Embracing Change Unplugged, but still connected by Edward Chung Formed by telecom giants BT and AT&T in 2000, the Concert joint venture reflected the heady days of the high tech boom. When the plug was pulled two years later, AT&T Asia Pacific found itself with 300 new employees Mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures were rife in the recently-ended equity bull market and many cash-rich firms teamed up to boost efficiency and access new markets. This was the case in 2000, when telecom firms AT&T and BT formed a joint venture, Concert, to handle the accounts of about 270 of their largest clients - all told, a US$7 billion business worldwide. Times change and, after the dot com bubble burst, the oversupply situation in the market became clear to both parties, in addition to shifts in how telecom clients wished to be served. After reassessing Concert's market position and its shareholder value, they decided that it should be de-merged. Concert was officially wound up at the end of March 2002. As a result, AT&T in Asia had to absorb two thirds of Concert's 450 Asia Pacific staff into other group operations. Since, in addition to associated physical assets, it took on a larger number of staff than it originally contributed to the joint venture, the de-merger was a major logistical undertaking. "One of the major challenges for us was to assimilate a large group of employees," notes Francis Kwong, director of human resources (HR), AT&T Asia Pacific Group. "Our infrastructure had to be upgraded and business model retuned to capitalise on the talents, assets and customers acquired from Concert." New network This period kept Mr Kwong and his HR team busy as, at the same time as Concert was set up, AT&T bought a business unit from IBM. "This meant bringing in a batch of people from a company that itself had a very strong culture," he recalls, adding that, between 2000 and the end of 2002, AT&T's regional operations swelled from 400 to about 1,500 employees. "So, in a short time-span, we were bringing in a mixture of new recruits from IBM, former BT and AT&T staff from Concert, plus regular new recruits." Blending employees into a cohesive unit meant discarding excess corporate baggage and focusing on core values to bond the teams. "At AT&T, we are committed to a set of values - Our Common Bond (respect for individuals, dedicated to helping customers, highest standard of integrity, innovation and teamwork) to guide our decisions and behaviour," says Mr Kwong. "By living these values, AT&T aspires to set a standard of excellence worldwide that will reward our shareholders, our customers and all AT&T people. The acquisition of a business unit from IBM and the dissolution of Concert strengthened AT&T's capability and competitive position." Although HR formulated the transition strategy, managers' involvement in making "people decisions" was important for building trust and confidence. Employee communications before, during and after the transition were equally essential. "If you need to stimulate people to accept changes, you must ask yourself 'what is my value proposition?'. We need to make sure stakeholders can see and appreciate the good strategic intentions that drive the change and be credible in delivering our commitments." "If you need to stimulate people to accept changes, you must ask yourself 'what is my value proposition?'. We need to make sure the stakeholders can see and appreciate the good strategic intentions that drive the change and be credible in delivering our commitments" Despite the shake-up, Mr Kwong notes that morale was unaffected. Turnover rate was low and employees' attitude to AT&T, reflected in an employee survey conducted by Hewitt magazine in Hong Kong, was quite positive. "We experienced a positive change in attitudes in the face of considerable transformation," he says. "AT&T is a significant telecom player in the region and supports some of the world's leading businesses. It is a growing and profitable business, which continuously creates opportunities for employees. That's a positive message to send to employees." Mr Kwong points out that AT&T also made a concerted effort to keep newcomers on a comparable package, structural differences notwithstanding. "The employees we brought in were on very different pay and benefit schemes. We aimed to offer everyone an AT&T package with comparable terms. We conducted briefing sessions ... before presenting offers to individual employees. Of some 300 offers made, only a few staff decided to look elsewhere." Dialled in HR also had to examine the structure of the organisation joining AT&T and new employees' skill competencies to ensure that they were properly mapped and integrated into AT&T. "Managers and HR from the 'sending' and 'receiving' organisations work together to ensure joining employees are properly assigned to the appropriate AT&T organisation hierarchy, skill/competency and grade structure." "Most new staff continued to do the same type of work they [did] before joining AT&T and the majority reported to the same supervisor," he adds. "We gave everyone an introduction to the company, which at the time was undergoing significant changes. Most importantly, our job was to ensure everyone felt at home and saw bright prospects ahead. This was really a three-way effort from AT&T, Concert and the employees' groups." Then and Now Before Multiple go-to-market constraints under the joint venture agreement Two separate organisations offering partial network solutions to customers A new venture, requiring a support infrastructure to be built as well as systems development and implementation Opportunities limited to business units inside the Concert venture After Most constraints removed after the dissolution of the venture One integrated organisation capable of offering total network solutions to customers AT&T's well-established infrastructure in Asia Pacific supported by proven business processes Expanded opportunities in the larger AT&T organisation Taken from Career Times 27 June 2003 Your comments are welcome at [email protected]