Bangladesh Institute of Management (BIM) will be providing training support to the leading mobile phone operator Robi. BIM and Robi have recently signed an agreement in this regard at the prestigious training institute’s premise.
Robi’s Chief Corporate and People Officer (CCPO), Matiul Islam Nowshad and BIM’s Senior Management Counselor, Mahbub ul Alam signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations.
Joint Secretary and Director (Administration), Mohd. Shahadat Hossain Mahmud, PhD and Director (Training), Dr. Parveen Ahmed from BIM were present on the occasion. Also present on the occasion were Robi’s Vice President, Resourcing, Sharmin Sultan; Vice President, HR 
Business Partnering, Md. Faisal Imtiaz Khan and Vice President, Communications and Corporate Responsibility, Ekram Kabir.
This is a six months long programme, titled as “First Line Manager” certification program, which is specially designed to train the company’s mid-level management who has people reporting to them. In total, 250 Robi officials are going to be trained over the next two to three years. This training programme is being rolled out in Robi as part of the mobile phone operator’s Malaysia based parent company, Axiata Group Berhad’s talent management project.
The First Line Manager training programme combines virtual as well as class room based learning. Prior to embarking on this training, each of the participating employees will be assessed through a 360 degree leadership assessment. The same assessment will be conducted at the end programme to see the progress made by the employees. Besides, the training programme will also provide opportunities to the employees to get involved in real life project where they can hone their management skills as introduced in the training programme.
The main focus of the training will be to prepare a mid-level management in Robi who are equipped to deal with the volatile, uncertain, complex & ambiguous world. Giving special focus on the behavioural aspects of management the Robi officials will be given in-depth knowledge on the type of situational leadership that the present business environment demands.
Also, the training will give emphasis on how to appreciate cultural differences as well as generational gaps while managing people. It is expected that at the end of the training programme the employees will be mentally ready to deal with the challenges facing the industry in terms of innovation and speed of execution in light of the business dynamics that the company operates in.
About Robi:
Robi Axiata Limited is a joint venture between Axiata Group Berhad, of Malaysia and NTT DoCoMo Inc., of Japan. Robi is one of the leading mobile phone operators in Bangladesh with 27.6 million subscribers, as of April 2016. Robi network provides nationwide coverage to 99% of the population with 13,475 BTS and 4,271 3.5G sites. Robi proudly claims to have widest international roaming service in the market, connecting about 385 operators across more than 140 countries. It is also the first operator to introduce GPRS and 3.5G services in Bangladesh. The Company has introduced many first of its kind digital services in the country and has invested heavily in taking mobile financial services to the underserved communities in the rural and semi-urban areas.
