Business Process Consulting with Telecom Fiji Limited

A significant business process consulting project we finished in April 2007 was with Telecom Fiji Limited.

Telecom Fiji - Client Overview

Telecom Fiji Limited (TFL) is currently the sole telecommunications licensee for the nation of Fiji. Incorporated in 1990, Telecom Fiji has three subsidiaries and a majority ownership in Vodafone.

Unique Business Challenge

Originally the license granted by the government of Fiji extended through 2014. Recently the government indicated that it would be deregulating the telecommunications industry thereby opening the door to a potential flood of competitors.

In preparation for increased competition, Telecom Fiji undertook a company wide change management plan that included retaining Stephen Hay of People and Process Limited to map their company processes and suggest a change and implementation plan.

Client Outcome

Results included

• a bottom line savings of over $6M in annual operational costs, and
• a renewed commitment by employees to embrace the coming changes and discover their role in directing the future of TFL.

Read how People and Process enabled an industry leader to discover a leaner, more profitable, and more customer-focused organization. This case study was prepared by Barry Morris who interviewed Telecom Fiji Limited (TFL) CEO Taito Tabaleka.

The Reality of Industry Deregulation

"Telecom Fiji, Ltd. (TFL) was given the exclusive license to provide telecommunication services to the nation of Fiji in 1990. Originally the exclusivity was to run through 2014. However, the government has announced impending deregulation of the industry and in order to prepare for the coming era of competition, TFL embarked upon a change management process."

"In the face of impending deregulation - without the services of Stephen Hay - Telecom Fiji could have been rendered irrelevant." adds Taito Tabaleka, Acting CEO of TFL.

The Threat of Increased Competition

Tabaleka explained it was because TFL evolved from a government department that it retained many of the inefficiencies and process duplications common to government operations. With the government announcing impending deregulation of the industry, TFL needed to streamline their growing organizational structure in order to better serve and retain customers.

Confronted with growing evidence that competitive forces were becoming better organized, TFL instituted a company-wide change management process. "Customers were telling us that we needed to change," said Tabaleka.

"Instead of having one customer-focused face, Telecom Fiji and its subsidiaries had become a three-faced entity. For the customer, it was very confusing."

A Mandate for Change

"The customer gave us a clear mandate for change. With the threat of increased competition on the horizon, Telecom Fiji embarked upon a company-wide change process. Stephen Hay was retained to help us align customer processes across the three companies."

Each of the three subsidiaries if TFL (Connect, a subsidiary providing Internet services; Xceed Pasifika Limited, concerned with PBX equipment and customer premises recruitment; and TransTel, another wholly owned TFL company) had their own systems and processes. In order to resolve a customer service issue, the processes often spanned two or more companies and the customer was lost in the process.

"The main challenge for Stephen was to align the interrelated processes across three subsidiaries and align them with one primary focus: enhanced customer service."

The Primacy of Communication

"Stephen was able to communicate across company boundaries in such a way that employees felt he had their interest at heart. He communicated very effectively that he wasn't here to eliminate jobs, but to help the company function more efficiently for the long term," stated Tabaleka.

"One strategy Stephen used to encourage employee involvement and participation was to hold management-free brainstorming sessions. Only the staff, the Managing Director, and I were able to attend these strategy sessions. No other management was admitted. This allowed the people on the ground level to brainstorm processes and solutions that they had to work with. With this strategy, Stephen immediately eliminated the fear of voicing opinions.

'Let's go and fix this thing'

Tabaleka isn't shy about sharing the results. "This fostered an empowering attitude on the part of employees. They participated in an extraordinary manner; the level of their involvement in the change process was accompanied by a remarkable openness to own the problems and the responsibility to identify the changes needed. The common theme was, 'Let's go and fix this thing."

"They adopted a willingness to fix what was wrong and to persevere in the resulting 'sell to management.' The level of practical insight that came out of the management-free sessions was such that, had we been left by ourselves, management would never had seen the situation the same way nor come up with the ideas and solutions produced by the staff."

Knowledge Transfer to the Local Level

Because further mapping will be required for full implementation across TFL, Stephen trained two individuals to function as designated knowledge sources locally. These two employees to report directly to the CEO.

Tabaleka explained when Stephen's eleven month consulting with TFL came to a close, both of the employees were able to carry on the additional process mapping, bring stakeholders together for brainstorming sessions, and make formal presentations to management.

"Stephen passed the essential knowledge and vision to these two people in order for Telecom Fiji to continue the change management process. They possess the necessary knowledge and skills required to see us through full implementation."

Tabaleka admits change isn't always well-received by management. When suggestions are challenged by general management, the CEO takes each one through a process called fish-bowling that allows "a process drone to test in the environment of the change." This enables management to see that traditional 'top down' process generation isn't always the best solution.

A Leaner, More Profitable Company

Process mapping brings an awareness of organizational redundancies in structure and in process. This is problematic in that it adds additional personnel and organizational expense.

Before the change processes were implemented, TFL employed 1,500 people. Throughout the process mapping and change management process, many employees chose to leave in the face of redundancies that surfaced across the three companies.

Tabaleka adds, "That alone saves the company $6 million in annual operating costs. But the real savings comes from elimination of redundant procedures. Customer service will be further enhanced and the processes for solving customer concerns, streamlined. Even in the preliminary stage of our implementation, we forecast an increase in profits of 18 percent."

Results and Outcomes

Perhaps the most meaningful outcomes from Stephen's work with Telecom Fiji were the three most beneficial as identified by Mr. Tabaleka.

"Firstly, Stephen was able to cut across the various boundaries that exist between divisions and companies - looking at the issues instead of the personnel. This enabled us to focus on what the company really wants to do. It helped many employees to align themselves with the centrality of the customer; the reality that if the customer walks away, the company becomes irrelevant. The centrality of the customer became very real."

"Secondly, Stephen was very effective in communicating the definitive, detailed reasons behind the changes suggested. He repeatedly reminded us that there were valid, functional reasons for the changes; that in order for TFL to survive and position itself for future stability, changes were essential and the need for implementation was urgent."

"Finally, Stephen helped staff discover their sense of ownership of both the problems inherent in the organizational structure and their ability to initiate change. They realized that change ultimately enhances both customer service and corporate health."

A Hunger for Lasting Change

"Stephen has an amazing ability to communicate his hunger for seeing his clients implement the changes he helps uncover. An important component in bringing lasting change across the many levels of an organization is identifying the right organization to work with. When we interviewed Stephen, we knew his character was key to the entire process."

"I also found his project management skills were very sophisticated and they enabled him to manage across the company's many divisions and corporate boundaries."

"More importantly," says Tabaleka, "he reminded us that TFL would realize the ultimate value from his service by implementing the changes suggested and becoming the streamlined, efficient organization that would stand the test of time and competition."

"On a personal level, I have a great deal of respect for the integrity of Stephen's work. It was done with a sense of urgency balanced with the desire that we would receive genuine value from his services. He is very, very organized and his approach to helping Telecom Fiji prepare itself for the days ahead was indispensable."

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Case Study prepared by Barry Morris of ProCaseStudies.com

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