After an unprecedented strike that lasted two months at MTN South Africa, Mteto Nyati, the newly appointed chief executive, went on a charm offensive.
He ended the strike, that had turned violent, with an agreement to adjust bonuses and offer casual workers better prospects in the company.
But that was not all.
More importantly, he went on to give the workers who had been locked out of the head office on 14th Avenue in Fairlands, Johannesburg, what might be called some corporate love.
"I went to address them. I welcomed them back and told them we have missed them. They responded positively. They felt they are seen as human beings."
Workers had demanded a bonus of 12% and a 10% salary increase.
They will receive a 12% bonus payment and some of the casual workers will get permanent jobs.
It is his "we missed you" that sounds strange in the South African corporate setup, where battle lines between management and workers are always clearly drawn.
Yet with this warm gesture, Nyati, in essence, was expressing his business philosophy.
He might not have studied psychology, but his approach to worker concerns won him the hearts of striking workers.
He holds a BSc in mechanical engineering from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and an MBA from Wits University.
"They saw there is no grudge from the company," Nyati says from the company's head office on 14th Avenue in Fairland. Walking into his office one would expect hitech decor but it's plain, with SA art he has collected, including a portrait of Madiba.
"I needed to be honest with them in my address and tell them they contributed to some of the problems we have as a business."
But MTN's internal systems were partly to blame.
"Our workers approached a third party to resolve their problem. It means the internal structures have failed and now we need to build our internal structures."
Now Nyati wants to extend his charm offensive strategy to customers.
He has gone through the complaints from several consumers, which include the quality of the network, double billing and poor customer service.
He admits that customers do experience poor quality of network and at times calls drop while a customer is on the line.
"I feel most of telecoms companies are experiencing the same problem over quality of network. I say we are going to be different. We cannot afford to have calls dropping when customers are on the line."
He might have hit the ground running, but he says he had to think about it carefully before he accepted the offer.
"I asked myself if I can do what I am being asked to do," reflects Nyati.
"Looking at the challenges, maybe 90 to 95 percent of them are things we have control over."
He admits the systems that MTN is using at its customer service centres are not user-friendly.
"We are going to work with our IT department to improve the systems to work faster so that we have happy customers."
Customer service workers need some training as part of his plan to "up our game".
But at the other end of the line are customers. They too have to be educated about things such as the difference between data bundles and airtime, as well as other products.
He has looked at reasons for customer complaints about problems such as double billing.
In most cases, he says, customers run out of data bundles and continue to use their applications, ending up with a huge bill.
"We have over 200 products for the customers to choose from [and] that can confuse. We need to cut them down and simplify them for customers."
Some packages will be cut but he won't divulge details.
"Why is it [that data bundles are] expiring? We have to come up with a product that will ensure it does not expire."
He also plans to expand the company through acquisitions that are on the cards.
Nyati says he has a big job ahead of him.
He believes he will cope and still live a balanced life. Through his engineering studies, he has learned to be logical and structured.
He says he is so disciplined that he never stays in the office beyond 6pm because he goes home to have dinner with his family.
His weekends are off limits.
"As a leader, you allocate resources, surround yourself with people who are smart. One cannot be an expert in everything.
"In an area that I have little knowledge of I learn and listen."
He plans to have round-table discussions with employees every now and then about what needs to be fixed in the business.
"If you don't engage people, they will tell you what they think you need to know. I want to be informed and not conned."
That sounds like ring tone music to those on the MTN line.
How new MTN boss charmed workers
After an unprecedented strike that lasted two months at MTN South Africa, Mteto Nyati, the newly appointed chief executive, went on a charm offensive.
He ended the strike, that had turned violent, with an agreement to adjust bonuses and offer casual workers better prospects in the company.
But that was not all.
More importantly, he went on to give the workers who had been locked out of the head office on 14th Avenue in Fairlands, Johannesburg, what might be called some corporate love.
"I went to address them. I welcomed them back and told them we have missed them. They responded positively. They felt they are seen as human beings."
Workers had demanded a bonus of 12% and a 10% salary increase.
They will receive a 12% bonus payment and some of the casual workers will get permanent jobs.
It is his "we missed you" that sounds strange in the South African corporate setup, where battle lines between management and workers are always clearly drawn.
Yet with this warm gesture, Nyati, in essence, was expressing his business philosophy.
He might not have studied psychology, but his approach to worker concerns won him the hearts of striking workers.
He holds a BSc in mechanical engineering from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and an MBA from Wits University.
"They saw there is no grudge from the company," Nyati says from the company's head office on 14th Avenue in Fairland. Walking into his office one would expect hitech decor but it's plain, with SA art he has collected, including a portrait of Madiba.
"I needed to be honest with them in my address and tell them they contributed to some of the problems we have as a business."
But MTN's internal systems were partly to blame.
"Our workers approached a third party to resolve their problem. It means the internal structures have failed and now we need to build our internal structures."
Now Nyati wants to extend his charm offensive strategy to customers.
He has gone through the complaints from several consumers, which include the quality of the network, double billing and poor customer service.
He admits that customers do experience poor quality of network and at times calls drop while a customer is on the line.
"I feel most of telecoms companies are experiencing the same problem over quality of network. I say we are going to be different. We cannot afford to have calls dropping when customers are on the line."
He might have hit the ground running, but he says he had to think about it carefully before he accepted the offer.
"I asked myself if I can do what I am being asked to do," reflects Nyati.
"Looking at the challenges, maybe 90 to 95 percent of them are things we have control over."
He admits the systems that MTN is using at its customer service centres are not user-friendly.
"We are going to work with our IT department to improve the systems to work faster so that we have happy customers."
Customer service workers need some training as part of his plan to "up our game".
But at the other end of the line are customers. They too have to be educated about things such as the difference between data bundles and airtime, as well as other products.
He has looked at reasons for customer complaints about problems such as double billing.
In most cases, he says, customers run out of data bundles and continue to use their applications, ending up with a huge bill.
"We have over 200 products for the customers to choose from [and] that can confuse. We need to cut them down and simplify them for customers."
Some packages will be cut but he won't divulge details.
"Why is it [that data bundles are] expiring? We have to come up with a product that will ensure it does not expire."
He also plans to expand the company through acquisitions that are on the cards.
Nyati says he has a big job ahead of him.
He believes he will cope and still live a balanced life. Through his engineering studies, he has learned to be logical and structured.
He says he is so disciplined that he never stays in the office beyond 6pm because he goes home to have dinner with his family.
His weekends are off limits.
"As a leader, you allocate resources, surround yourself with people who are smart. One cannot be an expert in everything.
"In an area that I have little knowledge of I learn and listen."
He plans to have round-table discussions with employees every now and then about what needs to be fixed in the business.
"If you don't engage people, they will tell you what they think you need to know. I want to be informed and not conned."
That sounds like ring tone music to those on the MTN line.
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