THE Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) is hailing its recently staged employee engagement conference as a success, with more than 500 participants from local and regional public-and private-sector entities benefiting from the two-day event.

The conference was held at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston under the theme ‘Employee Experience 3D – Design. Develop. Deliver’.

JBDC’s assistant manager, project management and research development, Sasha McCalla said the conference received high scores from the attendees.

“Both keynote and conference sessions were high-energy and filled with actionable tools that our attendees could take back to organisations. We were able to engage practitioners who are experienced, who have developed and implemented strategies and walked away with success stories,” she said.

McCalla said that the presence of JBDC clients at the conference was a highlight.

“We wanted to create a platform for our clients to showcase their products so we had a few of our clients – Bella Day Spa, Your True Shade Cosmetics, Bresheh and Senior Accounting Services.

“We were able to give our clients an opportunity to meet new people and maintain linkages with large corporations because we had a lot of private- and public-sector entities,” she noted.

As the planning for next year’s conference begins, McCalla is encouraging employers to implement the various strategies discussed at this year’s event in order to increase employee engagement.

“Without a staff that is engaged, without a team that feels fully committed to the purpose, you cannot drive business results, and that was one of the key takeaways. As leaders, we have to ensure that we are providing tools and strategies to cultivate and sustain an engaged workforce,” she said.

The two-day conference had more than 30 presenters, including three keynote speakers. Topics included Employee Engagement Policy Creation; Health and Wellness, and Brain-based Formula for Emotional Engagement.

– JIS