BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, August 28, 2023 (MMS-SKN) — Members of staff at the new Ministry of Small Business and Entrepreneurship were on Friday, August 25 exposed to an afternoon session of psychological contractual engagements training, which will help in guiding them as they interact with members of the public.
The training, which was conducted by a Motivational Speaker, and former Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Curtis Martin, was held at the offices of the Small Business Development Centre, the Ministry’s business arm, on Princess Street in Basseterre.
“They bring a new team in place we actually had a conversation around team engagement, work ethics and the way of working,” noted Mr Martin. “We went through some of the traditional, psychological contractual engagements in terms of how we work vs. the modern role profiling of how we need to incorporate behaviours in what we do.”
According to the motivational speaker, he is a firm believer that a country needs to hire behaviours and not people. Explaining why not people, he stated that it was in behaviours basically where a lot of the action takes place, concluding that the country needs people with the right behaviour.
“For example, if you look at leadership, we are looking at things like analytical skills which are self-driven, team players, strong communicator, stuff like that,” said Mr Martin. “And so today it was very, very refreshing to meet with this small team who I think is destined to do some big things, unlike their bias, their passion and engagement today, and I want to wish them well.”
Mr Martin had been introduced to the staff by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Ms Delrine Taylor, who also participated in the training. Others were the Director of the Ministry, Mr. Philip Browne; Assistant Secretary Ms. Leah Crag-Chaderton, and Senior Business Advisor at the Small Business Development Centre, Mrs. Kyla Gibson-Dore.
“They are highly energised,” concluded Mr Martin. “I think they are looking forward to creating the impact that is needed in the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Ministry, and to actually listen to the needs and aspirations of the persons who they serve, because at the end of the day, it should be customer-focus, and driven in a way that meets the agenda of the Government with respect to serving the people of St. Kitts and Nevis.”
In the meantime, Permanent Secretary Ms Taylor noted that the purpose of the training, which was held in the form of a retreat, was to engage the staff in team bonding, team leadership, work ethics, building camaraderie amongst the staff members, and also to recognise their importance and to show appreciation to their commitment to the Ministry.
“We have been having a lot of launch activities, and they go beyond the call of duty, sometimes after the working hours,” explained PS Taylor. “It was very important for us to show them the recognition that they truly deserve because we are a small team, a young team, but our impact is great, so there is nothing small about us but the name.”
She added: “It was a great initiative and we are looking forward to doing more of these to motivate the staff.”
Friday, August 25 was the original date for the launch of the new ministry, but because it clashed with the VAT Reduced Days that had been declared for Friday, August 25 and Saturday, August 26, the new launch date was moved to tomorrow Tuesday August 29 at the Royal St. Kitts Hotel Conference Room, starting at 9:30 a.m.
