Companies are always looking for ways to retain their best employees, their talent.

Many offer incentives, some provide developments opportunities, most give pay rises, bonuses or promote people. On that rare occasion, a company does something which trumps any other incentive – it gives without expecting anything in return. It shows gratitude that makes anything else pale in comparison.

This time it’s personal. It’s not about communications, it’s about being human. It’s about my brother.

Let me first take a quick step back – six months ago, my brother Michael passed away after succumbing to a brain tumor. He fought valiantly, but we knew what the outcome would be.

In the time he was fighting the tumor, he continued working on a project for the company he worked for, the Malta Medicines Authority.

Despite everything, he worked passionately on this project, like he had done for all the projects he ever undertook in his life. In the two years plus that he was fighting the tumor, his employers always gave him the full support he and his family needed.

And now, they have gone a step further.

Last Friday, the extension my brother worked so hard on was finally opened, six months to the day of his passing.

To be honest, I didn’t know. I had just returned from a run when a text came in from his widow with a link to a local news portal, and it left me speechless. The authority had decided to name the extension after my brother in recognition of his work.

What an amazing thing to do.

His colleague Emma Cassar Buontempo summed it all up when she told a local media outlet that “Michael was a very jovial character, energetic and with a talent to find something positive in any situation, no matter how difficult. He was always there when needed.”

And the chairman of the authority, Prof. Anthony Serracino Inglott, called on workers to appreciate their colleagues and not wait until they are no longer around.

This is what really matters. Such messages help reinforce one’s commitment and loyalty to their workplace. It’s not always money that matters – sometimes, it’s about recognition and respect.

My brother was a great worker, and the Malta Medicines Authority have shown that they were worth his while.