Employees

The emphasis on technical training during this period, was also beginning to be augmented with the imparting of management skills and soft skills development.

During the period 1999 to 2001, SLT concentrated on building an effective Corporate Management structure. Along with a continuing regime of technical training, the Company provided management programmes for senior and middle level managers, often at external resource centres, to provide our staff with vital exposure to new management concepts and best practices.

Also, programmes were provided to enhance motivation and workplace co-operation amongst employees.

began to position our training entity as a top of the line telecommunications instructional body for external students, by offering such courses as BTEC Higher National Diploma with Edexcel of UK and Certificate, Diploma and Advanced Diploma courses with City and Guilds, UK.

This diverse training curriculum, where the technical exists in harmony with soft skill development, continues to be offered into the year 2007 as well.

Concerning the welfare of staff
Welfare services and benefits to our people have improved remarkably over the past decade.

Our basic premise was to build a healthy, contented, loyal and productive SLT family, who would take pride in their Company, claim ownership and responsibility for success as well as shortcomings and ‘be a part of the solution’ wherever possible.

There are many facets to our endeavours in this regard - here are some of them.

Making a Difference with IT
SLT began to make interaction between staff and the Company less cumbersome, with the computerisation of several HR processes such as those relating to leave taking and application for loans and medical facilities. This process of mechanisation has significantly quickened the time taken to process and fulfil such requests.

Taking Contentiousness out of Grievance
The Company also introduced emancipated grievance handling procedures which serve the purpose, not only of ‘keeping the peace’ and fostering harmony and understanding between employee and employer, but also imparts valuable programmes educating and counselling employees on a wide range of topical issues.

The joint efforts of Company and staff have helped us to halve our chronic absentee rates over the past 4 years.

Understanding Each Other
The success of our enterprise depends on how well we get on, as the SLT family. Great effort has gone into strengthening the relationship between the Company and our Unions, through a process of dialogue.

Employee awareness programmes focussing on workplace co-operation have been augmented by the formation of workplace co-operation sub-committees, with the ultimate aim of transforming these bodies into self managed teams.

In all, our endeavours we stress the value of discussion - an issue discussed, is often an issue resolved. In this regard we are proud of our workforce and their representative Unions who respond in good spirit.

A Special VRS Scheme
The Company introduced a special VRS Scheme to assist those employees who had not been eligible for voluntary retirement under the Company’s original VRS.

The employees we sought to assist were those who desired early retirement on grounds of poor health.

The special VRS proved to be a boon for those of our employees who would otherwise have had no recourse to an early retirement.

The Importance of a Life beyond Work
A close knit family is built on interaction at various levels. SLT recognises the need to enjoy ‘social up time’ and to this end the Company encourages and supports a full calendar of extracurricular events that encompass a gamut of activity such as sport, cultural events, outings and get-togethers.

Team spirit and cohesiveness are to the fore here.