Airtel Lanka’s continuous investments in training and skills development led to two of their best sales team members winning Gold and Bronze Awards at the recently concluded SLIM NASCO Awards 2019. Airtel Lanka, Senior Territory Executive, Bishrul Suhaib was presented with the Gold Award for Sales Executive/ Supervisor in Telecommunication under the “Best of the Best” category while Airtel Lanka, Territory Manager, Ishan Malwattage was declared the Bronze Award winner in the Territory Manager in Telecommunication category.

Reinforcing the telco’s position as a preferred employer of choice, Airtel Lanka extends to all its employees career development opportunities such as the Field Sales Executive (FSE) Development program which played a key role in the success of the recently recognised sales team members.

“Airtel Lanka’s people strategy is focused on enhancing and empowering each employee through investments in training and skills development  complemented with a culture that values and rewards commitment and creativity. The awards which Bishrul Suhaib and Ishan Malwattage  won at this year’s SLIM NASCO provide proof that that our approach truly brings out the best in our people, and we warmly congratulate both of them on their superb achievements,” Airtel Lanka CEO/MD, Jinesh Hegde stated.

Demonstrating their ability to the SLIM NASCO interview panel, both Suhaib and Malwattage presented on the innovative and user-friendly sales tactics that they applied to achieve sales targets. From a managerial perspective, Suhaib also demonstrated on the measures taken to empower his team and thereby his contribution to sustain the telco’s reputation as a sought after employer of choice. The team was further assessed on their performance over the selected assessment period, their potential or likelihood to move up in the sales hierarchy and the strategic value that they bring into the business while accomplishing their key performance indicators.

Notably, both of Airtel’s winning employees were recruited through its distributor network as part of its growing team of Field Sales Executive’s. These employees have been pivotal in the continuing success and rapid growth of the company.

The FSE Development programme also encompasses life and work skills education initiatives focusing on enhancing foundational skills, technical training and support to help them advance in their careers. Initially, every FSE goes through an orientation/induction training at the time of joining Airtel and they are exposed to quarterly training at regional levels which create an opportunity to upskill and expand their vocational capabilities.

Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) is the National body for Marketing in Sri Lanka and has been promoting marketing excellence and elevating the status of marketing since 1970. In 2010, SLIM went one step further and introduced the inaugural NASCO awards program which became the premier event for sales fraternity to recognize sales personnel among a range of industries.

Photo caption: (From left) Members of the Airtel Sales team, Tertiary Manager Ishan Malwattage (left) & Senior Tertiary Executive Bishrul Suhaib with their wins at the SLIM NASCO awards ceremony; Recipient of the Gold Award in the Sales Executive/ Supervisor for Telecommunication under the “Best of the Best” category, Senior Territory Executive Bishrul Suhaib and Recipient of the Bronze Award for Territory Manager in the Telecommunication category, Territory Manager Ishan Malwattage