Airtel most innovative in HR 

RAJIV RAGHUNATH  

Early this year, premier cellular service provider Bharti Cellular,operating under the brand-name
of Airtel, was adjudged the `Company with theMost Innovative HR Practices in the Asia Pacific
Region' at the Asia PacificHRD conclave held in Mumbai. Anil Nayar, executive director of the
firm,says the award is the culmination of concentrated efforts in HRD, whichAirtel initiated in
1996.

``We did the job quietly. And at every moment of truth, we checked if ourteam had the right
attitude to realise the vision statement of thecompany,'' says Nayar.

During the learning phase, the most important part Airtel general manager(HR) Arun Kumar
Padhi had to play was to actually check if ``people enjoyedtheir roles''. ``We didn't want anyone
to treat his position as a mere job.Now when we look back, it emerges that we had undertaken
strongteam-building activities,'' says Padhi.

Airtel decided to go in for a very young team. The average age is just 26years. Nayyar believes
this has helped the HR department to mould the youngentrants to the company. ``But having
decided to take in relatively lessexperienced professionals, we did not want to curb their
creativity orinteraction,'' says he.

The senior management was advised to walk the talk and ``invite criticismfrom the employees''.
``Initially, the younger professionals werecircumspect about airing their views. But with better
interaction with the senior managers, they began to play a more pro-active role in team-building
efforts,'' he says.

Airtel's HR success was powered by a well defined rewards and recognitionsystem. This was
backed by a strong training programme. ``Unlike most other organisations, we let our employees
decide their training needs. And if theindividual does not know what his training needs are, then
we don't needhim,'' says Nayar.

To encourage learning within the organisation, the company has set up astate-of-the-art learning
centre. Here, employees can get logged on tocustomised training programmes developed by
British Telecom (BT). Though thematerial is transmitted through the Internet, Padhi says that
they are notaccessible to anybody outside the organisation as the access is protected.Airtel also
seeks to certify every employee on quality and IT. ``To be aheadin the business, we need to train,
develop and re-certify our employees on acontinuous basis,'' he says.

Over the years, it is the HR steering committee (HRSC) of the company thathas acted as the
fulcrum of the HRD efforts in the organisation. HRSCconsists of the CEO, the COO and all
other functional heads. The committeemeets once a week to discuss various initiatives and the
plan of action onthe same.
To carry forward these plans, the entire organisation is measured on fiveperformance parameters:
profitability, market share, brand saliency,customer satisfaction, and employee satisfaction.
Further, each employee isgiven individual targets that are linked to these five parameters.

Eventually, there are the performance-related bonuses that set the tone forthese activities. Padhi
informs us that 60 per cent of the employees are ona variable pay structure, and that explains the
success Airtel has had inbusiness and HRD.

Padhi's team also conducts an internal employee satisfaction survey calledPACE (Progressive
Assessment of Culture and Environment), the inputs ofwhich go into the company's annual
strategy.

``Measurement is indeed a key driver of business within Airtel. A philosophyof constant

monitoring has been established. `Measurement Boards' for everydepartment are prominently
displayed where the performance indicators of thesame are displayed graphically,'' says Padhi.

``We believe that an individual can be effective if he knows what isexpected of him. Formal job
description documents have been issued to allour employees that clearly mention the `key result
areas'. This goal setting has helped us in communicating to each of our employees about our
experiences from them, and established role clarity,'' he adds.

The HR department also sets up cross-functional teams in times of product or service launches.
``Such teams typically constitute high performers from each department, who collectively make
it happen,'' says Padhi.

Some of the other key HR initiatives include the managers' communication forum, open house,
family group meetings, HR interface and HR intranet. To explain them, the managers'
communication forum, undertaken once a quarter, facilitates direct interaction of the employees
with the top management.``They get to discuss issues relating to the performance of the previous
quarter, directions for the next quarter, an update on the regulatory environment and the key
initiatives for the period,'' says Nayar.

The `open house' conducted between the departments and HR takes upindividual grievances. In
the case of family group meetings, each HOD conducts meetings with his direct reportees once a
month, wherein issuesother than those related to work are discussed.

To further HR interface, every member of the HR department has been assignedtwo departments
each to discuss and sort out all HR, personnel and administration issues. ``The idea is to provide
employees with a singlewindow to the department,'' Padhi explains.

The HR Intranet provides information on HR policies, organizational structure, training calender

and the house journal.

With these initiatives, Nayar says, ``Airtel has won a special place in theBharti group. The
quality of service and customer care is a reflection ofthe quality of people and our belief in
constant improvement andupgradation.''
On the business side, Airtel has won the Techies award for three consecutiveyears in 1997, 1998
and 1999. The HR award will galvanise the company totouch even greater heights.

Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.