Over fifty Senior Leaders from FirstCaribbean International Bank recently found out what it’s like to work at the sharp end in FirstCaribbean when they spent the day “Trading Places” with colleagues from other departments across the organisation.

Trading Places is the bank’s annual programme, which seeks to foster a greater understanding of the intricacies and challenges of the work performed by frontline employees, by management.

“It’s a particularly useful day for me and our Senior Leadership Team” noted CEO, Charles Pink, who traded places with Ashsah Sargeant, a processing officer at the Processing Centre in Barbados.

“Particularly those of us who work in Head Office. It’s a chance for us to get out into the field and see what life’s like for our people on the frontline who face our customers every day. And for those who come from the frontline to spend time with those in Head Office; it’s a chance to see what challenges we face.”

This year, Trading Places took place on 13 and 17 October and as FirstCaribbean marked the fourth anniversary of its formation all over the region, staff traded places.

“My position is the Finance Manager for the Cayman Operating Company,” said locally based Emma Floyed.

“I traded places with Lorin Williams, a Customer Service Representative on the front line at our Main Street Branch here in Cayman. Lorin was a good teacher and excellent with the customers. I gained quite an appreciation  of what it feels like dealing face to face with customers.

“The whole day was a really interesting and rewarding experience for me, and I certainly look forward to taking part in the programme next year!”

Mark St. Hill, International Wealth Management Director Barbados traded places with Alicia Broome-Webster, a customer service agent from Card Services, specifically the area that receives telephone calls from customers who have questions regarding their FirstCaribbean Credit Card.Fielding calls and assisting customers from the Caribbean, and as far a field as the USA and South Africa, Mr St. Hill said it was a fantastic experience.

“I salute our customer service agents. As I listened to each call, it was obvious that each customer was satisfied. Calls received ranged from account activations to general card enquiries, account balances and even the status of a credit card application – all questions were dealt with in a timely and professional manner,” he added.

Catherine Peart, Head of Card Operations, Barbados, found herself in Jamaica on business and made arrangements to trade places with Christopher Hart, a customer service representative in FirstCaribbean’s Manor Park branch in Jamaica.

“The professionalism of the staff was fantastic. Each customer was greeted by name together with ‘light’ conversation. It was a great experience for me and I must lift my hat to the front line staff,” she said.

Commenting on a day spent as the Branch Ambassador in the Oistins Branch in Barbados, Debra Johnson, Head of Corporate and Internal Communications concluded:

“It was truly a wonderful experience and I was grateful for the chance to observe our Bank away from the Head Office environment and meet customers. I’ve already booked my place for next year!”