Investing in People

MITTS Ltd invests strategically in its training budget as it believes that its capacity to effectively deliver can only be as good as its intellectual capital

The drive to manage by Values began in 2002 when the five core company Values were conceived through an active process of employee participation. While the Values launched and actively promoted in 2003, throughout 2004 MITTS Ltd intensified the drive to instil these Values in its people’s hearts and minds at all levels, from the Board of Directors down to students attached to the organisation. Stylised representations of the five core Values were displayed in conspicuous and strategic points of the premises. Internal HR processes such as performance appraisals and policies were aligned with the Value system. The Values have since even been adopted as criteria for the selection of the annual MITTS Ltd awards scheme. Teambuilding events too were organised to revolve round the five core Values.

Empowering Middle Managers

Seeking to empower middle managers and uplift their skills to a level that is consistent across the company, the Management Development Programme (MDP) that was begun in 2003, was on the following year re-evaluated and reinforced. From the foundation phase of a classroombased academic model, it was taken to the next level: a master-classes model where a number of topics were identified, and individual speakers were invited to deliver sessions on designated core modules relating the ensuing discussion to the everyday realities of the organisation. This new model proved successful and has borne its first fruits in this year’s performance appraisals.

Training with a Higher Return on Investment

Training is one of the main instruments used by the company to ensure that its workforce is continuously skilled, professional and freshened up on all the latest technologies and methodologies so that the best possible solutions are delivered to its clients. MITTS Ltd invests strategically in its training budget as it believes that its capacity to effectively deliver can only be as good as its intellectual capital. Annual training needs analyses are conducted to ensure that training

is targeted and tuned to the specific needs of the company, as well as to account for emerging technological innovations. Seeking to attain a higher return on investment and maximise training delivered in proportion to cost, in 2004 the company explored new and creative ways of using training delivery media. It adopted a blended learning approach whereby trainees attending an e-learning course, were also invited to actively participate in follow-up seminars where the tutor would consolidate the learning provided and answer any questions relevant to the subject matter.

Other successful measures involved staff wishing to obtain certification in ICT topics related to their position within the company. The company encourages employees to follow training in their own time, eventually obtaining their refunds after successful completion of their examination.

By adopting these lateral thinking approaches the company succeeded in increasing the number of employees trained, while at the same time allowing for a tangible reduction in costs and time required for training delivery.

Major training delivered comprised ITIL Foundation (elearning), CiscoWorks, CISCO Networking, Microsoft Momentum 2004, MS Windows Server 2003 Active Directory and MS Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure to account for areas related to ICT service management. Courses in MS.NET Capabilities and Developer Skills Builder for MS.NET specificically addressed training needs in software development. Specific courses in Computer Auditing, ISO 17799 Information Security Management System and E-Policy Orchestrator training were tailored to address skills in the area of security and management. A number of employees also attended a Task Force - Computer Security Incident Response Team seminar to reinforce computer emergency response capabilities. In all, these training initiatives were delivered to a total of 190 employees. Furthermore, a large number of people across the company were trained on the new Service Management System, as well as on the Network Node Manager tool. An average of 7.5 training days annually per employee (excluding on-thejob training) was delivered throughout the year.

Getting a Feel of the Climate

In June 2004 MITTS Ltd invested in a Climate Survey which was administered across all Departments. The outcome was a snapshot of the mood of the employees in general, their rating of the company, and whether they lived by the five core Values of the company. The instrument used measured seven global factors of corporate climate: equity, leadership, standards, professionalism, teamwork, work and involvement. These global factors were broken down further into 22 sub-scales.

At a corporate level, the results showed that the scores obtained on each of the seven global factors tend to fall in the middle range of the scale or higher with only one or two areas requiring some improvement. But fairly good ratings were achieved on most others. For example, four in five employees claimed that they were satisfied with their work, and 79% felt empowered to take decisions. Three out of four believed the physical working environment was good. Significantly, 73% of respondents felt they received support from the company when they needed it, and 85% thought they had sufficient variety in their job. 2005 will see efforts focused on improving the identified areas that require strengthening.

We believe that in today’s rapidly evolving and highly competitive business environment, intellectual capital is the real engine of growth and innovation