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“We would like to be known as the preferred
employer,” says Anuradha Deb Group head-educational services,
Mahindra British Telecom (MBT). The HR framework of the company
is focused on achieving this aim. The People Care Model of the organisation
is an umbrella programme that integrates the business plan of MBT
with the career aspirations of its employees. The company’s
training programmes have been formulated to meet this objective.
Technical training
The two streams of training are—technical
and management development. The company identifies special skills
or a particular area an employee might be well-versed in. This skill
is given special attention. Since the requirement in today’s
industry is to be able to deploy one person to different areas,
MBT also concentrates on multi-skilling. The plan is to engage a
person already working on a project into something that will help
him develop additional skills.
In a tie-up with BITS Pilani, MBT offers a special
scheme to its employees who are BSc graduates. Through MBT, these
employees can do a four-year software engineering course and are
paid a stipend. The students also do live projects for the company.
MBT does not sign any contract that binds them to return to the
company after the completion of the course.
Management development programme
MBT claims that nearly 70 percent of its employees
are management graduates. The company makes it a priority to equip
its employees with managerial skills. The Narsee Monjee School of
Management conducts certification courses for MBT employees. The
company also has a tie-up with the Indian School of Business in
Hyderabad, to provide 20 days of training for top management.
The leadership programme also includes a special
fast-track module for top performers who are also honoured by being
included in the CEO’s Club. In order to stay in this club,
which is treated as a matter of honour, an employee needs to maintain
his performance year after year.
Focus on mentoring
When MBT changed it’s management style (from
prescriptive to mentoring) they invited John Buchanan, the Australian
cricket coach, to conduct special workshops for its employees. In
this much-hyped event, Buchanan interacted with most employees—from
team leaders to the vice president of the company—and shared
with them the secrets of building successful teams.
Behaviour training
The company has introduced a competence programme
called People Soft through which the career prospects of employees
are linked with training, and this training is linked to the business
plan. “We want to put the onus of development on the employee.
All our programmes are scientific and always related to needs,”
says Deb.
The company believes that what retains people
is growth opportunity, especially if it coincides with the area
where the employee wants to grow. To achieve, this MBT says it tailors
the path of the company to happily combine with the career path
of an employee. People Soft development managers help through counselling
and mentoring.
Building bridges
MBT believes in an open door policy. The company
has a forum called ‘Freevoice’. Any question or complaints
can be raised through this and it will be diverted to the right
person to provide answe rs. There are organisational meets every
month where issues ranging from administration to training to projects
can be discussed. The CEO John Helleur has a Tech Town Meet every
quarter at all centres of MBT turn-by-turn. He interacts with all
employees during these meets.
Other activities
All work and no play would make MBT a dull place.
The Josh team fills in the fun part. This team was formed as a core
working team for the company’s annual bash. The last Friday
of every month this group organises quizzes, dumb charades and even
a mushaira. There are smaller teams like the Pinnacle, which conducts
treks, and Sports Unlimited which organises badminton and table
tennis matches Then there is the band ‘Friday the 13th’,
which keeps everybody entertained with their musical performances.
Time to give
Corporate social responsibility is an integral
part of MBT’s vision. Many activities are conducted to support
the underprivileged. NGOs are allowed to put up stalls in the campus
to seek support from employees. The company also involves its employees
in blood donation camps and thalassemia awareness drives. MBT employees
actively work with the NGO Aasara. The company’s turnover of
computers is regularly donated to charitable organisations.
sushma@expresscomputeronline.com
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