BT 1998 Annual Report Download - page 12

U S I N E S S R E V I E W
had previously given up BT service to reconnect for just
£9.99. This campaign includes mailings, telemarketing, a
new field marketing operation and television advertising.
Finally, nearly 300,000 BT customers opted for a second
line during the year, encouraged by marketing special
offers promoting half-price installation and other
incentives.
Regional dimension
The regional dimension of UK business is becoming
increasingly important and BT is working in close
partnership with customers in all regions to aid social
and economic development.
Examples include some of the more remote parts of the
Scottish Highlands and Islands. Since distance is no
obstacle, and location is no longer a constraint, the vast
majority of 999 calls on the UK mobile network are
handled in Inverness, bringing much needed local
employment.
And, in Thurso, BT has recently opened a state-of-the-art
call centre which is helping us to build those all-important
relationships with our customers, and enabling us to treat
them in a more responsive and customer-friendly manner.
In February 1998, the Secretary of State for Northern
Ireland opened BT’s new £9 million call centre in south
west Belfast, a project on which we worked with the
Northern Ireland Industrial Development Board.
And, in April 1998, BT announced the creation of 800
new jobs over the next 12 months in a new £6 million
call centre in Dundee.
As well as using call centres to contact our customers
on a regular basis to tell them about BT’s products
and services, we are increasingly using them to run
telemarketing operations on behalf of other companies.
In fact, BT now runs more than 100 call centres in the UK.
BT people
At BT, we understand the link between being our
customers’ “supplier of choice” and our people’s
“employer of choice”. That is why we have such a deep
commitment to our people and why we are backing it
up by seeking accreditation as an Investors in People
company.
By the end of March 1998, around 124,700 people were
employed by BT, compared with 227,000 seven years ago.
However, during the year, there were increases in certain
parts of the business as we have been building on people-
intensive activities such as telemarketing and delivering
our commitment to world-class quality of service.
We recruited over 500 high-calibre graduates and 500
modern apprentices in the year. BT is a key supporter of
the UK Government’s New Deal welfare-to-work initiative
and plans to help 250 unemployed people get back to
work during 1998. We encourage our people to gain
appropriate National Vocational Qualifications.
Through our leading-edge policies and programmes, we
seek to promote real equality of opportunity throughout
the company and actively encourage the employment,
training and career development of people with
disabilities. We also try to continue to employ any of
our people who develop a disability in the course of
their career.
In March 1998, BT won top prize in the Opportunity 2000
Awards scheme. These awards recognise UK employers
who demonstrate innovative working practices to further
women’s development at work.
At the 1997 UK Quality Awards, both BT Business
Division and BT Northern Ireland were recognised for
achievements that led to success for themselves and
their customers.
BT is the largest company ever to have won a Euro p e a n
Quality Aw a rds prize, and we did so in both 1996 and 1997.
We also run a comprehensive in-house Quality Award
scheme. This year’s winners included the team which won
the bid for the supply and management of an advanced
services network for Halifax plc, and the team responsible
for a nationwide updating of payphones and phonecard
technology.
We conduct a wide-ranging programme of employee
opinion research, including an annual company-wide
survey. Managers are required to put in place an action
plan to address the issues raised by their teams.
The allocation of shares to employees under the BT
Employee Share Ownership Scheme amounts to
two per cent of annual pre-tax profits.
BT continues to consult and negotiate with recognised
unions in the UK as an integral part of our employee
relations strategy. We have also set up a European
Consultative Council which provides the opportunity