Makedonski
Telekom AD

Makedonski Telekom is the winner of the Leader for Sustainable Development Goals Award for 2021 on the back of its socially responsible practices. This award was granted for the second time by the Civic Association Konekt in partnership with the UN Global Compact Network in the Republic of North Macedonia.

We create a culture of care and trust, development, and growth for our people
In 2021, we continued our efforts and actions to create a culture of trust and care for our employees under the difficult circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We believed it was extremely important to continue organizing our operations and to protect our employees, their families, our customers, and society as a whole. We have dedicated strenuous efforts to leading and supporting our people as they strive to keep business operations running smoothly, while protecting them at the same time.

Another very important aspect was the company’s strong determination to provide more programs and platforms focused on the personal and professional development of our employees and their growth. This was identified as a key issue in light of the difficult circumstances during the pandemic.

Taking care of our employees
We took all the health and safety measures necessary in the COVID-19 pandemic so as to protect our employees at work. We followed all the relevant protocols and took into account the constraints of working from home and the risks of working in the field. Wherever possible we managed to arrange a quick transfer of our work to digital operation and provided all the necessary protective equipment and advice for front-line people exposed to greater risks in the field. Throughout the pandemic, the team coordinating the situation closely monitored the conditions, and implemented the guidance from health authorities in a timely manner. 

We took actions to promote the vaccination process for our employees by cooperating with relevant state health institutions. This resulted in a high percentage of vaccinated employees. In addition, technical modifications were made to the air-conditioning systems in the office buildings. Owing to the restrictive working conditions during the pandemic, Makedonski Telekom was successfully recertificated for ISO 45001:2018 and ISO 14001:2015 standards. Our efforts in this field have been saluted with the National Prize. In October 2021, we earned second place in the competition for the National Award for the company with the best practices for health and safety at work in 2021 in the category for large companies (more than 250 employees). In 2021, we continued with our “Take care of yourself” campaign, supporting the mental health of our employees during the pandemic. The campaign consists of meditation and mental health support and was run by Deutsche Telekom experts on the LEX platform. 

Leadership development
The Leadership Academy is a one-year program launched at the beginning of 2021 following on from the Development Assessment process in 2020. The aim of the Leadership Academy is to promote the professional and personal development of managers. The creation of the individual learning journeys is based on the identified skills assessed in the three logical development areas: Leading people, Getting things done, and Skills and abilities. The program has three further segments. The first segment is the individual learning journey, a seven-step process, starting from October 2021. The Percipio, Coursera, and HR Suite platforms will be used to deliver the training. The second segment relates to active participation in Deutsche Telekom programs (Level Up and LevelUpNextGen program). The third segment is the development of a learning process within groups and knowledge sharing. 

Promotion of continuous development process for employees
During 2021, we again promoted opportunities for a continuous development process. We offered employee learning journey programs on the basics of data analytics, digital marketing, software development, user experience, and artificial intelligence. 

The Career Shifter program started at the end of November. Five employees passed the selection process. They will change their career and start to work as junior developers in the IT department, after completing a 14-week training program for software development. Seven other employees were accepted for the Talent Hub program where they will work with their talent broker to plan their development process to take them to their target position.

Development of employees
Custom-tailored training sessions were another important milestone on our Human Resources agenda. In 2021, more than 60 employees of Makedonski Telekom had an opportunity to participate in various Microsoft training courses like Microsoft Azure Administrator, Designing and Implementing Microsoft DevOps solutions, Microsoft Azure Security Technologies, and Analyzing Data with Microsoft Power BI. 

In 2021, employees from the consumer training center who were part of the ten-month certified train-the-trainer program completed the process. The peer trainers in this project delivered training sessions to our sales agents from the shops. They are creating training programs intended to improve the sales performance and improve employee engagement and job satisfaction.

Engaging employees and promoting an agile way of working
A humane and fair digital society is the objective for a future in which everyone is integrated and enjoys the benefits of advanced technologies. However, a future like this is being created here and now, and all of us need to work together to make it a reality. Our employees therefore need to be proactive in taking part in the creation of a better digital world where inclusion is provided for all groups of people and where there is no room for creating a further divide.  

The first cycle of the My Idea initiative in 2019 supported employees’ environmental and socially responsible projects. We were motivated by its success and we decided to open the second cycle. This time round our strategic goal is to make a positive impact on society. 

The company therefore issued an invitation to all employees with an idea they firmly believe will make a qualitative difference to creating a humane digital society using technological tools and will at the same time lead to a better environment. They need to respond to this opportunity and submit their ideas if they are thinking about how to bridge the digital divide by using the benefits of digitalization or if they are dreaming of a clean environment and a reduction in the harmful effects of climate change.    

The company fosters a culture of responsibility and encourages its employees to think and act in accordance with the needs of society and take a responsible approach to society and the environment. Our strategy uses My Idea initiatives to give an opportunity to all employees to take power into their own hands and steer the current trends in a better direction to ensure an even more favorable outcome. Some projects from 2019 earned group-wide acknowledgement and verification from customers.

The idea behind My Idea #2
The challenge for employees was: Digital responsibility  and sustainability!
Corporate and digital responsibility forms the platform for successful businesses and is at the core of our company strategy. Our common goal is therefore to make a positive impact in the societies where we operate and this will give us a higher profile in the community. 

What was most relevant for drawing up ideas?
How can we use digital tools to make a greater impact on society by caring for the planet and reducing the digital divide.

• #GoodMagenta is leading the way toward identifying solutions for reduction of the digital divide.
• #GreenMagenta is promoting environmental initiatives and solutions for environmental conservation and digital eco-responsibility.

My Idea #2 was implemented in several phases throughout 2021. The company has chosen to support the best ideas submitted making a good fit with strategic goals.

Our datacenters are large consumers of electricity. The initiative for our dedicated solar system came from the team working on the idea of more efficient energy management in the company’s buildings and making a contribution to a healthier environment within the strategic project “My Idea” in 2019.

Thanks to this team of employees, the company installed its own system for energy production from solar radiation on the largest datacenter in Skopje. This system will reduce the harmful emission of CO₂ in the air by almost 50 thousand kg every year. When this amount of electricity is generated in a thermal power plant, it takes about 2 000 trees to absorb the harmful CO₂ emissions from the air!

In the future, the production datacenters in the country will be powered by renewable energy sources. This means Makedonski Telekom will exert a positive impact on reducing the emission of harmful gases and on creating a green environment in urban areas.

Makedonski Telekom has used this initiative to follow up on the overarching goal of the Deutsche Telekom Group to achieve a 90 percent reduction in harmful CO₂ emissions by 2030. Investing in this kind of project is an investment in the whole community.

Involvement of employees in socially responsible projects
Technology for good is the business maxim that guides our work. In fact, it represents a specific company idea for putting technology at the service of society. This is achieved by encouraging our employees to think and actively work on the implementation of projects with a practical “face” – projects that contribute to simpler and smarter digital living.

The company project “My Idea” was exactly that – a tailwind for proposing and explaining their thoughts on key parameters for the company to achieve its strategic goals. The company backed the best proposals, supported them and enabled their full implementation. The involvement of our employees in such socially responsible projects is a genuine company strength.

The Skopje ZOO application emerged as an idea from “My Idea.” The team working on the Skopje ZOO App created a real digital adventure through Skopje ZOO. This was a concrete result conceived and realized with personal commitment by the employees and it gave them first-hand experience of involvement in socially responsible projects. 

The Skopje Zoo App  gives visitors to Skopje Zoo an application that allows them to buy tickets online for the first time. It provides digital orientation and educates children about the diverse wild animals living there. Alongside the educational aspect, the application also offers a digital map with walking routes so that visitors are able to find their way around the zoo more easily.

In 2021, Skopje ZOO was upgraded with new content about the Dino Park. This promotes interactive and digital education and enjoyment with interesting content about dinosaurs. The Skopje ZOO application will continue to be upgraded with new functionalities so that visitors will be able to access additional entertaining and educational content. 

Digital society for all: project for inclusion of children and young people with disabilities
Overcoming the digital gap forms the basis of the partnership between the Telekom Foundation for Macedonia and UNICEF. And the goal is to find digital solutions for overcoming the barriers faced by children and young people throughout their education and everyday life. A public call invited young people to create an innovative solution as an answer to the question: “How can digital technology contribute toward a more active inclusion of children and young people in education and everyday life?” Successful applicants took part in workshops supported by mentors from our company and the two most promising teams were then selected to participate and represent North Macedonia in the global challenge.

Global award for eBionics
The young eBionics innovators were declared the overall winners of the global Generation Unlimited Youth Challenge. The competition was held in New York with 180 teams taking part from 36 countries all over the world. The innovators’ Venus Arm solution is a 3D-printed bionic arm designed for people with upper limb deficiency and it won in the under-18 category.

Venus Arm – winning solution
The eBionics team – high-school students Orhan Bagashov, Boris Noceski, Anamaria Ilieva, and Teo Kitanovski were motivated by their desire to create an affordable solution to make life easier for people with an upper-limb deficiency. They demonstrated that technology is a powerful tool and showed it can make a real difference. Their solution – Venus Arm 3D printed bionic arm – is 30 times cheaper than the second cheapest bionic arm on the market. This is because the team does not charge for shipping or labor, or pay profits to suppliers. The Venus Arm allows anyone with access to a 3D printer to print the bionic arm themselves within the space of just one hour using the instructions provided on the eBionics website. The team has also given options to purchase the individual parts from third-party sellers so people can assemble the arm themselves.

After the massive fires hit many areas of our country in August 2021 and caused great damage, Makedonski Telekom cooperated with the Red Cross and made a donation to help citizens living in the affected areas.

The technical teams maintained a presence on the ground repairing the damage to the telecommunications equipment caused by the fires. These emergency activities ensured that the network was functional and citizens remained connected.

The fires have caused great material and emotional damage to many of our fellow citizens and we believed that as a socially responsible company we had an obligation to launch an initiative to provide assistance and keep the network strong during difficult times.

Makedonski Telekom supported young volunteers who are helping children with cancer and their parents. These heroes faced cancer during their childhood and overcame the disease. They are now helping children suffering from serious diseases and are in similar positions to their situation a few years ago.

The experiences they bring from when they were fighting serious disease help the volunteers to identify what stage these children are currently at, and what help they and their parents need. Sharing experiences, providing psychological and logistical support through the health system, and simply socializing with the children and their parents are part of their daily contribution. Last year, this organization also opened the Parents' House to provides accommodation for parents whose children are being treated at the Clinic for Pediatric Diseases.

Makedonski Telekom provides support for this humanitarian organization in the form of a donation to help with implementation of the projects and activities.