Via LOOP Jamaica 

As the world continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic and countries implement various measures to curb the spread of the virus, the Jamaican government over the past three consecutive weekends implemented an extensive curfew order to limit movements among citizens.

In response to this measure, Sagicor Group Jamaica used it as an opportunity to engage its team members in an online ‘lockdown par’, which featured a few hours of entertainment, music, giveaways and fun interaction among team members.

“Sagicor has always had a rich culture of team engagement and our mantra of “people first” is at the forefront of our HR agenda”, said Karl Williams, Senior Vice President, Group Human Resources and Corporate Services at Sagicor Group Jamaica.

The senior HR executive shared that while the company has always had a thriving culture of team engagement, with several staple calendar initiatives and activities that team members can look forward to annually, he noted that in light of the current circumstances and the unique challenges that the COVID-19 virus presents, now more than ever, the HR team is proactively accelerating its robust team engagement plans that help in supporting the physical, emotional and mental wellness of team members.

“The reduction in social interaction is one of the many downsides of the pandemic, as a higher percentage of team members are now working from home, and social distancing and restricted ‘in person’ activities are now the norm”, said Williams, however, he added that the Group Human Resources team has been committed and focused on strengthening our human capital by continuing to be innovative and proactive, to ensure the richness of social interaction and connectivity with the team.

Williams shared that over the past year, the HR team has implemented several new initiatives and programmes to bolster team engagement; “our team members overall wellbeing is a priority for us and it is important for us at Sagicor to ensure we provide them with various platforms where they can learn, relax, have fun, be more productive, share their talents and blossom into well-rounded and high performing individuals”, said Williams.