Good news for those who read my contributions to the Jamaica Gleaner on productivity.  I have been asked to contribute a regular column on a short-term contract, so articles should be appearing every other week.  Of course, there is also an on-line version at the newspaper’s website.

Update: Here is the first article entitled “Why We aren’t Doing Enough About Jamaica’s Productivity“

Sponsors of this year’s annual CaribHRForum’s electronic survey expect to reach over 3000 Human Resource Professionals across the CARICOM region this year, easily becoming the most wide-spread effort to gather information from a single profession. 

The 2008 survey which was released on Monday September 15th, 2008, focuses on the single topic of regional HR conferences and the role they play in bringing together HR professionals. 

It is being conducted by a volunteer team at CaribHRForum, the online forum that was formed in 2003 by Francis Wade, a management consultant who recently moved home to the Caribbean.

According to Wade, “the survey has grown in leaps and bounds since it was inaugurated last year, and the team now comprises a Jamaican, a Trinidadian, a Kittician and a Bahamian who have only met in cyber-space.  We got to know each other through CaribHRForum and have worked together for months to put this together, mostly using Facebook, an online social networking service.”

CaribHRForum, with over 200 members, is the largest professional networking group of its kind that is built on cyber-services such as a discussion list, a blog on CaribHRForum.com and a news ezine – CaribHRNews.

In fact, the idea of a large, all-encompassing regional conference was first discussed at length within CaribHRForum’s list, which sometimes sees up to 20 emails per day in a region-wide discussion.

“Sometimes the conversation gets heated, and there is a great deal of participation from many members who share their perspective, while learn from each other.”  A recent group conversation on the industrial relations climate in the region is still generating some sparks after more than a week,” said Wade.

It was another hot conversation on CaribHRForum that provided the theme for this year’s survey.  While Jamaica has the larget  conference each year, with some 500 participants, there are other territories in the region that don’t even have an organization formed. Many are unaware that conferences and organizations like CaribHRForum exist and end up practicing in isolation from their colleagues. 

“Hopefully,” Wade says “the results of the survey will do much to help us bring the professionals of the region together.  We should learn a lot about what people are looking for in attending a conference, and help make our own conferences compelling.”

Trinidadian Executive Thrives on Cultural Differences

Francis Wade has been selected to present the results of the groundbreaking study, “The Trinidadian Executive in Jamaica,” at the upcoming HRMATT conference to be held on October 9-11th, in Port of Spain, Trinidad.

The study, completed in 2006, included direct interviews with over 30 Trinidadian executives working in Jamaica, and focused on the cultural differences they found while holding leadership positions.  As the press has reported on several occasions, some have encountered difficulties, experiencing wild-cat strikes and  threats of industrial action.  Headlines were made about the way Trinidadian businessmen conduct themselves in Jamaica.

A great deal has been made of the notion that Jamaicans dislike Trinidadians as a people.  Some have said that it dates back to the days of the West Indian Federation in 1961, when Jamaica withdrew from the alliance, causing its immediate collapse.

Others point to the fact that Jamaica is a violent country with one of the highest murder rates in the world.  From a Trinidadian point of view, Jamaicans are often described as “aggressive”  or “backward” and that this behaviour carries over into the workplace.  From a Jamaican perspective, some say that Trinidadians are difficult to trust, and often rely on a level of informality that they find insulting, hence the moniker ‘Tricki-dadians.”

The results of the study shed some light on the confusion and misunderstanding that exists between the two cultures. However, the study shows that when these dynamics play out in the workplace, Trinidadian executives can be both aware and careful, in order to gain the trust needed to operate effectively and profitably.

 New: Francis Wade will be featured on Trinidad’sTV6 Morning Edition show at 6:30am, on the topic of the upcoming HRMATT conference.

Also, the above press release was covered in the Trinidad Express and the Jamaica Observer.

To receive a copy of the report “The Trinidadian Executive in Jamaica,” send email to [email protected] and reply to the confirmation email by clicking on the appropriate link.

To receive a summary of  the results on the recently concluded CaribHRForum 2007 survey, you are invited to send an email to [email protected]

Upon receipt, a confirmation email will be sent to your email inbox, which you must respond to in order to receive the report by. Simply click on the link that looks like this when the confirmation email is received:

————————————————————————————————————————

CONFIRM BY VISITING THE LINK BELOW:

CaribHRForum is the only widely used regional discussion list for Caribbean HR professionals.

Kingston, Jamaica, May 5, 2007:  Attendees at the JEF Convention 2007 in Ocho Rios on May 5^th, 2007were challenged to upgrade their networking skills to keep pace with the threats and opportunities of CSME.  The speech they attended at the conference was entitled “Networking Strategies for the new Breed of Caribbean Managers.”

The workshop was lead by Francis Wade, a Jamaican consultant and President of Framework Consulting In., headquartered in Hollywood Florida, USA.  Mr. Wade, the founder of the 14 year-old firm, has been working with companies in Barbados, Trinidad andJamaica to address business issues that have a particularly difficult people dimension.  During that time he has had to develop some innovative techniques for networking that “violate accepted wisdom.”

In his speech, Mr. Wade noted that the old ways of networking – on the golf course and on the cocktail circuit – were only suited for a small subset of professionals. He said “business-people who force themselves to attend these kinds of events give networking a bad name.”

Instead, he advocated an authentic approach that anyone can follow, building on real commitments, rather than manufactured interests.  He gave the following 10 tips:

1)          Be Brave: Don’t follow the crowd, and allow yourself to be distinctly different from everyone else

2)          Know What You Are Passionate About: Pursue whatever area of interest you have, and become an expert in that, rather than following areas that are popular, “logical” or even areas in which you have current skills but no real interest

3)          Drop the Miami mind:  Think of yourself as aCaribbean professional rather than having half your mind in the USA, Canada or England

4)          Reach Out from Your Interests:  Take the areas you are passionate about, and find others in theCaribbean who share them

5)          Ignore Distractions:  If someone tells you what you “should” be doing to network, and it doesn’t fit your natural interests, ignore them!  Also, if the actions you take feel forced or contrived, stop them.

6)          Embrace Internet Technology:  If you have a distrust of new technology or the internet, overcome it, knowing that your future as a professional is inextricably tied to how you are presented in cyberspace

7)          Google Yourself:  Use a Google search to see what is already being said about you on the internet.  Make this your baseline

8)          Design an Online Self-Portrait:  Define the online “portrait” of your accomplishments, skills and interests that you would like people to see on the internet

9)          Actively Participate:   Join in and contribute to online discussions related to your areas of interest especially if they are Caribbeanbased.  If they don’t exist today, create them by sending out invitations to regional partners

10)     Write!: Find interesting ways to use ezines, blogs and mentions on web-pages to share your thoughts on your authentic areas of interest.  Write frequently!

The Bottom Line is that professionals must take advantage of the changes coming with CSME and the existence of internet technology to network in a way that feels natural.  While our literacy rate inJamaica puts us at a disadvantage compared to countries such as Trinidad and Barbados, we are often seen as being more assertive and outgoing, and we should use this to our advantage.

Francis Wade is President of Framework Consulting Inc. Email:  [email protected]

-End-

The first two Meetings to discuss the formation of a Trinidadian Jamaican Chamber of Commerce will be held as follows:

Monday May 7th at the Jamaica Pegasus, New Kingston at 6:30pm

Monday May 21st — evening — Port of Spain, at the offices of CMMB on Independence Square at 6:30pm

If you would like further information on the agenda, and to hear further updates as the dates draw closer, you can send me email or add yourself to the mailiing list by clicking here.

Francis Wade, President of Framework Consulting, has been selected to be a presenter at the upcoming Jamaica Employers Federation Conference on May 3-6, 2007 in Ocho Rios.

He will be speaking on the topic of: “Building Bridges across the region: Networking  Strategies and Techniques for the New Breed of Caribbean Managers.”