Daviot Kelly, Staff Reporter

The still elegant Rosemarie Chung was in attendance at the Human Resource Management Association of Jamaica dinner.

Think of human resources and you might think these are the persons who interview you when you're applying for the job and tell you goodbye when you leave it.

But the field is much more than that and the innovative approaches of some organisations were lauded, on Thursday, at the Human Resource Management Association of Jamaica's (HRMAJ) second HR Innovation Awards. These award seeks to spotlight creative and innovative initiatives and unique approaches that companies employ to provide solutions to problems or challenges that could hinder their progress. Both public and private sector companies can enter.

Top prize companies

Four companies were up for the top prize this year. GraceKennedy Ltd. through its subsidiaries, First Global and Jamaica International Insurance Company (JIIC); Guardian Life; Heart Trust/NTA and Bank of Nova Scotia Jamaica Ltd., which had taken the prize at the first awards ceremony.

President of the HRMAJ, Colin Barnett, expressed the need for companies to be innovative in the business world.

"In the 1980s the watchword was quality; today, it is innovation. Now organisations want superior quality, faster cost reduction plus innovation all at once," he pointed out.

Guests were then totally entertained by the group, Sound of Joy and Friends. A delectable mix of selections from ethnic tunes as Satta Massa Gana, to the symphonic At Last had guests swaying and singing along. But the evening arguably belonged to Prof. Errol Miller who, in a wide-ranging speech, addressed many topics, but the core message was a charge to HR professionals to ensure that workers advance based on merit and performance and not on "who you know". He left the gathering with three tenets - show respect to everybody, follow the rules and have the moral courage to implement them.

This year, HEART Trust/NTA took the top prize with GraceKennedy taking the Silver Star Award for first runner-up and Bank of Nova Scotia getting the Honourable Mention Award for second runner-up.

Guests included Myrtle and Maurice Weir, Audrey Henry, Claudette White, Michael Jones, Dr. Patricia Holness, Lloyd Stanley, Darlene Jones, Jennifer Anderson, Fern Hamilton, Fay Pape-Sukhu, Suzette Henry-Campbell, Enrick Williams and Veronica Stewart.