Preparing Trinidadian Managers for Jamaican
Companies
By Francis WadeFramework Consulting Inc.
HRMATT Biennial Conference 2007Nov 9th, 2007
Jamaicans are admired, feared and not well understood
Caribbean Human Resource
professionals want to be well-prepared
Recent news has been bad,
disturbing and confusing
Powerful insights will enable you to take a leadership role
Challenge Company Executives to Step Up
1. Clarifying Company Culture Makes the Transition
Easier
Culture
A Cultural Audit Creates Understanding
A Cultural Audit:
Surfaces assumptions about which
culture is “better”
A Cultural Audit:Allows the
existing cultures to be
acknowledged and validated
A Cultural Audit:
Allows the blend of both cultures to be
better than either single
culture
Defining new and specific Cultural Attributes build a firm foundation
Core Values
Vision
Mission
Brand Promise
Strategic plans
History
Clear Attributes prevent “Trinidadian culture” from
becoming the new standard
Clear Attributes: Allow HR to create plans and programmes
Interventions HR Strategy Performance Review
Leadership Development Training
Coaching Expat Transition Services
Orientation Cultural Sensitivity
Executive Succession Pension Planning
Health Insurance Payroll Processing
Transition PoliciesPay Scales
RecruitingInternal Branding
Job Design Retention Outplacement
Common training puts everyone on the same page
The past is left behind for both companies
A new, joint vision can be created
2. Culturally- Sensitive
Leaders Can Build Trust
Leaders can see how strengths turn into weaknesses
Informality, and lack of hierarchy connote disrespect
A focus on profits is seen as exploitation
Pecong is taken quite seriously
Leaders understand and adapt to Jamaican work culture
They understand the importance of
respect
The realize they need to be much more hands on
They know that the workplace emotional maturity is lower
Q: Is there an Anti-Trinidadian bias?
There are negative utterancesButNo wide-spread hard feelings*
* (pre-LNG deal)
3. Teaching Executives to Be Reflective Helps Them Deal With Obstacles
Showing them their own path gives them awareness
They can…
… see their own overconfidence
/arrogance at the start
… expect resistance, and some big surprises
… try to avoid overcompensating
… avoid cynicism
They can find resolution through effective reflecting
With improved reflection skills, comes superior listening skills:
What is in the Unsaid?
…when listening to employees?
… when listening to the company?
… when listening to the country’s “mood”
Listening to the Unsaid:
Miracles
How can the HR professional take a
leadership role in cross-cultural situations?
“Unknown” cultures are scary.
Become effective by learning to take
specific, informed actions
Ensuring your company’s success as it does business across the Caribbean region
and beyond
Human Resource Professional: leading the regional transition of
your company
For further information on this topic, send email [email protected]
Framework Consulting Inc.www.fwconsulting.com