The digital skill set must become second nature to Banglalink in its customers’ best interest. To be truly digitally savvy, the cellphone company will focus on training its staff to have them build right digital skills.
Erik Aas, managing director and CEO of Banglalink, said this while speaking at a press conference at a local hotel in the capital yesterday.
Erik called this press conference at a juncture when his companay employees and management are at loggerheads over firing an executive on Februay 10.
The CEO, however, avoided the topic regarding job cut in his company at the press conference.
In reply to a question about firing of one of its executives, he said an employee was sacked, abiding labour law.
He said Banglalink will build a digital organisation to carry out its digital vision. The company will flatten the organisational structure to bring employees closer together and closer to management as a way to generate fresh, innovative ideas from all corners of the organisation. With a leaner and more flexible organisation, Banglalink will bring new ideas to the market more quickly.
The company believes integrity is core to its new digital culture, and thus it is committed to building a zero-tolerance culture towards corruption and unethical behaviour going forward, added Erik.
A digital culture, plus mindset is essential for Banglalink to succeed in the future. The company will foster a pioneering spirit in its workforce that will be a driver for innovation. Banglalink employees will be encouraged not to shy away from going into uncharted territory to better serve its customers.
“I am honoured and excited to start this digital journey with Banglalink. I truly believe that we will set up Banglalink for success to become a digital service provider for our customers, and help the government achieve a Digital Bangladesh by 2021.”
The company CEO said Banglalink wants to connect its customers to this digital world of the future and unlock its endless opportunities. To achieve this, Banglalink is getting its organization ready for the digital age.
“We believe that offering digital services is the path to the future,” explains Erik.
“The use of smartphones will grow tremendously, and enable our customers to have their digital lives literally at their fingertips – from entertainment to eCommerce, from financial services to self-service. To make this a reality for our customers, we at Banglalink are investing heavily into 3G and our products and services.”
He said going digital also means enabling society to benefit from technological progress. To help make this a reality, Banglalink supports the government’s ‘Digital Bangladesh by 2021’ initiative with several projects.
In cooperation with the ICT Ministry, the company recently launched a Digital Incubation Center in the frame of the ‘connecting Start Up – Bangladesh’ project to incubate innovative businesses nationwide.
Over 20,000 students participated in Banglalink’s Grandmaster idea contest to submit ideas for mobile applications that can change the lives of millions.
In another Digital Bangladesh initiative, over 3,00,000 students across the country educated through Banglalink’s nationwide internet awareness campaign.
To get ready for Bangladesh’s digital future, Banglalink needs to adapt to the new reality.
“To date, we are successfully serving over 32 million customers with the strongest network in the country, and I am proud of this achievement. Now it is time to step it up. If we want to connect our customers to the digital world, we must become as digital as our customers are – and even more so,” mentions Erik.
“To make this happen, we need to change our organisation from a traditional telecommunications company to a digital service provider.”
Banglalink will build a digital organisation to carry out its digital vision. Those are not able to cope with digital changes will have to leave the company through voluntary retirement scheme (VRS), he said.