Roosevelt Finlayson delivered the Opening Day Keynote Address at The Jamaica Customer Service Association’s 10th Anniversary Conference, which was held recently at the Wyndham Kingston Hotel. The conference theme was “Feel the Rhythm, Catch the Beat! Service – the Heart of National Transformation”. Mr. Finlayson spoke on the topic “Developing a National Culture of Service Excellence: Lessons from Festivals”.
Mr. Finlayson shared his experience from being involved with the development of the One Hundred Day Challenge in The Bahamas in the 1990’s. He also shared his insights from festivals on how to significantly increase the level of engagement and passion for excellence, at the organizational, industry and national levels. Mr. Finlayson focussed the audience on the following key factors:
• A clear sense of purpose and ownership.
• Opportunity to use your gifts to make a contribution to the success of your organization, industry and country.
• Opportunities for embodied learning, mastery and increased responsibilities.
• A strong sense of individual, organizational, industry and national identity.
• Deep pride connected to individual, organizational, industry and national performance.
Mr. Finlayson is the co-developer of the Festival in the Workplace (FITW) process. FITW has been applied in several pioneering organizations, including The Bahamas Department of Public Service, The National Insurance Board (The Bahamas), Doctors Hospital, Sheraton Cable Beach Resort (The Bahamas) and The CARICOM Secretariat (Guyana).
The Opening Address was presented by Milton Samuda, President, Jamaica Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Samuda spoke on the topic Service: The Heart of National Transformation.
Other featured speakers included Richard Byles, President and CEO of Sagicor Life Jamaica Ltd and Mr. Richard Lumsden, Programme Director, Vision 2030 Jamaica.
The Jamaica Customer Service Association was founded in 2001 by a group of advocates for service excellence under the leadership of Ilsa duVerney, Founding Chairperson. This organization has made a significant contribution in the past ten years to raising the awareness of the critical importance that excellent customer service plays at the organizational, industry and national levels in Jamaica.
Mr. Finlayson says that this association is a model that could assist The Bahamas and all Caribbean countries, in our pursuit of national and regional excellence and competitiveness.
Source: Carvel Francis, MDR
