| Siti Hajar |
TELEKOM Brunei Berhad’s (TelBru) rise over the span of three years has been attributed to the company’s dedication to retrain its people, with its human resource (HR) strategy stressing the need to inculcate a high-performance culture to ensure the company’s survivability through the strength of its current 950-member staff.
Just like its strategic plan to supply the telecommunications industry with the necessary manpower to drive Brunei’s ICT agenda towards 2035 through all levels of education, TelBru emphasises that no man is left behind in its corporatisation through the introduction of continuous training for its capability development plan for those who are managing its different layers of operations to those working on the ground.
With the aim to be employer of choice in the Sultanate as it vies for Brunei’s best, the telecom continues to invest heavily in its human resource, shared Innaci Dass and Dayangku Surayani binti Pengiran Haji Tajuddin of TelBru’s human resource team, with the emphasis that, “TelBru is a learning organisation”, with a list of opportunities for self-improvement for those looking to enhance their professional careers.
“Anyone who joins TelBru, regardless of whatever level they are in, will learn together with the organisation. It isn’t just about hiring good talent and rewarding them accordingly, but we want to show that they will learn with TelBru – especially now with the entire country also transforming.”
When TelBru began its corporatisation journey a decade ago to what it is today, getting its human resource on board was among the biggest challenges it needed to address, more so with the consideration that its core business is in customer service.
With the acknowledgement that though there were ups and downs in this process of changing mindsets that the company needed to make profits for it to stay afloat, today’s TelBru sees a more dynamic internal population with a younger generation that will be the main driving force to take the reins of the company’s future by challenging hierarchy.
A TelBru building in the capital. – AZROL AZMI
Hundreds of fresh graduates at both degree and master levels submitted their applications to be part of TelBru’s now well-known Young Talent Development Programme. Only 79 have been taken on board to undergo TelBru’s intensive and extensive four-month management grooming programme over the past three years, where they learn the ropes of what it means to be an effective leader.
“We are looking for leadership skills, their abilities to carry themselves, to effectively communicate and to think critically,” it was explained. “We are a service orientated company. We need people who are able to converse whilst we look at their potential and give them the skills they need. We want to see whether they can be trained in reading, writing and presenting and this is what we build over the four months.”
With the objective still of building public confidence in the company in tandem with improving its current technology, “We cannot just have people who take instructions. We need people who question, who can lead and take responsibilities and are accountable.”
Though TelBru hardly considers this as its Corporate Social Responsibility, its investment in the people of Brunei is hoped to spread across other Government-Linked Companies (GLC’s), noting and acknowledging that not all of its young talent will stay.
“We hope that one day all GLC’s in the country will be led by these people because of their right leadership skills, the right management style. This is how we are trying to contribute to the country in line with the government’s vision where capability building is critical in moving forward towards the Brunei Vision 2035.”
With the Asian culture being a challenge where Generation X and older are accustomed to being ‘yes’ men versus having confidence to be independent thinkers, the programme is specifically designed to question the status quo, which TelBru believes is key to making improvements.
“It is at the moment difficult for the older generation to accept,” it was shared, “but we train our people on how to communicate effectively, how Generation X should manage Generation Y and vice versa. They do struggle but this is part and parcel of learning.”
The idea of teamwork, TelBru believes, starts from the top down.
“We started a high-performance team programme where management and above are divided into cross-functional groups with participants coming from different departments to address TelBru’s Smart Nation initiative. They learn to build relationships with others and they then bring this practice into their day-to-day work”, where the ideals of teamwork are nurtured.
Additionally, TelBru has introduced a mentor-mentee programme that partners senior chief officers including its CEO with a comparatively less experienced pool of talent where challenges are shared and solutions are formed.
“The most important component for people is that they will stay if they believe senior management cares for them. TelBru may not necessarily be the best in terms of offering competitive salaries, but we are the best when it comes to developing people”, skills of which are transferrable should employees decide to ply their trade elsewhere.
When the Bulletin first interviewed TelBru’s new management three years ago, it was said that its human resource would be the backbone of TelBru’s success and instead of clearing the way for more malleable individuals, TelBru utilised its existing staff of then 750 to turn the company around even if it meant having to bruise egos.
Acknowledging that many are still sensitive to professional criticism, it was said that a lot of improvements have been notched. More of its staff are more accepting of their faults when they fail to meet expectations. Whoever, evidently Bruneians are tougher than they are given credit for, with many bouncing back and trying harder to meet the targets.
For those whose low performance persists, it was shared that TelBru has introduced the performance enhancement plan, where the period for their KIP’s are shortened with close monitoring. They are also provided feedback on how to perform better.
Though there were a handful who felt the need to leave the company, many stayed on and took part in the programme in the beginning and since then many have graduated with the majority successfully integrated into TelBru’s overall desire to be the best in customer service.
“We don’t look at where they are in terms of their performance levels when it comes to training, just so long as their skills are required by the company. The purpose of training is to equip those without skills and to elevate them.”
With technology fast catching up with the Bruneian population that has grown hungrier for the latest in ICT, including Fibre-to-the-Home, TelBru’s workforce on the ground and those serving the backend of TelBru’s technological aspect of its operations are also given a new lease on professional life in line with Brunei’s growth in ICT.
Several apprenticeship programmes for technicians are also available at TelBru where even those with less than a diploma are recognised for their contribution to the company. Graduates from this programme, it was shared, have gone above and beyond expectations with constant positive public feedback.
The company’s swelling human resource number, it was added, is to prepare the company for the next half decade when many from its legacy are expected to retire.
Along this road, “we try to implement the best practices in human resource development”.
Its Human Resource Department carries its own mission, which is ‘maximising organisational and individual potential’ to position TelBru as employer of choice. We work towards getting the best from every individual who we believe possesses his own potential. We focus on capability building in management, in telecommunications and technology as well as innovation.”
The future aims to see more training for its staff through local as well as international collaborations, to localise operations and provide opportunities for locals to carry the nation forward.
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