Published on July 09, 2020
The ongoing pandemic posed difficult challenges to most businesses. However, many companies have taken this challenge and turned it into an opportunity. Tata Sky is one such company. The Tata company, in partnership with Tata Business Excellence Group, shared details through a webinar on how the company has revelled in the challenging situation to create strategic and operational opportunities. Mukut Deepak, Chief - Business Development, and Hemant Bhatkhande, Vice President - Business Excellence from the company made the presentation to more than 250 Tata employees who participated.
With a 30% share of the DTH (direct to home) pie, Tata Sky is one of the largest pay-TV service providers in India. With high stakes, it seemed to have the most to lose when Covid-19 and the lockdown struck in late March. However, a work culture that supported remote functioning, a keen desire to improve, and implementation of learnings from the lockdown have resulted in retaining and in some places, even improving the efficiency levels.
A culture of openness
The session threw light on the fact that Tata Sky follows a non-hierarchical and flat structure, which is exemplified by its ‘open office’ infrastructure at key locations. This accentuates a culture of openness and interaction, which was epitomised by the MD & CEO, Harit Nagpal. Mr Nagpal regularly interacts with customers and employees at all levels and is distinctly visible across the organisation. Such a culture complimented the tools for collaboration, resulting in a productive work from home (WFH) scenario mandated by the lockdown.
Accepting and adopting WFH
According to Mr Deepak and Mr Bhatkhande, when lockdown was enforced, the management team quickly segregated the workforce based on dependency on physical infrastructure. The customer contact centre, which was widely considered to be a premise-dependent function, was put on remote functioning mode. Initially, the team struggled, but eventually, they were able to handle 90-95 percent of the customer call traffic. Many such operational interventions have resulted in the company showing a higher subscriber base and revenues than in the pre-lockdown period.
The ‘new normal’ in the near future
The successful transition to a WFH scenario has transformed the workforce’s mind-set, who now believes that it is possible to reach optimal customer satisfaction and operational efficiency without being in a shared physical setting. In addition, the possibility of reducing the company’s real estate footprint may lead to potential cost-savings. The company is also exploring various innovations in its service offerings, including a DIY installation video for customers to install Fire TV Stick’s Tata Sky Edition, voice and chat bots for queries, and many more.
While Covid-19 has become a roadblock for many organisations, Tata Sky is using it as a springboard to create a world with happier employees and customers.