Success does not happen overnight. It takes good leaders for a company to reach the top.
And yet good leaders are made. They’re not born. Instead, they develop through a never-ending process of learning, experience and training.
US-based TeleTech, the country’s fastest growing business process outsourcing company in the country knows this fact by heart and has taken it seriously.
Last March 2 and 3, 2008, the company concluded another successful leadership summit for its senior officers.
The idea behind it is simple, according to Maulik Parekh, general and senior vice president for Asia for TeleTech.
Parekh said TeleTech believes in fostering an environment in which all employees can reach their highest potential and in effect, allow the company to continually grow.
Held in Tagaytay City, the summit brought together 80 leaders or senior officers from TeleTech’s 12 sites all over the Philippines.
The summit is one of the company’s ways of preparing for bigger challenges that lies ahead.
The country’s largest BPO company believes that good leaders are important for it to maintain its spot in the industry.
“The only way we can do that is to have leaders that will take on the tasks of heading, for example, the next site that we put up,” Parekh said.
According to Parekh, TeleTech, which has over 15,000 employees at present, expects to have 25,000 employees by the end of 2009.
It is thus important to ensure that the company would be able to keep a team of leaders that will carry on the task of running the company effectively and bring it to the next higher level.
As such, the summit, the first for the year, focused on two new themes: Operational Excellence and Controlling the Company’s Destiny.
The first theme takes off from TeleTech’s vision of maintaining a good culture and good working environment within the company.
“We have the highest referrals,” Parekh noted.
Employees refer TeleTech to their friends, relatives and peers. This, Parekh said, speaks of the kind of working environment the company has.
He said that when there is positive energy, people perform better.
“It is positive energy you can channel and it is what drives operational excellence,” he said.
The summit also taught its participants the idea of controlling the company’s destiny and effectively, their own personal destinies.
There were various teambuilding activities held during summit.
These include presentations on boosting profitability and operational excellence of the company. The aim was to heighten TeleTech leaders’ awareness of the organization’s focus for the year, which is Operational Excellence.
There was also a “destiny challenge” which was aimed at enabling leaders to strengthen camaraderie and renew team spirit.
At the same time, it also prepared the mindsets of company leaders for the internal and external challenges that lie ahead.
There was also a “videoke challenge” which provided a venue for leaders to unwind, enjoy each other’s company while showcasing their singing talents.
After two days of various teambuilding activities and lectures, the participants went back to their respective TeleTech sites recharged, excited and more driven than they were.
Parekh said it was a great bonding experience for all 80 senior officers.
“Some people met each other for the first time. They were able to put a name on the face,” he said.
Senior managers also learned more of the global challenges which lie ahead.
These include the economic slowdown in the United States.
Indeed, challenges in the global and local environment are getting tougher. TeleTech, however, is keeping itself constantly prepared.
The recently concluded leadership summit is one example that the company certainly is not resting on its laurels.