Case

National and Professional Asian Journal of Management Cases

15(2) 166–183

Anchoring High Performance © 2018 Lahore University of

Management Sciences
SAGE Publications
in PTCL sagepub.in/home.nav
DOI: 10.1177/0972820118780736
http://journals.sagepub.com/home/ajc

Sadia Nadeem1
Amna Aziz2

Abstract
With the story line of the senior HR leadership team at Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited
(PTCL) gathered to reflect on HR function’s evolution since PTCL’s privatization in 2006 to UAE telecom
conglomerate Etisalat Group, this case focuses on PTCL’s journey as this corporate giant went through
large-scale structural and cultural changes in an attempt to become more performance-centric. The
decade long journey covers major changes, for example, a reduction in the size of workforce from 64,000
to 18,000, a move from annual confidential reviews to a balanced scorecard approach in performance
management, adoption of the HR business partner model, and various leadership development initiatives.
  Overall, the case presents a real-life story of evolution of the HR function from an administrative to
a strategic role in a large organization. It allows for an in-depth discussion on the adoption of best prac-
tices belonging to the academic framework of high performance work practices (HPWPs), and portrays
the effects of Pakistan’s distinct national culture and contextual factors on implementation of HPWPs.
The case can also be used to enhance familiarity and awareness of Pakistani national culture in the
international academic and business community for future research and business opportunities.

Keywords
Human resource management, strategic HRM, cross-cultural HRM, high performance work practices,
Pakistan

It was a sunny Monday morning in July 2015, in the beautiful city of Islamabad—the capital of Pakistan and
home to Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation Limited’s (PTCL) headquarters. The senior leadership
of PTCL’s human resources function was gathered in the large conference room of the headquarters, where
Mazhar Hussain, PTCL’s chief human resource officer (CHRO) was to chair the day’s session. The agenda
was to discuss HR’s plan for the 7th annual strategy session ‘Way Forward 2016’ four months down the

1
Associate Professor and Director Management Advancement Research Centre, FAST School of Management, National
University of Computer & Emerging Sciences, Islamabad, Pakistan.
2
Management Advancement Research Centre, FAST School of Management, National University of Computer & Emerging
Sciences, Islamabad, Pakistan.

Corresponding author:
Sadia Nadeem, Associate Professor, FAST School of Management, Islamabad, Pakistan.
E-mail: sadia.nadeem@nu.edu.pk
Nadeem and Aziz 167

road, where HR, along with organization’s other functions, would openly discuss and defend their progress
over the last year and present their objectives and strategies for the next year. The executive vice presidents
(EVPs) and general managers (GMs) of core HR sub-functions looked confident and well-prepared to
discuss key issues in the areas of performance management, recruitment and selection, compensation and
rewards, training and development (T&D), communication and HR strategy.
Mazhar recalled how PTCL had entered a new era of high performance and innovation in 2006 in
which HR played the torchbearer in creating a high-performance organizational culture. Mazhar was
proud of HR’s role in transforming PTCL from its days as a public sector organization into a perfor-
mance-centric organization over the years. PTCL had done well in Etisalat’s overall scores for critical
indexes including employee engagement (73%), performance excellence (81%) and behaviour change
(62%) in the last global employee engagement survey conducted by IBM Kenexa (consultancy report
prepared for PTCL by IBM Kenaxa). The CHRO formally commenced the session by recapping the
decade-old words exchanged between him and his old colleagues inside the same building, to the HR team
seated in the room:
We need to transform PTCL; it would be too hard to battle our competition otherwise. But I am over-
whelmed with how we will do it; 64,000 employees is a huge number! If you place them under one
building, we might have a better shot at bringing about a change, but look at the geographies of this
organization—We are spread all over Pakistan!
He knew that the HR team had come a long way, but he also realized that there was a long, long, road
ahead.

The Company: Where There is Pakistan—There is PTCL1

Descending from the Post and Telegraph Department established at the birth of Pakistan in 1947, the
Telegraph and Telephone Department handled telecom services and their regulation in the country from 1962
up to the inception of Pakistan Telecom Corporation (PTC) in 1991. As PTC became listed on the country’s
stock exchanges, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited was incorporated on 31 December 1995.
After announcing the deregulation policy for the telecom sector in 2003, the Pakistan government privatized
Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation Limited  (PTCL) in April 2006 to accelerate the advancement
of the telecom sector in Pakistan. Etisalat International Pakistan, a subsidiary of the UAE-based Etisalat
group, thus acquired 26 per cent stake in PTCL for $2.6 bn.2 With Etisalat’s one share giving voting power
equivalent to four regular shares, PTCL’s management control shifted to Etisalat.
PTCL’s product development escalated sharply after 2006; however, as the deregulation policy
opened gates for new competitors in the market and eradicated PTCL’s monopoly, company revenues
and profits were affected3 (Tables 1a and 1b). Nonetheless, PTCL was Pakistan’s largest telecommuni-
cation organization, with the widest geographical infrastructure (both fibre optic and copper wired)
and service coverage, with PTCL’s branches spread all over Pakistan. The organizational structure is
presented in Figure 1, while the vision, mission and core values are presented in Exhibit 1. PTCL also
encompassed two wholly owned subsidiaries: Ufone, competing in the cellular services industry and U
Microfinance Ltd competing in the microfinance banking sector.

Products, Services and Competitors4

PTCL’s commitment to ensuring strong customer relationships through customer satisfaction with futuristic
products and services reflected in PTCL’s positioning statement, ‘Hello to the Future’, and brand values,
Table 1a. PTCL Statement of Financial Position for Years 2004–2014 (Amounts in PKR)

31 December 31 December 30 June 30 June 30 June 30 June 30 June 30 June 30 June 30 June
2014 2013 2012 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004
‘000 ‘000 ‘000 ‘000 ‘000 ‘000 ‘000 ‘000 ‘000 ‘000
Assets
Non-current assets 109,948,283 106,990,518 109,589,389 105,317,491 99,827,838 97,492,455 99,260,020 102,071,845 96,615,422 93,300,970
Current assets 69,625,377 74,917,960 47,359,333 45,450,236 54,220,241 42,611,233 53,560,840 50,168,177 39,269,186 48,293,558
Total assets 179,573,660 181,908,478 156,948,722 150,767,727 154,048,079 140,103,688 152,820,860 152,240,022 135,884,608 141,594,528
Equity
Share capital 51,000,000 51,000,000 51,000,000 51,000,000 51,000,000 51,000,000 51,000,000 51,000,000 51,000,000 51,000,000
Revenue reserves 40,814,552 49,782,474 54,473,960 48,758,711 48,389,559 46,888,374 59,913,264 54,475,464 49,014,031 32,599,963
Unrealized gain on 329,039 89,785 62,977 – – – –
available for sale
investments
Liabilities
Non-current liabilities 43,084,720 42,452,969 30,863,129 20,816,238 18,572,198 17,645,519 17,459,855 16,489,026 15,258,013 15,098,781
Current liabilities 44,345,349 38,583,250 20,548,656 30,192,778 36,086,322 24,569,795 24,447,741 30,275,532 20,612,564 42,895,784
Total equity and 179,573,660 181,908,478 156,948,722 150,767,727 154,048,079 140,103,688 152,820,860 152,240,022 135,884,608 141,594,528
liabilities
Source: PTCL annual reports for years 2004–2014.
Notes: The decision to privatize PTCL was taken in 2005, while the first PMS was launched in 2009. Data of 2013 and 2014 represent PTCL’s current financial
performance.
Table 1b. PTCL Statement of Profit and Loss for Years 2004–2014 (Amounts in PKR)

31 December 31 December 30 June 30 June 30 June 30 June 30 June 30 June 30 June 30 June
2014 2013 2012 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004
‘000 ‘000 ‘000 ‘000 ‘000 ‘000 ‘000 ‘000 ‘000 ‘000
Revenue 81,512,598 81,061,355 60,038,254 57,174,527 59,239,001 61,085,610 65,277,025 69,085,436 75,972,363 74,124,229
­­­­­Cost of services (55,682,723) (53,073,952) (44,898,012) (38,258,711) (37,732,282) (44,719,939) (46,564,338) (41,687,918) (39,608,639) (32,185,972)
(Operating (Operating (Operating (Operating (Operating
Costs) Costs) Costs) Costs) Costs)
Gross profit 25,829,875 27,987,403 15,140,242 18,915,816 21,506,719
Administrative and (9,857,639) (9,116,544) (7,770,295) (7,223,780) (8,935,261)
general expenses
Selling and marketing (3,290,137) (2,901,035) (2,478,537) (2,142,324) (1,817,071)
expenses
Voluntary separation (8,174,536) – – – (92,118) (23,937,854)
scheme cost
Operating profit 4,507,563 15,969,824 11,487,513 9,549,712 10,662,269 16,365,671 18,712,687 27,397,518 36,363,724 41,938,257
Other income 4,706,389 4,214,290 6,596,103 5,134,646 4,267,172 3,957,539 5,541,203 3,912,931 3,387,496 2,095,491
Finance costs (295,193) (346,477) (481,745) (403,240) (908,524) (847,972) (510,175) (455,099) (455,099) (673,880)
Loss of property, plant (907,230) – – – – – –
and equipment due
to fire
(Loss)/Profit before 8,011,529 19,837,637 11,005,768 14,281,118 14,020,917 (4,462,616) 23,743,715 30,974,048 39,296,121 43,359,868
tax
Provision for income (2,804,035) (7,141,504) (3,793,689) (4,986,966) (4,869,732) 1,637,726 (8,104,962) (10,196,618) (12,690,464) (14,190,228)
tax
(Loss)/Profit for the 5,207,494 12,696,133 7,212,079 9,294,152 9,151,185 (2,824,890) 15,638,753 20,777,430 26,605,657 29,169,640
year
Earnings per share– 1.02 2.49 1.41 1.82 1.79 0.55 3.07 4.07 5.22 5.72
basic and diluted
(Rupees)
Source: PTCL annual reports for years 2004–2014.
Notes: The decision to privatize PTCL was taken in 2005, while the first PMS was launched in 2009. Data of 2013 and 2014 represent PTCL’s current financial
performance.
170 Asian Journal of Management Cases 15(2)

‘evolving, innovative, human, trustworthy and quality conscious’.5 PTCL, which was only restricted to
landline communication for a long time, now encompassed a broad range of landline, wireless telephony
and broadband products and services for domestic and corporate clientele. PTCL was also the first
Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) provider in Pakistan under the brand PTCL Smart TV. Corporate
clients enjoyed services such as TelePresence, Data Centre, Smartlink Application, Cloud and Virtual
Private Networks. PTCL rented its infrastructure to other private telecom operators in the country also.
Thus the company successfully competed with five cellular and one other landline service providers.

Recent Organizational and Cultural Dynamics

Mazhar had been with PTCL since 1996, and was working as executive vice president (EVP) Financial
Planning and Treasury (Exhibit 2) when Etisalat gained managerial control over PTCL operations in
2006. He recalled how the top management had firmly believed that a resilient performance-oriented
organizational culture and standardized systems were needed to build competitive advantage and support
performance-centric strategies. However, those who knew PTCL inside-out had anticipated that many
would resist these systems, fearing a threat to their jobs, their importance in the organization and
uncertainty about the system.
He also recalled that one bidder, who was not successful in 2005, had estimated the ideal employee
headcount for PTCL’s size and operations to be 12,000 employees against the actual headcount of 64,000
employees. When the new management took over, they launched the Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS).
Convincing employees for VSS was not easy despite the highly lucrative financial compensation
packages. Though PTCL arranged investment-related counselling, many employees, particularly those
in underdeveloped areas lacking job alternatives, favoured meagre salaries and a prestigious association
with PTCL over the uncertainty of what they would do with so much money. Despite being an effective
measure against overstaffing, VSS proved to be a drain on the company’s financial resources. Nonetheless,
PTCL pursued the VSSs and finally achieved a headcount of 18,000 employees, three VSSs later in
2015. The PTCL employees were categorized into two broad groups: regular and the new terms and
conditions (NTC). The regular category covered some management and entire non-management staff
under government employment terms and regulations, while the majority of management employees
(assistant manager and above) were covered under the NTC, effective post-privatization.

HR at PTCL—The Guiding Coalition for Cultural Transformation6

PTCL’s major challenge was the absence of a formalized HR function until privatization in 2006. HR
matters were handled by engineers from other departments as a side job. In 2006, the structural change
and Mazhar’s vision resulted in a formal HR department which now had three EVPs, one each for
HR operations, Talent Management and Learning and Leadership, and Organizational Design (OD).
A special unit of HR Strategy and Special Projects was also established. Overall there were ten general
managers (GM), and multiple senior and assistant managers in core HR (Figure 2), with approximately
500 employees working in HR. Of these 500 employees across Pakistan, approximately 220 were core
management-level HR staff, and the remaining were support staff. The total number of employees in
HR and Administration was 1,200, which included security, maintenance and other support functions.
The HR team had introduced policies and systems which played an imperative role in transform-
ing PTCL’s culture. Some leading edge HR practices introduced at PTCL included: a SAP-based
Figure 1. Organizational Structure of PTCL
Source: Company documents.
Figure 2. Structure of the HR Function at PTCL
Source: Company documents.
Nadeem and Aziz 173

performance management system (PMS) incorporating the philosophy of the balanced scorecard
for managerial-level employees; multiple soft skills training programmes incorporating return-on-
investment calculations; talent management initiatives; annual, company-wide employee engagement
survey and communication of the results of this survey to all, followed by planning.
Also, in 2012, PTCL introduced the HR business partnership model which decentralized the HR
function by appointing HR Business Partners (HRBPs) at the zonal and regional levels to expand HR’s
outreach to regions, and to strengthen the link between HR and line management. At present, there were
three zonal HRBPs looking after the North, South and Central regions, and 17 regional level HRBPs,
with 4 to 5 regions under each. The design, implementation and refinement of these and other perfor-
mance enhancing interventions was all teamwork, as Mazhar confidently proclaimed, ‘In all these years,
my biggest achievement is the HR team. I can claim that this team of HR experts is currently the strongest
HR team in the country.’ The meeting thus started with discussions on various HR initiatives to develop
next year’s plan.

Performance Management System—The Backbone

of High Performance Culture
PTCL’s entire top management resolutely believed that performance management lay at the heart of a
performance-focused culture at any organization, and PTCL’s case was no different. Historically, the only
measure of performance was the Annual Confidential Report (ACR), the outcome and execution of which
was kept concealed from employees. ‘Nobody knew what was being done to them, and nobody had the
right to ask!’ was the way one employee had described the ACR performance evaluations of the past.
This ACR focused on attributes related to administration, control and use of the chain of command
towards employees, and neglected objectives, goals and development. Based on the premise that a
sound and concrete PMS acted as a pivot for the efficiency of all other areas of HR, the OD sub-
function was formed to handle the PMS. OD was responsible for development, execution and evaluation
of formalized systems required for these processes. The GM OD recalled the three main steps of the
journey towards the development of the current PMS.

OPMS—The First Step

In 2009, an in-house electronic system, Organization Performance Management System (OPMS), was
launched as the first step in creating an unbiased, visible and efficient system for managing employee
performance that computerized the traditional ACR system. For the first time in PTCL’s history,
OPMS allowed employees to electronically view their performance evaluation and paved the way for
manager–subordinate progressive discussions and counselling on performance appraisals in the years to
come. Recognizing the missing links between performance and compensation, the OPMS also linked
compensation and rewards with employee performance through performance-based relative grading.
Mazhar reminded everyone that the transition from ACRs to open sharing of performance evaluation
which had an impact on pay was not easy, and recalled how some low-performing employees and
politically charged unions disapproved of these initiatives, leading to the biggest strike in PTCL’s history
that lasted for three weeks in 2010. He recalled how the PTCL management unwaveringly stood
its ground in the face of this strike, making it the turning point when PTCL moved towards a strong
performance-oriented culture.
174 Asian Journal of Management Cases 15(2)

HCM—The Second Step

In 2010, PTCL shifted to SAP’s Human Capital Management (HCM) software and introduced management
by objectives (MBO), including key responsibility areas (KRAs), key performance indicators (KPIs)
and behavioural assessments. The non-management employees were evaluated mainly on behavioural
competencies, while management was evaluated on a 75:25 ratio for business and behavioural goals,
although a proper competency framework was missing. The GM OD reminded everyone that the results
of 2010’s performance evaluation had been shocking for OD, as out of the 7,000 managerial employees,
ninety-four per cent employees had received 100 per cent scores from supervisors on Total Achievement
Score—the sum of objectives and behaviours. The reasons were obvious; managers socialized with
employees beyond workplace boundaries and were usually aware of employees’ personal issues. Hence,
managers used PMS to favour subordinates financially with increments to supplement their below-
market salaries that had not been revised over the recent years.
Moreover, it had been decided early on that low performers could be laid off; so managers did not
want to take the responsibility for the removal of their employees from their jobs. In 2011, forced rank-
ing was introduced and the right to grade employees was handed to the manager one level above the line
manager of an employee to improve rating but this too had positive and negative implications. OD had
tried several training programmes and had also launched the Employee Personal Page—a counselling
programme designed to educate line managers on MBO and involve them in assigning goals to employ-
ees. However, many managers found MBO challenging and loathed being shackled by the forced ranking
to fit employees into all five grades, A through E. On the other hand, dissatisfied employees believed
their grades were dependent on luck, not just performance.

Success Factors—The Third Step

In 2014, PTCL acquired a new system, ‘SAP Success Factors’, to introduce the balanced scorecard and
a new competency framework. The balanced scorecard incorporated strategy themes and maps based on
the financial, customer, operational and capabilities’ perspectives. With the balanced scorecard approach,
the top management’s goals were cascaded down to lower level managers, connecting the subordinate’s
achievement of daily, weekly, monthly and yearly goals to the manager’s achievement of goals.
In addition to the results of his/her own function, the scorecard for the chief officer of each function
had a particular weight set for the achievement of the overall business targets. A twelve competencies
framework was designed for behavioural assessment linked with succession and career management.
These competencies included: drive to achieve, thinking strategically, proceeding decisively, excelling
customer expectations, building a high-performance culture, initiating and leading change, building
strategic alliances, championing team leadership, building commitment to the organization, developing
self and others, and nurturing innovation. The HRBPs facilitated the line managers and the employees in
implementing the new system. With tough performance targets and a clear relationship between
manager–subordinate goals, performance became the basis for survival for all.
SAP enablement of daily, weekly and monthly performance targets and monitoring exposed anyone
who did not meet performance standards. It also allowed employees to challenge managers on the
appraisal if they suspected bias. Thus, performance was put above relationships in all organizational
matters, as one manager quoted, ‘Our performance is our relationship now; if you perform well then you
have a good relationship with your boss, if you don’t perform well then you don’t!’
However, several managers of the HR team recognized that behavioural evaluations were still swayed
by personal relationships and employees’ personal backgrounds. Mazhar encouraged the HR team
Nadeem and Aziz 175

to think over PTCL’s options to further refine the PMS, both for field staff and management employees.
The HR team also wondered whether relative rating should be discontinued for officer cadres or whether
to link the compensation and rewards more closely with individual or organizational performance.
The members also pondered over continuing the use of behavioural ratings.

Compensation and Rewards—Motivating for High Performance

The evolution of performance management at PTCL had clearly linked compensation with individual
performance instead of seniority, and an experimental introduction of salary increments based on team
performance in one product division also yielded encouraging results. Additional bonuses and benefits
like corporate sponsorship for the religious pilgrimage of Hajj were also made performance-contingent
to create a performance-centric culture. Further, PTCL’s top management was personally involved in
selecting individuals for the Annual Business Excellence Awards to recognize exceptional contributions
in six key areas—leadership, culture, innovation, operations, services and business results. However,
the annual bonus (one base salary) was awarded to all employees to share organizational profits with
employees, irrespective of individual performance, subject to organizational profits.
The EVP Talent Management and Learning (EVP TM&L) highlighted the many challenges in the
area of compensation. Overstaffing pushed PTCL’s salaries below the market. Though turnover of about
10 per cent prevailed, headcount of 18,000 employees was still above industry benchmarks. The external
consultant, A. T. Kearney, hired by PTCL to assess and compare the performance of PTCL with the indus-
try had suggested that the HR costs were significantly higher than the industry benchmark. The salary
structures had not been revised in the last 5 to 6 years due to fierce competition for revenues. Thus, hiring
and retaining best talent was often a struggle. PTCL still had a reasonable value proposition for employees
despite less-than-perfect salaries, the most important features being the abundant learning opportunities,
career advancement, a comfortable work environment and work–life balance with features such as the
recently launched flexitime and uniform medical benefits for all PTCL employees.
The EVP HR Operations drew attention to his observation that while the workplace culture had
drastically modernized at the headquarters and the zonal offices, the change was only gradually spreading
to the other offices, which presented additional challenges. Employees who had been working at PTCL for
years were indeed loyal and emotionally attached to their organization and colleagues but were often
forced to look at other job opportunities because of economic pressures. Insecurities arising from
meagre salaries also forced some employees to do side jobs or businesses, and build affiliations with
political parties, particularly in areas where regular employees were in majority, and career growth
opportunities were minimal such as in the Southern zone.
Discussing this situation, one General Manager recalled a statement given by EVP Operations several
years ago: ‘If you think that with just 12,000 rupees (one month’s salary for field staff at that time) you can
buy someone’s heart and mind both, then it cannot be anything other than a dream!’ The challenges of
meagre salaries continued.
He also highlighted the services of employees located in remote areas, which were worth exceptional
importance and respect. They safeguarded PTCL’s operations and infrastructure in the face of harshest
realities like difficult terrain, floods and earthquakes, land sliding and abnormal amounts of rain and
snow, where employees could get stuck for days. For these employees, PTCL was not just the source of
bread and butter in the scarcity of job alternatives but also their family and prestige. Yet, they were
dissatisfied with being given the same salaries as employees in any other part of the country, when they
continued to serve PTCL without basic living facilities or vehicles and tools to facilitate them in doing
176 Asian Journal of Management Cases 15(2)

their jobs. Mazhar addressed the HR team: ‘We need to come up with a proper plan to reward critical
talent in major cities and to reward the exceptional hard work and loyalty of PTCL’s remote area
employees.’

Training and Development—Building Capacity for High Performance

For cultural change in an organization, there needs to be continuous development of its people...
I believe one of the biggest reasons for our success is our training and development programme.
—Chief HR Officer, PTCL

PTCL had a legacy of investment in T&D with sixteen training centres built across Pakistan at one point
in time. In 2010, the newly appointed EVP and General Manager Training recognized that the old T&D
system did not deliver to meet individual-specific needs as managers neither followed any criteria to
nominate employees for trainings nor held them accountable for the improving performance. Employees
were redundant in cadres with minimal customer focus, lacking futuristic skills. Additionally, the quality
of technical diplomas offered by various institutes across the country often proved insufficient to prepare
employees for practically taking on challenges without training. For the last several years, the HR
leadership strongly felt that T&D could be utilized to change employee attitudes and prepare employees
for the fast-paced journey PTCL was embarking on.
The GM T&D briefed the HR team on how the training structures had been redesigned to incorpo-
rate mandatory trainings on enhancing customer services and other soft skills such as communication
and teambuilding. He highlighted that in six years (2010–2015) the training structure had progressed to
65 per cent soft skills and 35 per cent technical trainings. Value inculcation programmes such as ‘Azeem
se Azeem tar’ (greater than great) for non-management and ‘Living PTCL Values’ for all employees had
been launched to instil PTCL’s revitalized values and ownership in employees.7 Using internal trainers
made these trainings much more effective. A member of the HR team quoted a technical manager’s
experience with PTCL’s post-2010 internal trainings: ‘When the training department started such (soft
skills training) programmes, we found that there is a world here too! Our engineering minds were enlight-
ened with social sciences, empowering us to think both logically and sentimentally.’
The most recent initiative taken to transform PTCL’s culture through changing employee attitudes and
behaviours was the much-admired ‘SEEDs of Change’ programme. Over a series of formal workshops held
across Pakistan, senior and middle managers brainstormed and identified four out of Kenexa’s sixteen
dimensions8 that were vital for PTCL’s growth and success in the telecom industry. Aligned with the under-
lying behaviours of PTCL’s core values, these four dimensions, namely, service mind-set, collaboration and
alignment, innovative approach and speedy execution, were repeated and reinforced through trainings to
push PTCL towards high-performance culture.
Formal training needs analysis was carried out 2011 onwards. Cadre-wise training needs were identi-
fied through discussions with the function’s chief officer and general managers. The PMS also identified
training needs as line managers had to recommend 2 to 3 trainings for each subordinate. Finally, employees
suggested trainings which they would like to receive via the training satisfaction forms and discussions.
Integrating these three sources, trainings were designed and locked into the yearly training schedule.
The GM OD briefed everyone about the ‘Individual Development Programme’ (IDP), a 70:20:10
assortment of on-the-job training, coaching and mentoring and classroom training, which was still in its
design phase. IDP mainly focused on making job rotation and job enrichment much more structured.
The GM OD explained how on-the-job trainings were becoming particularly important as relieving
Nadeem and Aziz 177

employees for training, especially those involved in day-to-day operations, had its financial cost that
compelled managers to hesitate in sending employees on training.
The HR team discussed how the new T&D system evaluated trainings at the end of each training
session via training satisfaction forms filled by employees, followed by line managers’ feedback
collected a few weeks later to calculate the ‘training effectiveness index’, which stood at 92 per cent on
average for the last year. PTCL was also planning on expanding its use of metrics to analyse trainings,
based on the format revised in 2014, to align PTCL with Etisalat’s group-wide system. Training man
days were calculated for function-wise trainings delivered, standing at 3.57 days per employee for
management and 2.64 days per employee for non-management in 2015.9 However, so far there was no
role of training evaluation in determining employee promotions. Parallel to these improvements, some
operational managers strongly voiced their concern that their field staff was being given very generic soft-
skills trainings that failed to yield productivity in the field, and that the external trainers delivering these
trainings lacked technical knowledge and familiarity with the organizational culture. Mazhar asked the
team to propose refinements in the existing T&D initiatives and make additional suggestions.

Recruitment and Selection—Getting High Performers on Board

When PTC (later converted to PTCL) initially built its operational infrastructure
and network of exchanges, announcements were made in local mosques to recruit
people. Now PTCL’s recruitment and selection have come a long way.
—GM Operations (North), PTCL

PTCL’s recruitment and selection system in 2015 was aligned with the competencies and performance
parameters defined in the PMS. Considering the already high headcount at PTCL, recruitment was done
for only management-trainees, and officer-level and above positions. As PTCL’s historic organizational
culture and below-market salaries pushed away high-potential candidates, it was critical to build a strong
employer brand. Several steps were taken for this, such as direct interaction with students and universities,
formal presence on social media such as LinkedIn to advertise the new organizational culture and career
opportunities such as the traineeship programmes of ‘Experia’ and ‘Triple~E’. Programmes were also
aimed to improve gender diversity and to fight the ‘women-should-not-work’ mind-set that prevailed in
most rural and remote areas.10
The EVP TM&L highlighted that while it was a challenge to attract high-potential applications on the
one hand, with high unemployment prevailing in Pakistan, thousands of applications were received for
job vacancies on the other hand. Thus, rigorous selection procedures were designed to identify the right
talent. Selection criteria were listed for each position and shortlisted candidates, as per criteria, moved
on to employment tests or panel interviews, depending on the position. Panel-based interviews often
included representatives from line, HR and cross-functional representatives, which allowed a multi-
perspective assessment of the candidates’ technical and behavioural competencies and reduced the
chances of selection bias.
Online psychometric tests were under consideration as a final stage of the selection process. The
senior leadership encouraged assessors to be assertive, strong and vigilant in following the process and
criteria for selecting candidates for all job positions, temporary or permanent. Standardized process and
criteria for selection helped PTCL in tackling two prevalent problems: nepotism and favours given on
the basis of language, caste, community, family background, social class, educational background, etc.
A senior employee with around twenty years of experience at PTCL said:
178 Asian Journal of Management Cases 15(2)

I have seen many changes since I started my career. At that time jobs were given mainly on the basis of references,
but now there is a system of merit. We have seen this organization as a government setup, as a corporation and now
as a limited company. I believe there have been a lot of changes.

Further, as the organizational culture became more competitive, and the employees’ own survival became
dependent on performance and target achievement, what most employees could do was to refer someone
for a chance at the interview. One manager shared his own experience from when a position in his
department became vacant:

I don’t just want someone, I want someone who works. Because I am answerable for whatever he will be doing,
again I will be answerable for myself also. I can’t just go ahead and appoint my son because even he may not be able
to perform at par with the emerging requirements of the business.

However, it was duly acknowledged that some managers feared that systematic selection would reduce
their authority and say in the process. Therefore, formal and informal means were used to convince
managers of the benefits of rigorous system procedures as PTCL continued moving towards becoming
more system-dependent and less person-dependent. Nevertheless, evaluation criteria had to be flexible for
job positions in remote areas, particularly areas with poor infrastructure, such as poor roads, as few people
applied there. Also, because of unsettled security situation in some remote areas, hiring locals ensured
community support and hence security for PTCL’s telecom infrastructure.
Promotion of employees was another area discussed by EVP TM&L. Aligning internal promotions and
staffing with the new culture was easier for NTC than for regular employees. Through the NTC
employees, the culture for performance-based promotions and career moves was strengthening,
particularly in younger employees, albeit there was minor resistance from a small portion of employees
who considered seniority-based promotions their right. The EVP recalled a senior employee’s quote,
‘The old employees have changed themselves (become more performance-oriented), those who haven’t,
their survival is difficult here (at PTCL).’ Managers and employees collectively decided an employee’s
career progression considering the employee’s competencies and desires, and opportunities in the
organization. Decisions regarding promotions were driven by relative rating and panel interviews of
promotion nominees. However, promotions for regular employees were still dependent upon seniority or
length of employment in the organization, despite their KPIs and responsibilities being the same as those
of NTC. Further, as privatization and new systems had slowed down career progression for regular senior
and field employees, many were dissatisfied.
Also, PTCL was formerly a typical government organization where lifetime employment and job
security were almost 100 per cent guaranteed. As the organization turned performance-centric, meeting
performance standards became the only path to job security. However, continuing its legacy, PTCL still
used termination as the last and least preferred solution for low performers who were trained or shifted to
other departments to give them the chance to earn their stay at PTCL, making talent management more
of a challenge. However, employment security had its advantages too, loyalty being the most important
one of them. Regular employees who enjoyed lifetime job security were astonishingly loyal and committed
to serving PTCL. The EVP HR Operations recalled how these regular employees in the Southern areas
protected PTCL’s telecom towers during floods while their own houses were being flooded, or how during
the most disastrous earthquake that hit the Northern areas in 2008, employees sped to fix PTCL’s ruined
infrastructure.
Mazhar appreciated the efforts of the team, particularly the balance the team members had tried to
create between performance-oriented culture and lifetime job security, and between terms and conditions of
NTC and regular employees. This was certainly one of the areas which required careful consideration in next
year’s plan.
Nadeem and Aziz 179

Communication and Involvement—Talking High Performance

PTCL’s culture had changed drastically in the last decade, paving way for fluid communication via formal
channels. Traditionally, communication at PTCL had been largely top-down and one-way. Formal channels
for upward flow of ideas and opinions, feedback on employee performance evaluation and grievance
handling were non-existent. Questions and suggestions by juniors were generally not entertained by most
seniors.
The GM Strategy and Special Projects recapped the main changes in this area. In recent years, the presi-
dent met with all functional heads every Thursday to note the pulse of the organization. All PTCL employ-
ees enjoyed the liberty to email the president directly, to which he mostly replied. The Chief Business
Officer and other senior title-holders travelled frequently to all parts of the organization across the country
and interacted with employees. All function heads held formal and informal meetings with their teams
regularly to ensure that key information was consistently shared across the entire function. Videoconference
sessions were held every morning to liaise between regions and the headquarters, discussing daily targets
and areas of improvement. The HRBPs frequently scheduled sessions like ‘HRBP at your doorstep’, and
breakfast gatherings to discuss current organizational affairs with employees in a relaxed environment.
With the help of the HRBPs, information about the organization’s performance, goals, strategies and how
employees could contribute to organizational performance were disseminated to the grassroots level to
propel every member of the organization in the same direction. Key influencers in various parts of the
organization were appointed as ‘communication nodes’ or ‘focal points’ to ensure that organizational
goals, strategies and the management’s messages were forwarded to employees in lower cadres and
communicated effectively, and also to convey bottom-up feedback.
Several innovative channels for information sharing and employee facilitation were launched such as
the company magazine and the online platform ‘Hello PTCL’. The ‘e-facilitation centre’ was launched
for employees to post their HR-related queries online for faster interaction and facilitation with HR.
A formalized grievance system was established to handle sensitive employee issues in a judicious manner.
The GM HR Strategy enthusiastically reported that the pilot run for ‘Idea Hub’, an innovative platform
for employees to share their ideas for organizational improvement, showed promising results. Employee
engagement survey conducted by IBM Kanexa was another tool used by the upper management to gauge
employee attitude; the results were positive and encouraging (Figure 3a and 3b). Mazhar appreciated
the team’s efforts to improve communication, summarizing that he was pleased to learn that the employee
participation rates in the employee engagement survey rose from 89 per cent in 2013 to 94 per cent in
2014 and 97 per cent in 2015, reflecting that this survey was winning the trust of employees.
The culture of the organization had also become more open over the years. Several regions now
followed an open-door policy, a bold move in an organization where once linemen could not even enter
the building without the Divisional Engineer’s approval. Of course, targets played a crucial role in
transforming interactions ‘from administrative to managerial’. However, some managers still favoured
segregation from subordinates. Some employees still hesitated to have open conversations with superiors,
particularly if the superior was positioned at the company headquarters, as stated by a lower management
employee, ‘It is easier for us to approach the GM, but not beyond that.’ However, the majority of employees
felt that they could comfortably say anything to the top management, as long as it was said politely,
convincingly and respectfully.
One of the regional managers pointed out that in the midst of these positive changes, some shared the
view that operations were becoming too centralized. Regional heads had to walk through a long chain
of processes to get something approved from the headquarters. Some believed that greater idea sharing
180 Asian Journal of Management Cases 15(2)

Figure 3 (a). PTCL Employee Engagement Survey 2014 Results (in per cent); (b). PTCL Employee Engagement
Survey 2014 Results (in per cent)
Source: PTCL employee diary.

and open communication in some regions, particularly in the Southern side of the country, had more to
do with caste and community linkages than with organizational culture and performance.
Nevertheless, most agreed that regional heads encouraged their field staff to discuss their problems
openly to unveil operational issues as well as to motivate this lower level staff in the absence of monetary
rewards. As a Regional GM once said about his relationship with field staff, ‘We can’t do much for them,
but at least we can have a cup of tea with them,’ such small gestures earned regional managers
respect, loyalty and unshakable support in times of need. Employees also felt that the give-and-take of
respect not only enabled much smoother coordination at work and identification of real business
problems, but also shielded against bad politics and leg-pulling in the organization. The team discussed
the areas for reviewing, particularly mechanisms for improving communication between the regions and
the head office.

Strategic HR—A Greater Binding Force

Since the position for GM HR Strategy was created in 2012, PTCL’s HR Strategy and Special Projects
function oversaw HR strategic planning, corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, special
employee development programmes and participation in industry surveys. The GM HR Strategy
Nadeem and Aziz 181

highlighted a few key initiatives. It mentioned that that the HR function was participating in Etisalat’s
group-wide exercise of European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) HR Excellence Model
since the last few years. Though the EFQM framework was usually applied throughout the organization,
at this stage, only the HR model was implemented at PTCL to align HR strategy and goals with those of
the business. However, the HR team discussed how integration between various HR sub-domains was
an area still in need of improvement.
Another key area of focus for HR strategy and special projects was grooming leaders for tomorrow. High
Performance (HiPo), Leadership Excellence and Future Leaders Programme (FUEL) were the key initia-
tives. HiPo was a competitive Etisalat group-level programme which selected high potential employees
from subsidiaries all over the world and provided them international training exposure on real-life busi-
ness challenges in collaboration with Duke University Corporate Education, Informa Telecoms Academy
and Harvard Manage Mentors. The FUEL and Leadership Excellence programmes were targeted at junior
and middle high-potential employees and senior managers, respectively. These programmes, though still
immature, were designed to overcome PTCL’s two critical ongoing problems. First, PTCL was often
unable to find competent candidates for promotions to higher, more critical positions. Second, despite vast
opportunities to develop with a growing organization, many employees, particularly the younger ones,
complained that they could not plan a coherent future career path at PTCL. The team discussed whether
the special projects were adequately addressing the key issues, particularly succession planning, and the
refinements needed to improve the impact.

The Way Forward

‘It has been a decade of true development indeed, but we have far to go,’ Mazhar thought aloud at the end
of the recap in all the key areas. PTCL’s culture had undeniably transformed over the years making it a
vibrant, innovative and high-potential organization. PTCL’s HR had played a key role, not just in PTCL’s
operations within Pakistan but also at the parent group level. The chief human resource officer (CHRO)
actively contributed towards strategic decision-making and participated in PTCL’s board meetings with
respect to HR matters, and in PTCL Board’s HR Committee meetings. Many of those who were once
cynical of PTCL’s transformation now hailed its productivity. However, PTCL had yet to accomplish
a lot in terms of products and services, financial standings, employee attitudes and motivation, and
organizational excellence.
The HR team reflected on a few key questions:

What has been our degree of success in creating a strategic HR function? Have we rightly understood and
dealt with the environmental, cultural, and administrative influences on HR? What are some of the areas where
mistakes have been made? What more do we need to do in the coming short and long-term to ensure that all HR
activities continue to drive PTCL and its employees towards high performance?

The team also discussed that some distinct elements of PTCL’s culture which reflected Pakistan’s true
colours were so strong and positive that they deserved to be preserved. They also discussed the unique
challenges that PTCL faced because of its history. The HR team was determined to present a concrete
plan to refine and enhance the performance-centric culture at PTCL at the upcoming 7th annual strategic
session, ‘Way Forward 2016’, which was scheduled to take place in four months.
182 Asian Journal of Management Cases 15(2)

Abbreviations
ACR Annual Confidential Report
CHRO Chief Human Resource Officer
CSR Corporate Social Responsibility
EFQM European Foundation for Quality Management
EVP Executive Vice President
FUEL Future Leaders Programme
GM General Manager
HiPo High Performance (training programme)
HRBP HR Business Partner
HCM Human Capital Management
IDP Individual Development Program
KPIs Key Performance Indicators
KRAs Key Responsibility Areas
MBO Management by Objectives
NTC New Terms and Conditions
OPMS Organization Performance Management System
OD Organizational Design
PTC Pakistan Telecom Corporation
PTCL Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation Limited
PMS Performance Management System
TM&L Talent Management and Learning
T&D Training and Development
VSS Voluntary Separation Scheme

Exhibit 1. PTCL Mission, Vision and Core Values

Vision
To be the leading Information and Communication Technology Service Provider in the
region by achieving customer satisfaction and maximizing shareholders’ value.
Mission
To achieve our vision by having:
An organizational environment that fosters professionalism, motivation and quality
An environment that is cost effective and quality conscious
Services that are based on the most optimum technology
Quality and time conscious customer service
Sustained growth in earnings and profitability
Core Values
Professional Integrity
Teamwork
Customer Satisfaction
Loyalty to the Company
Source: PTCL corporate website (http://www.ptcl.com.pk/Info/Vision)
Nadeem and Aziz 183

Exhibit 2. Brief Professional History of Syed Mazhar Hussain, CHRO PTCL

Syed Mazhar Hussain joined PTCL in 1996 as Assistant General Manager (Finance). He initially worked in the
finance department, and was promoted on fast track to various positions including Director (Budget), General
Manager (Finance) and EVP (Financial Planning and Treasury). When Etisalat gained managerial control of PTCL
in 2006, he was serving as the EVP (Financial Planning and Treasury), and in this capacity, remained involved in
all projects of HR and Technology. He has been the head of HR at PTCL since 2008, initially in the capacity of
Senior Executive Vice President HR (SEVP HR), and then as CHRO.
Prior to joining PTCL, Mazhar Hussain worked for nine years in the agriculture and tourism sectors in
operations, corporate affairs, market research, planning and international tourism. While SEVP HR in
PTCL was his first position in HR, he had extensive experience of handling large numbers of staff and
unions in various positions in PTCL as well as during his prior experience.
Source: Internet and profile emailed by the CHRO.

Acknowledgement
The authors are extremely grateful to the 40 plus PTCL managers and employees who participated in in-depth
interviews and discussions. The authors would also like to thank the PTCL management for allowing access, and
freely sharing documents and information.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication
of this case.

Funding
This research was funded by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan Grant Number TRGP-III-954.

Notes
 1. Section based on information provided by the focal person in form of documents and opinion, as well as
information from the company website.
  2. PTCL Annual Report 2014, pp, 71–72.
  3. Comments by an EVP, while discussing the history of PTCL’s products, and financials, particularly profit for
year and earning per share.
  4. Large parts of this section are from: Company profile https://ptcl.com.pk/Home/PageDetail?ItemId=41&
linkId=110
  5. PTCL Brand philosophy: https://ptcl.com.pk/Info/PTCL-Brand-Philosophy
  6. The facts and figures about the HR department included in this section were provided by the focal person in
an interview and a follow up email.
  7. The training programmes were mentioned by the GM Training, and by many focus group participants
when focus groups were conducted with PTCL employees in various cities of Pakistan.
  8. PTCL followed up on the recommendations made in the IBM Kenexa report, also mentioned in the abstract,
and used the competencies recommended by them as the basis for training.
  9. The figures about training effectiveness index and training days per management and non-management
employees were provided by the GM Training.
10. Experia is a summer internship programme for university students, details of which are available on https://
www.ptcl.com.pk/Careers/students.html. Triple-E is a one-year internship programme for fresh graduates,
details of which are available on https://www.ptcl.com.pk/Careers/students.html. Both these programmes, as
well as various gender diversity seminars and workshops were mentioned by the GM T&D and Senior Manager
T&D during interviews and supported by discussions with employees.