Mrs. Aunika Webster-Lake
A new Anguillian-owned consultancy company, Oasis HR (Human Resources) Solutions, has been launched in Anguilla with high hopes of providing a well-needed service for the development of the island’s work ethic and customer service.
The fit and well-qualified sole person leading the initiative is former Labour Commissioner, former award-winning public servant and current UWI Open Campus lecturer, Mrs. Aunika Webster-Lake.
It is a huge responsibility on her shoulders and though committed to success through bravery, determination and vision, the launch of her own business is nevertheless not without a measure of trepidation.
“I feel very nervous going into this new venture,” she admitted in an interview with The Anguillian newspaper. “Sometimes when I am doing the plans, I keep swatting my hand on my shoulder. That is because of this constant doubt and fear. In the back of my head it keeps saying: ‘Aunika, you probably can’t do this. Aunika, you are not ready for this.’ I was telling my father about it and he said ‘that’s when you know your dreams are big enough – when they scare you so much that you believe you can’t do it, and you have to rely on a higher power to get it done’. That’s what he said to me. So I believe that the dreams and plans are big enough because they are literally scaring me’”.
Aunika is also relying on the encouragement of other family members, including her grandmother who raised her, made the first payment for her university education and constantly urged her forward in life.
Fears aside, she told the newspaper, with a sense of purpose and fortitude: “The name of my company is Oasis HR Solutions. Let me tell you the story behind it. I have to go a little bit in my past – but not so far. I was going through a difficult time and I felt I was at what I called my rock bottom at that point, literally. The day when it was really at its worst, my son, who is 8, said to me: ‘Mom, stop it. You are better than that.’ I remember holding on to him. I hugged him tightly with tears streaming down by face. I said to him: ‘you are my only oasis in this desert in which I find myself.’ I went to sleep, woke up in the wee hours of the morning and he was sitting on the bed next to me. I looked at the clock and asked him: ‘why aren’t you asleep?’ He said: ‘I had to make sure you are alright.’ I said to him: ‘don’t you ever worry about Mom. Let Mom worry about you.’ In a few seconds he was asleep. I remember kneeling next to the bed, kissed his cheek and said: ‘thank you for being my oasis.’ That is where the name oasis came from.”
It was from then, when she relinquished her post as Labour Commissioner that she embarked on her current business plan and drew from her past achievements. “I have always been in a field where I dealt with people,” she recollected. “I taught as a trained teacher at the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School and to this day I still interact with students. When I left the school I went to the Education Department as Assessment Officer. I later worked with the Department of Public Administration; became Labour Commissioner in October 2013 and left that position in January 2018. I loved my job as Labour Commissioner. Let me tell you, for the record, l loved what I did. That chapter of my life has closed now and my new chapter will be Oasis HR Solutions. It launches officially on Thursday, March 1st, 2018, at Dorack’s Place.
Aunika continued: “There is a need for Oasis HR Solutions. We cater to all companies, existing and those starting up. It is true that some companies cannot afford to have an HR Manager and that can put them at a disadvantage. We don’t want them to ignore the fact that they have HR needs and that is where Oasis HR Solutions comes in. When you need some assistance with HR, we are not coming in to stay. We handle it for you and leave. When you need us, call us and we will come. That is what it is: an HR consultancy and it is what my business licence says. My service is for all companies and I am not discriminating. Our business really is people.
“We cater to all companies. That’s important to know. If you are just starting up, we cater to you; whatever you need – those who do not have a large enough in-house solution, or companies that do not have the capital to hire someone in-house, we cater to those as well. The service we provide is human resource management, all aspects of it. Sometimes you may need to restructure because what you have is not working out. We do that as well. If you need persons trained in a particular area, management – leadership, especially customer service, we provide that, and employee and employer relations. Sometimes there is an issue at a workplace, and you need someone to assist in mediation so that the matter does not get too far outside the property. We can do that. We also can assist with policy and procedural development, and a performance appraisal system that suits your company rather than something that is generic. In recruitment services, if you need someone to be an independent voice on your interview panel, we train persons for interviews. We can teach you how to write a killer resume’ or a killer cover letter – things that will get you noticed. I used the word ‘killer’ very tightly in the sense that they are really good.”
She further said: “For now, I am the only employee at Oasis HR Solutions. Based on my business plan, the intent is to hire professional people. Every day I visit different properties to discuss how I believe I can be of assistance to them. So what I am doing is planting a seed. I am hopeful that there will be growth from that seed. I am not looking for overnight growth because that is not how it happens. I am planting seeds, will water them, and eventually we will see the growth.”
She added: “At Oasis HR Solutions our business is people. We cannot divorce the two. If you have a business and people working there, it is human resource. Jim Collins said, ‘Great vision without great people is irrelevant.’ It takes great people to build a great country. At OHRS we are looking at Anguilla as a whole. This company is prepared to help eradicate some of the deficiencies that exist in HR. And we need to start exploring and implementing ways to change the conversation so that there is less complaining – and looking at our growth and development more.”
Aunika is eminently qualified academically. She holds a BA degree in English Language; a MA in Human Resource Management; a Certificate in Teaching; is a Trained Customer Service Representative and a Trained Mediator; has expertise in Labour Law; is a Global Member of the Society for Human Resource Management; has a Certificate in Leadership Training; and was the winner of the Anguilla Public Service Image Award 2016.
She can now can further develop your business through Oasis HR Solutions.
