Bharti Infratel: The ‘You Grow, We Grow’ Philosophy

Adjudged as the Best Employers for the second time in a row, Bharti Infratel — the telecom tower arm of Bharti Airtel — understands that they can have customer delight only when they win the hearts and souls of their biggest asset — ‘employees’. ‘Employee First’ is the binding philosophy behind all their interventions, hence their Employee Value Proposition: You Grow, We Grow; Building Leaders for Tomorrow and Stretching Boundaries Together differentiates them and makes them the forerunner for external and internal stakeholders.

One of the largest tower infrastructure providers in India, Infratel is a strong believer in creating new benchmarks, which is showcased by their customized talent development offerings to appeal to their varied workforce of Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y to act as touch points at all stages of the employee life cycle.

Employees here are empowered to spearhead their careers by referring to an easy to understand documented career paths called “RISE Career Framework” enabling both vertical and cross-functional movements. The conviction of the leadership team on development and growth of employees helps fuel the employee aspirations by not only tracking their employee performance, but also uncovering the potential within them through a well structured process of Panel Assessments and Talent Councils. They have a strong penchant for developing leaders from within to build a continuous talent pipeline for the critical roles. The identified successors undergo rigorous assessments, individual coaching and grooming sessions to take on higher responsibilities.

“Our employees are our competitive advantage and this has gone a long way in helping us become pioneer in our field,” says D. S. Rawat, managing director and chief executive officer at Bharti Infratel, which was recently in news for its its financial results. In the quarter ended March 2016, it reported a 19 per cent jump in net profit on the back of growth in network rollout by operators.

At Infratel, the health and fitness of the workforce is paramount and is a right and not a privilege. The team continuously strives to offer a healthy work environment to their employees wherein they feel valued for their contribution to the organization and feel encouraged to achieve a positive work-life balance. With a documented safety policy and 100 per cent compliance to safety, no stone is left unturned to ensure that every employee of the frontline team becomes adept in safe work practices from wearing safety gear to using helmets and belts while driving. The safety norms are also extended to the vendor ecosystem reinforcing the commitment to a safe workplace. Any non-adherence to safety norms is stringently dealt through their consequent management policy. Furthermore, to overcome the ever increasing sedentary lifestyle enforced by the urbanisation, Infratel team regularly participates in health initiatives, as each step culminates to a healthy living.

Infratel’s success comes from a constant focus on renewal and therefore touching lives on a personal note. To live up to their Employee Value Proposition, each year new interventions are given shape to fuel the dynamic employee needs.

paramita@businessworld.in