SLT undergoing major management and structural changes, says CEO
Chief Executive Officer Dileepa Wijesundera
Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) is going through a major management and structural changes under a new re-alignment plan recently introduced by the Chief Executive Officer Dileepa Wijesundera, who said four General Managers (GM) and six or seven Deputy General Mnagers would head the whole operations of the company.Unions however say the plan is just a re-adjustment of former proposals made for restructure in 2004-04 which was also opposed by unions and then abandoned.
Mr. Wijesundera’s comments in an interview with the Business Times also contradicts his own circulars No. 52-57 issued to the staff relating to new appointments and transfers. The Business Times is in possession of copies of these circulars.According to the five circulars issued by him recently, five GMs and 18 DGMs are to be appointed under the new re-alignment plan which has created confusion and frustration among the SLT staff.
SLT sources said even though second layer management of the SLT has been accepting these initiatives for their own benefits, it cannot achieve expected results without the involvement and support of the majority of the employees.Several SLT managerial level employees told the Business Times that the plan was not discussed with staff members and was prepared by consulting a few top staff members.
In an interview with the Business Times last week, Mr. Wijesundera categorically stated that he had consulted the senior managerial staff before introducing the re-alignment plan which he says is essential to spur growth in a saturated telecom market with little prospect for expansion owing to stiff competition of four telecom players.
He noted that the SLT top and middle level managerial staff have been entrusted with stipulated responsibilities, tasks and goals harnessing their knowledge, experience and skills towards flexible operation management, value added services, innovation and business model improvement.
“The organizational structure of SLT will be re-aligned to function as centres of excellence in marketing, planning, sales and operations,” he said.
He asserted that not a single trade union at the SLT had opposed the new plan but the Business Times understands that at least one union had sent a letter to the CEO calling for a dialogue on the proposals but is yet to receive a response. According to SLT sources, at least five SLT subsidiaries need to be overhauled to better reflect the changing market and demands in the competitive environment and changing the business to focus on customers and future growth.
SLT subsidiaries including SLT Directories and PEO TV, SLT Sky Network, SLT Visioncom, SLT services, SLT Publications and SLT Manpower Solutions are being managed poorly at present and almost all of these entities were not making substantial profits, souces revealed.
Referring to the performances of seven subsidiaries of the SLT, the CEO said that most of them including Mobitel were operating in a profitable manner, but some improvement needs to be made in SLT Directories, especially PEO TV as the IP TV is the future of this industry.
He pointed out that SLT Directories should go online fully and this aspect should be further improved by the management.
Answering a question on alleged SLT tender manipulation in the Long Term Evolution (LTE) network project which has caused massive loss to the company around US $2 million, he said this was done during the previous regime and it was under investigation by law enforcement authorities. He added that there was no internal crisis at SLT which has changed its direction in marketing and it has a wide range of communication solutions, tech offerings and has made substantial technological advancements.