Both Sides of The Coin: The Story of The Central Bank of Barbados 1972-2017

Appendix 1: Recollections of Previous Governors 279 attractive to the public and private sector, to academia, and international institutions. I recognised that the tension of the highly charged industrial climate, a hangover from the strike, could become a force for good, like the grit in an oyster that yields the pearl. Staff needed assurance that their interests were considered in decisions affecting them, that ability and performance would be recognised and rewarded, and that workplace policies would be fairly administered. I also wanted managers to have the responsibility and authority to manage their departments, to bring operational decision-making closer to the information on which the decisions were based, and to build a team approach to the work of the Bank. Achieving these objectives would allow the Bank to continue to improve the quality of its service to the community. An important first step in the process was to secure the agreement of the Board to a substantial increase in the training and development budget and the creation of a Human Resources Department. We were fortunate to recruit Hensley Sobers, one of the island’s leading human resource management professionals, as its head and its first tasks were to review the appraisal system, the recruitment and promotion practices and update the Staff Manual . In response to demand from the staff, the Bank established a Healthy Life Styles and an Employee Assistance Programme in January 1998 which included updating the ergonomics of staff facilities, support for what would now be called work-life balance, and counselling on substance abuse and bereavement, among other things. These steps were accompanied by a clean-up and beautification of the Bank’s environs before the area was renamed the Tom Adams Financial Centre in February 1998, and by the setting aside of funds for the redevelopment of Church Village. The Bank’s offices were retrofitted to accommodate internal electronic communications secure from outside interference and the seating and lighting at the Frank Collymore Hall were refurbished. Throughout 1998 an organisational transformation process was in train and a Committee of Management was established as the steering authority. A job evaluation and a salaries settlement were completed, a new performance appraisal system was introduced and the Staff Advances Scheme and Training and Development Policy were revised. A new Strategic Plan