Omantel, the leading integrated telecom service provider in the Sultanate recently captured the Asia’s Best Employer Brand Award 2012, which was presented at a special gala dedicated for the distribution for the best Asian companies in human resources.

The Award is granted to companies and organisations that meet stringent requirements in terms of human resources. The criteria including the endeavours made by the company to develop its human resources, staff engagement, the efforts made to develop the skills and expertise of the staff as well as the novel initiatives to develop the human resources units.
Commenting on the achievement, Dr Ghalib bin Saif al Hosni, VP for Human Resources, who received the award on behalf of the company, said: “We are very excited to have been selected as Asia’s best brand in human resources in Asia. Selecting Omantel for the award despite the tough competition from major Asian and international companies is a source of our pride and comes as culmination for the concerted and sincere efforts made by the company as well as the plans that have been developed to ensure the implementation of the best human resources practices within the company”.
“Winning this award also comes as a result of the clear-cut human resources strategy at Omantel starting from HR planning to the employee retention programme. This achievement is also attributed to the many initiatives made by the company to create employee-friendly work environment, enhance the loyalty of the employees by providing them with high quality specialised training together with benefit schemes that meet their expectations. The company also spared no efforts to recruit new graduates and to introduce an environment more open to change and always seeking excellence”, he added.
Over the last period, the Human Resources Unit at Omantel has made a number of pioneering HR initiatives by providing a number of added values to employees such as establishing the Staff Solidarity Fund, Privilege Card, health insurance and establishing an HR Care Centre; the first initiative of its kind that aims at enhancing communication between the staff and the HR Unit to simplify HR procedures, save time and effort and improve communication between the staff in various units of the company and the HR employees.
In order to further meet the needs of the employees, and to facilitate communications, the company shifted to its new building in 2010 which was designed to provide employees with an ideal work environment. The building contains restaurants, bank branches, a clinic, a nursery for toddlers, a travel agency, insurance outlets, a car rental counter as well as gymnasiums. In addition, training has played an important role in the plans of the HR Unit. The in-house training Institute plays a pivotal role in providing employees with different specialised courses. It also provides training courses and programmes for other companies as well. The ‘Omantel Training Institute’ serves as the first training institute in the Sultanate in this field.
In the recent past, Omantel CEO, Dr Amer bin Awadh al Rawas captured the HR Focused CEO Award on the pan Gulf level at the 4th edition of the Gulf HR Excellence Award. The HR Excellence award recognises the achievements of individuals and establishments that have made remarkable contributions to human resources development in the region.