The planned changes include an option to work from home two days a week; flexibility in daily working hours; and the opportunity to extend working hours at the start of the week to enable a shorter working day on Thursday, the start of the weekend in Ooredoo's home region, the GCC.
The trail will run from September to the end of December, when a review will take place to decide if the measures will be made permanent. The group said it was "one of the first in Qatar" to take such an approach.
Group chief HR officer Fatima Sultan Al-Kuwari (pictured), said: “While the pandemic situation necessitated many of the changes with which we are now working, the extension of our pilot initiative is driven by overall market and industry development and our aim of capitalising on recent experience gained to create greater competitive advantage for our business.
"The adoption and development of a more agile, modern, digital working culture aligns with our strategy – a forward-thinking, future-proof strategy devised long before the pandemic hit – of complete digitalisation and of ensuring our organisational culture is fast-moving, innovative, efficient and imaginative enough to stay ahead of the demand curve,” Al-Kuwari added.
In addition to the flexible working practices introduced, Ooredoo has noted changes in how its customers interact with its brand and services, with the group's full year financial results for 2020 showing a sharp increase in revenue generated by data.
In total, 50% of the group's revenue was attributed to data across its international markets over the year.
In Kuwait, Ooredoo Group became the first operator to launch prepaid 5G internet and in Tunisia registered the fastest 4G mobile data speeds in the country; although the customer base there decreased to 8.1 million in 2020, from 9.2 million in 2019.
In Indonesia, network improvements saw Ooredoo recognised with an Opensignal Global Mobile Experience Award. Data traffic saw a "significant increase" year on year in Myanmar in Q4, and demand for a "seamless digital experience" saw active users of the My Ooredoo App reach 3.2 million.
