WATEEN TAKES PAKISTAN INTO THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION OF THE 21ST CENTURY – Flare Team talks with the young, dynamic and optimistic Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Wateen Telecom, Mr Naeem Zamindar, who says, “Together we will deliver the best customer experience and value in the industry. My mission is to transform the organisation into completely customer‐focused, in turn making it into a viable, profitable business entity.” He has a vast experience of more than twenty years across the USA and Pakistan; he qualified as a CPA from the State of Washington, and is an MBA from INSEAD.
An Abu Dhabi Group venture, Wateen Telecom is a converged communication services provider that enables all connectivity requirements for organisations and individuals in Pakistan. Wateen’s vision is to take Pakistan into the digital revolution of the 21st Century by offering complete communications and media solutions, including telephony, internet, data and TV/multimedia to the public at large, and to make Pakistan a regional communications hub, inter‐connecting the East with the West and Central Asia with the Middle East.
Mr Zamindar brings an outstanding track record of building successful companies, spanning twenty years across the USA and Pakistan. He is a founding team member of Mobilink, and was a key member of the leadership team that grew Mobilink to become the leading telecom company of Pakistan. Mr Zamindar’s track record certainly enables him to lead Wateen to the next level of growth and opportunity. He qualified as a CPA from the State of Washington and is an MBA from INSEAD. He is also a chartered member of TIE (The Indus Entrepreneurs). Here is the crux of his conversation with Flare:
Q: What is your company’s annual turnover?
A: As a public limited company, we cannot disclose our financials until they have been publicly announced. I can however, reveal that we are on‐target as per our approved business plan by the Board of the Abu Dhabi Group. The company has a new management in place, with Mr. Zouhair Khalique, one of the pioneers of Pakistan’s telecom and broadband industry on the Board for the Abu Dhabi Group. This has given our sponsors great confidence and they are continuing to invest in Pakistan with Wateen and Warid spearheading the telecom investments.
Q: What is your company motto?
A: Our Company motto is “together we will deliver the best customer experience and value in the industry.” We believe that Wateen Telecom is a company that has the potential to transform lives and help Pakistan progress into the 21st Century; we can only achieve this by ensuring that we exceed our customers’ expectations and requirements. Moreover, we understand that the best customer experience can only be delivered by the entire company working together as a team of excellence.
Q: What is your biggest CSR activity?
A: The internet has taught us all how to connect under one platform and come together as communities, to share ideas and knowledge and create a better tomorrow for everyone. As such, by virtue of being a telecommunications company, I would say that almost all of Wateen’s activities – commercial or otherwise – incorporate elements of public service.
In my opinion, the value of CSR activities should be gauged by the impact on people’s lives rather than the monetary value or potential news or PR mileage. CSR should not be taken simply as a corporate measure, but instead as a step towards serving humanity, and each one of us must play our part in order to make this country prosper. I personally believe that it is absolutely essential for all of us – not only as corporate entities, but as individuals as well – to contribute to making this society better in whatever way we can. This is a mindset that we at Wateen try our best to emulate in everything we do. During our recent commercial campaign ‘Go Green with Wateen’, we encouraged people to move towards living greener lifestyles, educating them on how to save energy and water, and properly dispose of waste. We saw this as a public service whereby we helped educate the public on how we can improve our society. Another recent marketing promotion was Mobile Internet cafés in underserved areas where Wateen’s brand ambassadors promoted internet literacy which was highly appreciated by the people of those areas.
As a responsible corporate entity, Wateen is committed to giving back to the community. This Ramadan, we joined hands with the Shaukat Khanum Cancer Memorial Hospital and Research Centre, providing them a platform through which they could collect Zakat donations via Wateen. Nationwide activity is being carried out through all our sales and service centres, where customers can donate through coin‐boxes placed there.
Q: Please share your next plan/s or vision?
A: My vision for Wateen is simple: to be the most customer‐centric organisation not only in Pakistan but the entire region. When I joined Wateen, I realised that many of our customers were not happy with our services, and that there was much negativity regarding the company, especially on online social networks. My mission has been to transform the organisation into being completely customer‐focused, in turn making it into a viable, profitable business entity.
As I mentioned earlier, I believe Wateen Telecom has the potential to truly bring about positive change and enable social and economic development in Pakistan. We need to at least meet people’s expectations and educate them on how people can benefit from the internet. We would also request the people who are technology evangelists, to also join in this and help us develop this infant broadband industry. When I was offered the chance to lead Wateen, I jumped at the opportunity given the infinite possibilities and company’s potential to transform the socio‐economic fabric of Pakistan.
Wateen Telecom possesses Pakistan’s largest fibre optic network, the company is the pioneer of WiMAX broadband services in the country and has the largest network in Pakistan; we possess the third largest LDI (Long Distance and International) network in the country, and are currently on our way to becoming the largest cable tv network in the country as well. The mere fact of this incredibly large infrastructure – put in place in less than five years of operation – is a massive achievement itself and demonstrates the company shareholders’ commitment to Pakistan. I am here to ensure that this commitment translates into profitable results by making Wateen the most customer‐centric organisation in the region.
Within Pakistan, Wateen has the potential to be a real game‐changer by creating new opportunities and possibilities for the people of Pakistan to not only to connect and communicate, but also gain access to information, education and entertainment. We are actively working with the USF (United Services Fund) to spread fibre optic connectivity to underserved areas of the country, thus helping bridge the ruralurban divide.
Our Enterprise Solutions team comprises of the most professional and skilled personnel in Pakistan, with over a 100 Cisco certified professionals. These teams are actively engaged in servicing our clients’ needs. On a regional level, Wateen Telecom is actively expanding its fibre optic network in Pakistan and moving towards connecting with our neighbours. Wateen’s fibre optic network extends from Karachi to Torkham in the north, offering the potential to connect to Afghanistan through fibre; currently, we are servicing a telecom operator in Afghanistan via VSAT, which is a very expensive medium. We are also expanding our network in Baluchistan which will enable us to connect directly to Iran and Afghanistan through another route. This will connect Pakistan to Central Asia and onwards to Europe directly and eliminate our dependence on the under‐sea submarine cables.
I feel that Wateen’s potential is still untapped; my role is to enable it. I know that we can make the change happen, not only for Wateen but for Pakistan as well. This is a great platform for us and we will ensure that we take charge of every opportunity and overcome any obstacle to make this happen.
Q: Describe your organisational culture?
A: Wateen has an extremely dynamic organisational culture. The company comprises of mostly younger people, who are driven to make a difference in people’s lives. Everyone is focused on delivering extraordinary results based on specific action plans. The environment is energetic, fun and full of creativity.
Q: How many employees do you have in Wateen?
A: We have close to 2,000 employees associated with Wateen.
Q: What is the average age of your workforce?
A: The average age for our workforce is 36 years.
Q: What job vacancies do you find difficult to fill?
A: We are in the technology business therefore there are sometimes vacancies that require highly skilled people with special skills; these vacancies always pose a challenge.
Q: Describe your ideal employee?
A: An ideal employee is one who clearly demonstrates our values of ownership, responsiveness, innovation, customer‐centric and team oriented.
Q: What is your preferred method of finding new employees?
A: As a policy we announce all vacancies internally before we look outside for candidates. Our most successful mode has been employee referrals, however depending on the position we use different methods.
Q: How many years has your oldest employee served?
A: The company has been in business for the last seven years; some of our employees have been here since the beginning.
Q: What academic qualification do you look for in your middle managers?
A: A Master’s degree in the relevant field is preferred for all middle managers.
Q: How many years on average do employees work in your company?
A: That actually depends on the level of employee; however, generally speaking, people either leave in the first year, or if they can sustain the high pressure they are here for an average of 4‐5 years.
Q: What time do you start and finish business?
A: Although our work never stops, business hours are usually from 9am to 6pm. However, most of the employees in this organisation are so committed to delivering their objectives they do not really worry about business hours given the nature of our business. Business critical employees work in shifts to ensure that our customers get consistent and uninterrupted quality of service and no call goes unanswered on Wateen’s helpline.
Q: Do you have a five‐day or a six‐day week?
A: We work on a 5‐day week; however some of the teams do work on 6‐day weeks, for example parts of commercial and customer care.
Q: How many women do you employee?
A: 58. While this number is low, we intend to increase the diversity in the company by hiring more women.
Q: How is your office accessible to people with disabilities?
A: At Wateen Telecom, we always care for people and pay special attention to people with disabilities. Our office has a wheelchair and crutches available for people who are unable to walk and need special attention. All they need to do is inform someone before or ask the elevator operator to inform the guard at reception of their need.
