It is not every day you get to meet with and discuss your ideas and thoughts with your company's top boss.

But that is exactly what 12 of the Bank of Bermuda's staff did when they were awarded parent company HSBC's most prestigious accolade for the North American region, the President's Award.

For the bank's employees, who were among 100 selected from thousands of workers on the HSBC payroll, won a trip to the luxurious resort of Cove Atlantis in The Bahamas to join up with the Bank of Bermuda's chief executive officer Phil Butterfield and the presidents of the US and Canadian operations and their contemporaries from across North America.

The winners included Marian Carter, customer service associate of personal financial services, Joanne Gibson, senior investment operations manager at HSBC Global Asset Management, Edwina Lambert, senior relationship manager in commercial banking, Derek Nelson, lead technical analyst in IT support, who was a Chairman's Convention winner, and Kerry Quigley, management services manager at HSBC Securities Services.

John Richmond, manager of the family office in group private banking, Carlene Rodney, senior client services manager in payments and cash management, Trevor Spinney, investment sales manager for the investment centre, John Uprichard, vice-president of HSBC Investment Solutions, Joy Warren, senior branch manager at the Church Street branch, Angela Walker, training officer at HSBC Universal Banking Support, and Lucy White, operations manager in personal financial services, made up the list of winners. The award is presented to nominees for exceptional performance in sales, customer service or joining up the company, while showing a commitment to the HSBC global pillars and brand values.

And the winners, who came from all areas of the business, from front desk clerks and back office staff to senior managers and supervisors, are handed a seat on the president's council to meet regularly with senior executives to help develop the bank into a better place to work.

Mr. Spinney, who won the award for exceeded sales targets and providing exceptional service to the bank's clients, as well as spearheading a series of initiatives beyond the call of duty and helping to implement a range of new systems, admitted he was surprised to receive the accolade.

Meanwhile Mr. Nelson, a recipient of the Chairman's Convention as a result of giving exceptional service in the IT department, had the chance to jet off business class and attend a roundtable meeting with HSBC's chairman Stephen Green and 108 other winners from 57 countries at the stylish Cavalieri Hotel in Rome, Italy. Among the topics up for debate were what the bank is doing to combat climate change and global warming, as well as working with green-minded organisations.

"For me it just comes down to service — I think I give good service to anybody at the bank and I go out of my way to make sure that they are happy with my service and for that I have been recognised," he said. Ms Lambert, who was recognised for her efforts in the commercial side of the business in securing the biggest loan that the Bank of Bermuda has ever bought, in addition to being involved in a number of community initiatives, said one of the best things about the five-day trip to The Bahamas was the opportunity to meet up with peers from across North America to discuss and share ideas.

"We did a lot of team building exercises with about 20 to 25 people per team and we focused on initiatives and projects at the bank such as the work/life study to improve individuals' health and life balance," she said.

"Having come back, I now want to share the idea of the President's Award with everyone and I really wish everyone at the Bank of Bermuda could experience it because it really surpassed my thoughts of what I would receive before getting there."