CABLE & Wireless Jamaica (C&WJ) has completed most of the work required to transform its monopolistic culture to one more in tune with its customers' needs, said Gary Barrow, the company's outgoing president and chief executive officer.
With the deregulation of the telecommunications industry and the entry of competitors from 1999, C&WJ went through a period of transformation, noted Mr. Barrow who was guest speaker at yesterday's Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) Job Creation Awards ceremony at the Terra Nova Hotel, St. Andrew.
The company was forced to cut costs and restructure in order to ensure its long-term survival, noted Mr. Barrow who said that over the three-and-a-half-year period the staff complement was cut from close to 5,000 to 1,600 employees today. The C&WJ boss also said that during the period the company doubled its customer base.
The restructuring and transformation exercise also involved the outsourcing non-core activities and automation of various services. In addition, said Mr. Barrow, the structure of the organisation saw changes over the transformation and reconstruction period which resulted in a 90 per cent infusion of new personnel at the management level.
UNENCUMBERED BY TRADITIONAL WAYS
"We wanted to infuse the organisation with new people who were unencumbered by traditional ways of thinking and possessed those skills critical to the organisation's success," said Mr. Barrow. He noted that new recruits were not limited to Jamaica but were also Jamaican and Caribbean nationals residing in the United States and the United Kingdom.
The company is now far more entrepreneurial in nature and is working to remain close to its employees and customers. C&WJ has also pinpointed the fastest growing areas in the telecoms industry and injected capital into mobile, broadband, and value-added services.
"Our ultimate intention is to become the number one telecoms service provider in terms of customer service, employment and technology," said Mr. Barrow. "In a year to 18 months we should be where we need to be."
