Sagicor Group Jamaica recently hosted its STARS week celebration geared at highlighting excellence among its team members and endorsing their talents.

A long-standing tradition for the company, STARS week, which stands for Showcasing Talent And Recognising Staff, began in 1984 as a means to promote the holistic development of the company’s employees through a series of creative, motivational and benevolent activities that heighten team spirit among staff.

The recent virtual staging created a platform for Sagicor’s moguls in the making to display and promote their products to their colleagues, as well as recognise and award philanthropic team members for their contribution to community development and nation-building.

Kick-started with an online church service, the eventful week also featured a virtual games night, a mental health improvement session, an awards ceremony for Sagicor’s long-serving team members, and a high-energy sound system clash between some executive team members, who entertained their colleagues in a much-talked-about battle of musical wit.

Senior vice-president, Group Human Resources and Corporate Services, Sagicor Group Jamaica, Karl Williams, said STARS week is one of the ways in which Sagicor ensures that its employees can reach their full potential and enjoy a fulfilled life.

“I am amazed each year at the work and talent of many of our team members who successfully manage having a full-time corporate job and spearheading a successful business or a charitable organisation in their free time. The inventiveness and tenacity of these individuals underscores my belief that Jamaicans are some of the strongest and most creative individuals in the world,” he said.

“STARS week is an all-encompassing employee enrichment activation designed to provide opportunities for our team members to develop themselves, while encouraging a strong sense of camaraderie and support for each other,” he explained.

In addition to the promotion and recognition of team members, the week-long celebration also exercised the company’s philanthropic muscles as organisers hosted an online telethon dubbed ‘Benefit-A-Thon’, that encouraged team members to pledge and donate cash towards assisting six rural Jamaican schools islandwide. The schools are: New Hope Primary and Junior High in Westmoreland; Jack’s River Primary in St Ann; Brompton Primary in St Elizabeth; New Green Primary and Junior High in Manchester; Green Park Primary and Junior High in Clarendon; and Yallahs High in St Thomas.