News
Is lack of empowerment in the workplace negatively impacting the customer experience in TCI?
#TurksandCaicos, November 14, 2022 – Research has clearly shown when employees feel empowered at work, it is associated with stronger job performance, job satisfaction, and commitment to the organization or institution.
Despite our stellar rating as one of the world’s top tourism destinations, many would agree in some cases what we have seen over the years in Turks and Caicos Islands, is not a reflection of workplace empowerment. Be it in government or the private sector, the lack of ownership and empowerment is prevalent in some offices.
Management in some cases has failed to empower their employees by delegating authority, decision-making, and sharing of pertinent information.
Working in top management positions for a large portion of my career, I have found that if you ask the right questions, in most cases you will find the answer is right in the room amongst your employees.
It behoves management to take the time to solicit employees input. Employees are the face of your business or institutions and through their interaction, they know what’s needed to satisfy the customer.
Furthermore, it’s pointless to solicit employees input if the information only remains in a file and nothing is implemented.
Follow up with the employee or committee on reasons why their input may or may not work at this particular time.
What I have found over the years is, if given the autonomy, in most cases employees are not seeking attention but simply know what they are doing and do it with pride.
Often times, what the customer perceives to be an attitude from the employee, could be a result of pent up frustration due to the lack of support or relevant information from their direct reports.
We need leaders in the workplaces who are not afraid to delegate authority to their employees, ask for their input, and encourage autonomous decision-making.
In my opinion, I believe it’s not being done due to the fear of being replaced, which is small minded thinking. To the contrast, it makes your own job easier and the office becomes more productive and customer centric. 
Granted, employees will fail from time to time, but it’s all a part of learning. What’s important, is to have biannual performance based reviews with your employees so they are aware of the expectations, shortcomings and their progress.
On every job, you will find highly creative individuals just waiting to be discovered or given the opportunity.
Challenge them to generate novel ideas and to think of new ways of doing things rather then the status quo, just because the office has always done it that way.
Apart from delegating additional work, empowering leadership is also about mentoring and supporting employee development; not exploiting them, which we know is all to common in some cases.
What we need are leaders who can lead, not just checking off the boxes or just because they are your most reliable employee.
By empowering employees it allows them the opportunity to take more ownership of their role, and this is where a number of government departments, office settings and stores in our country are lacking.
It’s my belief that empowering employees in public service businesses such as the hospitality sector, healthcare or licensing departments is crucial. Most of these employees are key to organizational effectiveness and could prove to be more beneficial to your business and the country as a whole.
It’s important for businesses and institutions to build that framework for more efficiency. In essence, improving workplace efficiency is about helping employees work smarter, not harder or just doing busy work.
There are two key points to be cognizant off.
#1 Management often times fail to realize the employees are their most important customers and should be treated as such.
#2 In a tourism driven economy, employees often times fail to realize there shouldn’t be any distinction between the quality of service provided to locals vs tourists.
There are also other areas that could negatively impact the customer experience.
For example, important documents such as police records, birth certificates etc. all require a postal stamp. Why not make it convenient for customers and provide the stamps and include it as part of the fees?
Recently, our tourism department was outsourced to a destination management company. Perhaps, failure to empower employees in the workplace forced this decision. Albeit, this move may broaden our horizon, but let’s be clear, its our story our experiences and our passion that brought us to this point of being one of the most desirable destinations.
With that being said, in order for TCI to continually compete for world class service in the marketplace, we need to capitalize on the experience and expertise of our people. This will put us in a better position to deliver consistent results where good customer service and experience become the norm not the exception.
Ed Forbes
Concerned citizen of Grand Turk
PROVIDENCIALES, Turks & Caicos Islands: — Beaches Turks and Caicos Resort recently collaborated with the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force and the Department of Social Services to support a youth camp hosted at the Oseta Jolly Primary School, underscoring the resort’s ongoing commitment to youth development in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The camp, which brought together security forces, government agencies and private sector entities, focused on equipping young participants
with practical life skills and character-building tools. A team from Beaches Turks and Caicos’ leadership and training departments joined the programme to deliver sessions on basic table etiquette, dining mannerisms, polite demeanour and public speaking fundamentals, all designed to help the students present themselves confidently in formal and professional settings.
General Manager of Beaches Turks and Caicos, Deryk Meany, said the resort views national development as an integral part of its corporate social responsibility. “We are always happy to be supporters in the development of the youth of the Turks and Caicos Islands. We continue to commit our team to help in creating the next generation of leaders who will provide support to the islands and help in its development,” Meany noted.
The initiative also received strong endorsement from the Ministry of Education, Youth, Sports and Community Development, which has been championing holistic programmes aimed at building well-rounded young citizens. Minister Rachel Taylor highlighted the importance of collaborations like the camp in helping youth access structured guidance and mentorship. “We are happy to join in celebrating the growth and development of our youth here in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Beaches Turks and Caicos continues to be one of our primary supporters in helping to develop well rounded individuals. This commitment from this resort has grown with the vision of the youth ministry to help in their overall development,” she said.
Taylor further emphasized that the camp’s timing was especially significant, coming as youth across the islands seek positive outlets and
constructive engagement. “This camp came at the most ideal time for our adolescents. With the support of our governor, the security forces, the social services along with Beaches Turks and Caicos, we are confident that the training needed for them to improve is on the right track,” she added.
Beaches Turks and Caicos Public Relations Manager, Orville Morgan, described the collaboration as an exemplary model of cross-sector partnership. “To be able to join with the security forces to provide support for the youth of the Turks and Caicos Islands is exceptional. We are happy to provide the necessary support to equip them to grow into being productive citizens of these islands,” Morgan said.
He noted that the resort team focused on practical etiquette and hospitality-driven skills that can be carried into the youths’ future experiences. “As a team, we were able to share in the basic table setting and dining etiquette for them, skills we are sure that they will be able to use in their next fine dining experience,” Morgan added.
Organizers expressed optimism that the camp’s blend of discipline, mentorship and soft skills training will have a lasting impact on participants. With stakeholders pledging continued support, the Beaches Turks and Caicos team and their partners aim to expand similar initiatives, further investing in the personal and professional growth of the next generation of Turks and Caicos Islanders.
TCIG knew from April that fuel factor could surge almost 80%; Minister says $500 cost-of-living payment was part of Government’s response
PROVIDENCIALES — The Turks and Caicos Government knew months before July’s shocking electricity bills that consumers faced a potentially massive increase in the fuel factor.
Minister of Information Technology and Energy E. Jay Saunders revealed Friday that Pelican Energy warned his Ministry in April that generation fuel costs were projected to rise from $3.09 per gallon in May to $4.79 in June and July.
That translated into a projected fuel factor jump from about 17.5 cents to 31 cents per kilowatt-hour — an increase of almost 80%.
Saunders said he personally advised Cabinet of the projected increase and presented options for cushioning the impact.
He characterised Government’s $500 cost-of-living payment as its “initial response” to rising fuel costs, before a separate fuel-factor subsidy was approved.
Cabinet records show Government agreed on June 24 to provide funding to mitigate the fuel-factor impact, with the relief programme approved July 8.
Eligible residential customers — those averaging less than $1,500 monthly over the previous three bills — are capped at 22 cents per kWh from July through October.
Pelican confirmed Friday that Government’s contribution was already applied to July bills, meaning the bills now triggering widespread public outrage would have been even higher without the subsidy.
Saunders did not disclose the programme’s total cost.
His admission that Government knew since April, however, raises another question amid the backlash: why were consumers not directly warned by Government about the scale of the approaching increase?
NASSAU, Bahamas — More Bahamians are accessing HIV and sexually transmitted infection-related healthcare through National Health Insurance, a trend the NHI Authority says should be viewed positively.
NHIA stressed in an August 6 statement that its 2025 figures measure healthcare utilisation, not newly diagnosed infections. They include beneficiaries screened, treated, monitored or receiving follow-up care, including people diagnosed previously.
“Increased utilisation of these services should be viewed as a positive development,” NHIA said.
The Authority pointed to “greater enrolment and use of NHI, improved access to screening and testing, continued treatment and monitoring of existing conditions, and increased willingness to seek medical care.”
The development comes amid a mixed three-year HIV picture. New diagnoses rose from 130 in 2023 to 156 in 2024, before declining to 142 in 2025.
NHIA said increased utilisation demonstrates that more beneficiaries are accessing needed healthcare and actively managing their health, reinforcing the importance of screening, early diagnosis and continued treatment.
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