Managing human resources during tough economic times was the focus for a seminar held by the Bermuda Small Business Development Corporation (BSBDC) at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess.

The Human Resource Matters Seminar, which took place last Wednesday, saw experts addressing more than 75 entrepreneurs and small business owners, with former BSBDC board member and Ministry of Finance economic adviser Hasan Durham kicking-off proceedings with a welcome speech.

The three-and-a-half hour event featured Aderonke Bademosi-Wilson and Olu Bademosi, principals of The Stratford Group, who gave a tag-team presentation discussing how to successfully hire in a competitive Bermuda marketplace.

They gave attendees tips on how to hire the "right" person, which included advertising for the right position, how to properly review resumes, and different interviewing techniques. One attendee remarked that as a result of this presentation, their short-listing of potential candidates will be performed differently.

Glenn Lake, labour relations officer with the Department of Labour and Training, then gave detailed explanations of the most common areas of the Employment Act, which included the responsibilities of employers under the Act, as well as the correct procedures to make staff redundant.

He also gave an overview of the services offered by the Department. A survey of attendees indicated that the explanation of the Employment Act provided the most valuable information of which they were previously unaware.

This was followed by the final presenter, Doug Soares, founding partner of Expertise Ltd., who talked about how to manage human resources during a recession. Mr. Soares suggested that companies and employees need to "re-think the demand for what (they) sell and the value (they) provide, reform (their) processes and cost of doing business and retool (their) organisation for future success".

One of the attendees indicated that as a result of this seminar she would rethink the way her company does business and assess the value that they were providing to clients.

Attendees also participated in an interactive networking session which allowed them to apply the information they had learned. Each of six groups also had an opportunity to present their answers to HR-related questions.