Over 40 members of staff from Sandals Montego Bay has so far been picked to participate in a 12-week intensive Leadership Training Programme aimed at shaping potential managers into well-rounded professionals. The training and development department has been urged to utilize creative means in exploring the various talents of the resort’s team members so as to reinforce their strengths and improve the overall service of the flagship resort.
Each week, the participants are introduced to courses which emphasize the fundamental traits of a model leader, beginning with the core course of understanding leadership, to goals-setting, public speaking, team building management and delegating, among others. The workshop encompassed theoretical, practical and physical activities to test the patience, persistence and problem solving skills of these potential managers, supervisors and team leaders. Notable figures such as Constable Hillette Virgo of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (St. James) and the Principal of the Sandals Corporate University, Dr. Phillip Brown joined in to further inspire and motivate the resort’s future leaders.
Providing Mentorship
“At first glance, you can definitely see the potential in these individuals. With special attention to their areas for improvement and helping to identify their strengths, along with continued on-the-job training from their respective superiors, I believe we are unquestionably shaping them into promising managers of Sandals Resorts,” stated the Training and Development Manager, Sigourney Hastings who spearheads and initiates much of the workshops.
Hastings recently introduced the mentorship programme which assigned the participants to select managers from the Food and Beverage, Engineering and Public Relations departments to further tap into the participants’ individual aspirations. From here, mentors will provide more detailed guidance on how mentees can go about achieving their professional goals.
“I’ve always wanted to be successful but never really had an outline of what that meant or the steps required to attain it. The mentorship programme helped me to formulate plans that I can now put into place and express to my manager,” guest services agent Anastasia Salmon confidently shared.
Understanding Teamwork
Members of the Third Battalion the Jamaica Regiment (Burke Barrack) also lent their support by implementing a series of challenging physical activities including fireman’s lifts, balancing on planks and cylinders, carrying boulders- all of which required not only strength but team work, time management and delegation.
“It was very difficult to complete, but my team kept me motivated throughout the process. It was a long and painful exercise but in the end, I understood the concept as most of the challenges required more than one set of hands to complete. We were all reliant on each other and it was completely comparable to real life scenarios that I experience in my daily work,” Ophir Gayle, Regional Public Relations Coordinator admitted.
“With a resort of over 400 team members, I have seen the most passionate, willing and dedicated workers commit to their daily tasks and serve with utmost pride and consistency. It is therefore our responsibility to hone them into much more than they could ever imagine themselves to be and that is what we continue to do through the Sandals Corporate University,” evoked Carl Beviere, Sandals Montego Bay’s general manager.
Later this month, participants will be awarded their certificates in leadership- accredited through the Sandals Corporate University- and will also be empowered to implement learnt tools to execute leadership functions. The programme is in its first year and is only one of the numerous training mechanisms initiated by the Sandals Corporate University and the resort.
