Three cheers for bravo!

Javier Garcia de Castro, Telefónica’s director of Strategy, talks to news O2 about the group-wide transformation programme, bravo!

Introducing bravo!, Telefónica’s first global transformation programme. Here we speak to Telefónica’s director of Strategy Javier Garcia de Castro to find out more.

What is bravo! and why is it needed?

bravo! is a company-wide transformation programme that will help us become the best global communications company in the digital world.

It’s the first time in the group’s history that we’ve had a programme that affects all regions and it will help us realise our global strategic objectives.

Because all operating businesses face similar priorities, it makes sense to have a Group-wide programme that highlights these, though with different flavours per operating business.

Its aim is to make sure we all are working to the same objectives and is based around what we are calling the four pillars.

The programme is fully supported by members of the Operating and Executive Committee of Telefónica Group who all presented at its official launch in early March.

Can you explain the four pillars?

The pillars reflect the four most important strategic areas the company needs to address from now until 2012. They are:

Customer – we want to communicate more strongly with our customers and build an emotional relationship with them building an even better experience.
Offer – we need to be seen as more than a connection provider, and offer our customers the services they want.
Platforms – is about how we manage our network, IT, back office and commercial processes, so we can provide these propositions to our customers in the most efficient and effective way.
Culture – this recognises that we have a dual commitment with our employees and to the communities and societies we operate in, as well as one single brand architecture for Telefónica.

What makes bravo! different?

There are two elements that make bravo! unique. Firstly, while we’ve had regional programmes in the past (in Latin America and Spain) - we've never had a truly global company programme before.

The second is that it gives us a clear vision of where we want to be in three years time and the areas we need to work on, like being number one in CSI in every country where we operate.

What areas of the business will be affected?

The whole company is involved. Every employee can contribute to bravo! Obviously some business areas will play a larger role and have a higher profile in some of the pillars. For example Marketing will make a strong contribution on the Offer front, while IT will contribute more to the Platform pillar, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a role to play when it comes to addressing the other pillars.

Everyone needs to contribute to every pillar if we are to make bravo! work and help the company become the best global communications company in the digital world.

How long a journey is this and will bravo! change over time?

It's a three-year programme and is set to last until 2012. What happens after that hasn’t been defined yet.

I fully expect the four pillars to still be in place in three years, but obviously the programmes, projects and initiatives we run under those headings will change and evolve over time. I imagine there will be some redefinition and refocusing of the challenges as we move ahead.

How has bravo! been received?

It was launched in early March and has been received positively. I think our operating businesses have been pleased with the level of flexibility bravo! gives them.

Yes, the four pillars are common, but it’s up to the regions to develop their own projects and initiatives to meet these goals.

There will be differences in how different OBs launch and communicate bravo!, but that will be within a common structure, and common communication framework, to reflect regional and local differences.

That flexibility is important because we aren’t starting from the same position in each operating business – for example, in some areas we are the market leaders, in other areas we aren’t. So while the priorities at the high level are the same, bravo! needs to be made to work at regional and local level.

How will you monitor progress?

We’ve established a Group Steering Committee for bravo! that will review the programme and the progress being made by looking at Key Performance Indicators and progress in key initiatives and projects.

It will share best practice and initiatives from the different regions across all OBs.

bravo! will also be reviewed at the European level by the Telefónica Europe Executive Committee to make sure it is meeting our wider business objectives.

Can you explain a bit about the recognition scheme that’s being run under bravo!?

We have also recently launched the bravo! awards across Telefónica Europe. This is a global programme to recognise the outstanding efforts and achievements of teams and individuals in support of each of the bravo! key pillars: customer; offer; platforms and culture.

The first Group award has already been given to our team in Chile for their work in re-establishing communications after the recent earthquake.

They put an enormous amount of effort in around the clock to get communications back up and running so that external help could target the most affected areas.

This was absolutely crucial work, which has been applauded by the whole Telefónica management team.

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