One thing I have noticed about doing business in Jamaica is that professionals seem much less likely to return phone calls than in the U.S.
I have decided that this largely comes from a lack of competence, rather than an intention to do malice or harm. How can I tell?
Well, it seems that it shows itself when the person is finally met face-to-face, at which point profuse apologies are made. There are just many more people who are incapable of handling the volume of stuff they have coming at them, and the skills they are using are just not adequate.
In general, the productivity of the average professional is lower than that of their counterpart in the U.S. It isn’t even the case that people work harder in the U.S. — although they do work longer hours in general. I attribute the difference to a lack of role models to demonstrate good habits more than anything else.
I really do believe it just comes down to a skill difference, and that can easily be overcome with the right training, coaching and mentoring.