Learning and Development in Red Telecom: A Diversity and Inclusion Initiative

This report discusses the initiatives taken by Red Telecom to address diversity and inclusion issues in the workplace. The report outlines a learning and development program aimed at improving communication, performance evaluation, and inclusivity. The program is expected to achieve its objectives by 2020.

Running head: LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Learning and Development
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Executive Summary
Red Telecom is a such telecommunication firm dealing with problems of diversity and
inclusion pertaining to equal employment opportunities for both women and men, inclusion of
LGBT employees and inclusion of employees with disabilities currently. The diversity issues
found in this organisation are both gender based and cultural background based. This report is
based on the initiatives taken in the form of providing training so that the situation pertaining to
diversity and inclusion are taken care of. In order to address the problems pertaining to the
differences in the work culture that was adversely affecting the team of workers, the initiative of
Red’s Inclusive Strategy 2020 was launched. It is very crucial to mention that the problem is not
limited to the workforce but also the customers. Thus, this plan intends to train the team leaders
in such a way that the issues faced by the employees, team leads as well as the customers is
solved and greater diversity is obtained by the year 2020.

2LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Table of Contents
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................1
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Analysis of current situation............................................................................................................3
Analysis and Observations..............................................................................................................4
Objectives of the learning and development program.....................................................................5
Tentative Plan..................................................................................................................................6
Activities and Expected Results......................................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................10
Appendix........................................................................................................................................12

3LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Introduction
The telecommunication sector is that industry in the corporate sector that deals with
providing services that enable easy transmission of information along with ease of
communication. It includes many different types of service providers linked with different forms
of communication like telephone services, wireless networks as well as internet service providers
(Red Telecom. 2018). With the increase in the total amount of globalisation and expansion
strategies being undertaken by different firms, the mix of labour force is becoming more diverse.
However, in certain cases, this variety is not being respected or maintained in different
organisations. Red Telecom is one such telecommunication firm dealing with this problem
currently (Red Telecom. 2018). The diversity issues found in this organisation are both gender
based and cultural background based. This report is based on the initiatives taken in the form of
providing training so that the situation pertaining to diversity and inclusion are taken care of.
Analysis of current situation
In order to address the problems pertaining to the differences in the work culture that was
adversely affecting the team of workers, the initiative of Red’s Inclusive Strategy 2020 was
launched (Red Telecom. 2018). It is very crucial to mention that the problem is not limited to the
workforce but also the customers. The most common problem identified in this case was the
accessibility issues in the website of the firm faced by disabled customers. The complaint is that
the customers with disability are not properly looked after and treated with a discriminative
attitude. These problems in turn have led to restructuring of the customer service resolution team
which has caused increased contempt among the workers. The reactions from the workers has

4LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
actually been mixed and confusing. Some are genuinely interested and showing enthusiasm
while others are viewing this as a potential threat to their job security. They are basically
overwhelmed with the frequency of changes in the organisation.
Analysis and Observations
On analysis of the existing situation in the organisation, the following points were identified
as the major areas that need to be worked on and improved:
 Resentment on the part of the team members who are having problems in dealing with
the customer issues which are not being dealt with by their respective managers.
 Because of the restructuring, the customer calls were monitored closely and the
frequency of the calls were also increased. The calls were being monitored closely with
the help of screens and the gaps between calls were monitored and the gaps were
reduced. The employees were not being able to cope up with these changes in the system
at such short notice.
 The team members were also concerned about their performances being monitored on
grounds that the lack of their ability to adapt to the changes introduced in the firm will
prevent them from reaching higher positions in the leadership or other positions with
higher compensations.
 Team members who were efficient in their respective roles and performed their roles with
precision were not being praised or giving enough recognition because of the overall poor
performance of the team.

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 The most important concern was in the context of inequalities and unequal treatment of
employees based on genders. The female employees expressed concerns of not being able
to approach their respective team leaders for the problems being faced by them
 Workers and employees also expressed contempt of the team leaders not being able to
maintain and monitor rosters the way they should be maintained. This caused extended
hours of work for the employees without enough time for breaks and refreshment which
was also impacting their performances adversely.
 Concerns were also expressed by team leaders to not be able to manage the employees
with disabilities properly in the sense that they were not being able to understand what
kind of support was to be provided to these employees. Further, the team leaders were
also concerned that hiring increased number of employees with disabilities then
employees without any disability would be trying to find excuses to show that they are
disabled and hence perform as less as the employees actually suffering.
Objectives of the learning and development program
From the above discussion and analysis of the current situation, the following objectives are
to be achieved from this learning and development program:
 The first objective is to provide regular workshops and conferences as well as weekly one
on one meetings between the team leaders and each and every employee of the team.
 Including the equal performance of female and male employees in every team as a
benchmark to productivity measured for the respective team leaders
 Increasing the communication and interaction between the employees in every team and
their managers

6LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
 Automating the performance evaluation procedures so that the employees performing
better than others in every team can be identified, compensated, and recognised
effectively.
 Implementation of smart devices and innovated forms of technology for framing of
timed rosters and monitoring of the breaks and intervals being provided to the employees
in an effective manner
 Forming a particular team that will specifically look upon the needs and criteria of
selection of the employees with disabilities
Tentative Plan
The tentative plan is presented in the Appendix of this report which includes the objectives,
resources required, time of commencement, progress criteria and time till when the different
activities or processes will be continued to be monitored so that different objectives are met by
the year 2020. The major activities to be undertaken in the learning and development plan are as
follows:
 Empathising with the problems of the employees in the team with the team members and
also empathising with the customers at the same time so that the resolutions to the
problems are achieved easier and quicker (Wrench 2016).
 Keeping equal productivities from both genders as a benchmark for team productivity so
that the team members are compelled to provide equal opportunities to both men and
women. It will also take care of the fact that the issues faced by women are solved by the
team leaders without the female employees having to go through any hassle.

7LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
 Learning of the automation process for both purposes of maintaining and monitoring
rosters for better distribution of work as well as the monitoring of performances of
employees who perform better than the rest of the employees in the team so that they are
provided with increased compensation and recognition
 Empathy with and identification of employee with genuine disabilities by a special team
formed as a part of human resource management so that the employees hired with
disabilities are specially looked after and so that other employees are not able to gain the
benefits and advantages that they get. This team shall also be responsible for solving any
of their issues and problems.
Activities and Expected Results
As the objectives are being expected to be met by the year 2020, the activities pertaining to
the tentative plan is going to begin on January 1st overall. Each objective aimed at is discussed
along with the activities, measures of progress and intended results as follows:
 Firstly, the gender representation and available set of opportunities for both genders
should increase in the same proportion (Benschop 2016). In fact, the equal productivities
of both male and female employees is to be included as a benchmark in the performance
criteria of every team leader under the learning and development program. The notion
and concept of diversity and inclusion should be included in the corporate social
responsibilities of the firm (Ashikali and Groeneveld 2015). This new approach is to be
started in the month of January and will be monitored henceforth every week for the
entire year so that by 2020 the aim of increasing women’s representation in senior
leadership roles by 50% is achieved.

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 Secondly, the only procedure to resolve the problems of the contempt of team members
about their adaptability to the changes introduced is to conduct weekly meetings (one on
one) as well as group discussions (workshops) wherein the team employees are provided
trainings based on change management and how their productivities can be improved
(Trittin and Schoeneborn 2017). This is also aimed at resolving the communication gap
pertaining to the performance being affected by the changes and not being able to coping
up with these problems. Some period of time should be additionally provided (a month’s
time) so that the employees get used to the new processes and perform without any
problems. This process shall also start at the beginning of 2019 and shall continue for the
entire year so that all their problems are resolved and even the LGBT participation in the
senior roles is increased by at least 5% by the year 2020.
 Thirdly, smart devices and innovated technology should be used and implemented for
identifying the employees who are better performers than the rest of the team and due
credit and recognition should be provided to them. The managers along with the team
leaders should be able to use the analytical software implemented in the smart devices to
identify the better performers than the rest even in the face of changes, start distributing
responsibilities, and work accordingly.
 Next, is the use of the same smart devices but different analytical software for building as
well as monitoring of proper rosters so that the distribution of work along with the
reaching of the objectives (including performance evaluation) is done on time and
efficiently so that the objectives pertaining to customer resolution can be achieved easily
and as per the changing demand trends of the customers (Ashikali and Groeneveld 2015).

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 Lastly, a special human resource management team will be formed only for the selection
of employees with medically proven disabilities (Sabharwal 2014). The performance
evaluation method for these employees should be completely different from the
performance evaluation of other employees and any employee claiming to have certain
disabilities will have to provide medical proof of the same disabilities to obtain the
performance evaluation process applied in case of employees with disabilities.
The last three activities of the learning and development plan are to be started from the
month of March 2019 as these involve the use and implementation of smart devices and software
for analytical purposes and the installation of these devices will consume some time. Further, the
training provided to the managers and team leaders for using these tools and techniques will also
require time before being implemented completely. The formation and inclusion of the team of
disability management as a part of the human resource management will also require some time
(Mor Barak 2015). Hence, the last three processes will start after three months once the issues
pertaining to customer resolution are solved in between the managers and employees at large for
all the different teams concerned.
Conclusion
In order to conclude it can be put forth that Red Telecom needs to implement this
Learning and Development Plan in order to ensure that there is smooth change management in
the firm along with maintaining balance like situations were before. This plan will help to solve
all queries and issues for both team leaders and employees under them as well as help in
reaching the desired objectives by 2020.

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References
Ashikali, T. and Groeneveld, S., 2015. Diversity management for all? An empirical analysis of
diversity management outcomes across groups. Personnel Review, 44(5), pp.757-780.
Ashikali, T. and Groeneveld, S., 2015. Diversity management in public organizations and its
effect on employees’ affective commitment: The role of transformational leadership and the
inclusiveness of the organizational culture. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 35(2),
pp.146-168.
Benschop, Y., 2016. The dubious power of diversity management. In Diversity in the
Workplace (pp. 35-48). Routledge.

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Mor Barak, M.E., 2015. Inclusion is the key to diversity management, but what is
inclusion?. Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership & Governance, 39(2),
pp.83-88.
Red Telecom. (2018). Support - Red Telecom. [online] Available at:
https://redtelecom.com.au/support/ [Accessed 12 Oct. 2018].
Red Telecom. (2018). Red Telecom | Business Phone Systems, NBN, Printers, CCTV Sydney.
[online] Available at: https://redtelecom.com.au/ [Accessed 12 Oct. 2018].
Red Telecom. (2018). Services - Red Telecom. [online] Available at:
https://redtelecom.com.au/services/ [Accessed 12 Oct. 2018].
Sabharwal, M., 2014. Is diversity management sufficient? Organizational inclusion to further
performance. Public Personnel Management, 43(2), pp.197-217.
Trittin, H. and Schoeneborn, D., 2017. Diversity as polyphony: Reconceptualizing diversity
management from a communication-centered perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 144(2),
pp.305-322.
Wrench, J., 2016. Diversity management and discrimination: Immigrants and ethnic minorities
in the EU. Routledge.

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Appendix
Learning and Development Plan
Implementation Date:
Target Group: Team Leader (Customer Resolution Department)
Learning
Objectiv
es
L&D
Interventio
ns/
Learning
strategy
Needed
Compete
ncies
Location/
Provider
Resourc
es
Commenc
ement
Date
Evidenc
e of
Achieve
ment
Sign off
Date/Pro
gress
Regular
Worksho
ps and
Confere
nces
with
employe
es
Interactive
and
communic
ative
sessions
Empathis
ing with
the
problems
of the
employe
e in the
team
Inside the
premises of
Red
Telecom
Infrastru
cture
like
projector
s and
microph
ones and
conferen
ce room
arrange
ments
January
2019
Feedbac
k of the
employe
es
March
30th
Equal
performa
Creating
equal
Keeping
equal
Training
will be
Infrastru
cture
January Feedbac
k of the
Entire
year of

13LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
nce
objective
s for
male and
female
employe
es
employme
nt
opportuniti
es and
resolving
concerns
from both
sexes
productiv
ities
from
both
genders
as a
benchma
rk for
team
productiv
ity
provided
indoors by
some
experienced
professional
trained
under
notions of
diversity
and
inclusion
like
projector
s and
microph
ones and
conferen
ce room
arrange
ments
2019 employe
es and
producti
vity
benchma
rks of
both
female
and male
employe
e of the
teams
concerne
d
2019
Monitori
ng of
performa
nces of
employe
e who
perform
better as
well as
Implement
ation of
automation
for
identifying
the better
performing
employees
and
Learning
of the
automati
on
process
for both
purposes
Production
process
managers
Smart
devices
and
analytica
l
software
along
with
concerne
March
2019
Measuri
ng of
performa
nces and
checking
performa
nces
feedback
on a
Every
week
starting
March
2019

14LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
monitori
ng the
rosters
prepared
maintainin
g the
rosters
prepared
d
hardwar
e
weekly
basis
Increase
d
manage
ment of
disabled
employe
e in an
efficient
manner
Formation
of a special
team to
look after
the
selection
criteria and
needs of
the
disabled
employees
Empathy
and
identifica
tion of
employe
e with
genuine
disabiliti
es
Exclusive
team of
human
resources to
perform
screening of
the
employees
with
disabilities
and cater to
their needs
Infrastru
cture
and
emergen
cy
equipme
nts and
specialis
ed care
for the
employe
e with
disabiliti
es
March
2019
Feedbac
k from
the
Team
Leaders
themselv
es as
well as
the
employe
e with
disabiliti
es and
compari
ng and
analysin
g the
two
perspecti
Will be
monitore
d and
checked
every
month

15LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
ves