managers, but to fellow staff members as well.

“One action can have significant impact on many persons and healthcare workers went way beyond the call of duty to contain the spread of the virus and enable us to return to normality,” Mr. Bent added.

The project undertaken at the Racecourse Health Centre included the tiling of the passageway that runs the length of the building and the painting of the front exterior walls. It was done through sponsorship of $150,000 from First Heritage Co-operative Credit Union (FHC).

In addition to Mr. McCalla, the other 2021 Civil Servants of the Year are Manager for Special Projects at the Jamaica Information Service (JIS), Andrine Davidson (management category); and Manager of Information Systems at the Administrator General’s Department, Ronald Frue (middle management category).

As part of activities for the year, they are required to plan and execute a community project.