Four employees who have been working with Airtel since its establishment 20 years ago this year, have been rewarded for their long years of devoted and loyal service to the telecommunication company.

This was during a short ceremony on Thursday afternoon at Airtel’s head office at Providence during which, as has been customary every year, Airtel also rewarded its best employee. This year the Employee of the Year Award went to Erol Belle of the Network Department.

As reward, Mr Belle received several gifts namely a cheque, trophy, certificate, cash prize, hampers, dinners and weekend away vouchers.

In the same event, quarterly awards were also given to Best Teams, and Employees of the Months which is a usual quarterly practice.

The employee of the year is selected from employee of the months, based on a set criteria and voting by senior management.

The four employees who have been rewarded for their 20 years of service are Ryan Charlette, Sarah Mussard, Samantha Hardy and Erna Hoarau. The four were congratulated by Airtel managing director Amadou Dina. They received a trophy, certificate and a surprise gift each to be used in their homes, as a token of appreciation by the company.

Airtel’s HR director, Maria Pouponneau, had to secretly identify what they needed or wished to have for their homes and the items were then purchased.

“Mr Charlette for instance wanted a flat screen TV set. He was gifted a 55-inch Flat Screen Panasonic TV set.  We wanted to give them something that would touch their lives which they would appreciate for years, compared to cash which we all spend and later don’t even remember how it was spent,” Ms Pouponneau stated.

Airtel also awarded two Exceptional Performance Awards for 2017-2018, which went to Kosala Dewaraja of the Finance Department and Gerard Joubert of the Network Department. They received certificate, trophy and gifts.

The award ceremony though short and simple, was filled with excitement and curiosity as employees sat together to listen to Mr  Dina talk about the different award initiatives and what they mean to both employees and the company.  

He emphasised on the need for excellence, accountability and good performance, and how these are linked to rewards, not only company rewards but also personal rewards through growth and development.

The event ended with the cutting of a cake by the Employee of the Year in the presence of his wife and son (see photo on front page).  

“Airtel ensures the presence of close family members for such awards as we believe strongly that there is always someone at home to support and encourage this employee and push him to excel in his job and they too need to be recognised and appreciated,” Ms Pouponneau said.