World Monitor Magazine Spring Issue Spring 2021 | Page 54

СЕО TALKS

CEO Beeline about telco industry in 2020

Yevgeniy Nastradin , CEO Beeline Kazakhstan
Invited as a guest to EUROBAK , please let us welcome Beeline Kazakhstan ’ s CEO , Yevgeny Nastradin . He discussed how the telco industry has gone through a difficult year in 2020 , how nearly 4,000 employees of the company needed to return to the ‘ work from home ’ mode , what solutions were the most difficult , and why the company continued to work on new projects for business during lockdown .
Yevgeny , how has telecom gotten through this year with the ‘ work from home ’ mode ?
Something unexpected happened , at one point , some of the infrastructure that operators had been building for 20 years in city centres and crowded areas was left unloaded . And by contrast , high-speed Internet was needed on the outskirts of cities , because instead of going to offices , subscribers stayed at home , in the micro districts . And not just stayed but were studying and working there .
It was impossible to predict this development . We had to strengthen the network on the outskirts of cities and other regions in a very short time . We bought additional equipment , transported equipment from one sector to another , and all this work our employees carried out without breaks and weekends , despite closed roads , roadblocks and logistical difficulties . There were many issues to be addressed simultaneously : ensuring the safety of the team and the smooth operation of services , supporting partners , clients and contributing to the communities .
Has all the staff been prepared for this development , and how have you managed to cope quickly and painlessly with all the difficulties of returning the staff to the ‘ work from home ’ mode ?
As for the company , the transition has been relatively easy . Several years ago before the moment of the general mode of ‘ work from home ’, we ’ ve developed BeeFlex program , according to which employees could work remotely with the agreement of his / her manager . So , all the IT systems and remote access were ready .
As a result , 97 per cent of staff successfully have returned to the ‘ work from home ’ mode a year ago . Moreover , we have determined that for the whole year 2021 we will continue to work remotely on the principle of ‘ work from anywhere ’.
What have been the most difficult issues to be addressed : partner relationships , employee security and the development of a business continuity service , or the building of a new customer service scheme ? And , we know that despite the current situation , you have managed to support several social projects as well ?
Everything has been equally complicated . The pandemic and the lockdown that followed forced us to set major priorities . We have chosen five directions :
• Internal Processes - We have established an internal CR Committee , have returned all the staff to ‘ work from home ’ mode , including a call centre , and accelerating the implementation of an electronic workflow .
• Customers - Our engineers spent nights in the fields so that the network could withstand increased pressure .
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