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Management
A milestone in the year under review was the
completion of a rebranding
project. Its culmination was the synchronisation
of almost every place bearing our logo so that
our new visual image was revealed during a
single 24-hour period on 2-3 October.
In the area of quality, Cyta aspired to
obtain the 2008 European Excellence Award of the
European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM).
While our points total brought us very close, we
did not win the award. We did, however, receive
the highest five-star “Recognised for
Excellence” ranking and we continue to be the
only company in Cyprus to achieve this.
In an effort to respond to the needs of our
personnel, we implemented a new programme for
the reconciliation of professional and family
life. In this context we set up the institution
of the Employees’ Annual Leave Solidarity Bank
and extended flexible working practices such as
teleworking and flexitime. We facilitated
various annual staff social and financial
schemes, cultural and social events for
employees and their families, and the activities
of Cyta’s Volunteer Group. The Organisation’s
crowning achievement in this context was winning
the 2008 Award of the European Commission’s
EQUAL initiative for its policy of helping
employees manage work/life balance issues.
In the IT sector we developed an
infrastructure for businesses for the provision
of Ethernet services, enabling them to install
flexible, reliable, high-speed connections in
all their offices. We also introduced two new
channels via which customers can settle their
bills on a 24-hour, seven-day basis.
 Human Resources
The institution of Occupational Physician, which
was introduced in 2007, was reinforced with the
services of a Nurse for the Occupational Medical
Centre which was officially opened by the
Minister of Labour and Social Insurance in
September 2008. In addition to providing primary
health care, the Centre began to implement
schemes for the protection and promotion of good
health among personnel, including a stop smoking
programme, an investigation into work-related
stress and the provision of anti-flu
vaccinations for vulnerable groups of staff.
In the context of the European Commission’s
EQUAL initiative, our Organisation won an award
in 2008 for its policy of helping employees
manage work/life balance issues. This policy
provides for the creation of a truly flexible
working environment, which promotes quality in
professional and family life and increased job
satisfaction at Cyta.
In 2008 we implemented a new programme for the
reconciliation of professional and family life
in the form of the Cyta Employees’ Annual Leave
Solidarity Bank, while continuing to reinforce
and integrate flexible working practices such as
teleworking and flexitime.
Furthermore, we continued to support the welfare
of our staff through the provision of the
services of a Social Worker and the organisation
of cultural and social events such as Christmas
parties for the staff and their children. At the
same time we continued to facilitate various
annual staff social and financial schemes and
the activities of Cyta’s Volunteer Groups.
Prizes and scholarships to children were also
awarded.
The second Health Forum in 2008 enjoyed even
greater success than the first. The Forum was
aimed at all members of the Organisation’s
personnel and their families. Our special
retraining seminars for retiring members of
staff once again met with similar success.
In the field of safety, 340 employees received
First Aid training, including the use of a
defibrillator, thereby covering all possible
First Aid requirements in all our manned
buildings. At the same time, in the framework of
the implementation of our Health & Safety
Management System, risk assessment continued for
all Cyta’s premises and activities. A pioneering
move was our action to undertake the
precautionary analysis and sterilisation of
Cyta’s water systems for any contamination,
including Legionnaires’ disease, in its
buildings.
In the context of our policy of encouraging
life-long learning and the systematic
development of our employees, we continued in
2008 to provide many and varied opportunities
for training, development and learning, funding
their participation in training programmes in
Cyprus and abroad, for the development of their
knowledge, skills and personal competences. Six
scholarships were granted to employees to obtain
a postgraduate MBA qualification
Some 62% of staff participated in training
schemes and programmes in 2008, and the
corporate index of training days per employee
reached 5,27, representing an increase of 61% on
the previous year, while human resource
development as a percentage of payroll was
2,33%. Both personnel development indices
compare favourably with those of other
successful international organisations.
In addition to traditional forms of
education/development/learning, we also promote
internally other methods of development such as
e-learning and on-the-job training with
educational material as well as individual
learning activities and coaching from immediate
superiors.
Maintaining good industrial relations was a
crucial factor in our success during the year
under review, and this was aided by the mutually
agreed solutions that were applied to various
internal problems that arose and by the
agreement reached with the trade unions on
pioneering issues, which enhance the image of
our Organisation. These issues included the
implementation of an Incentives and Rewards
scheme for employees, the introduction of a
policy to combat work-related stress and a
targeted retirement scheme. Other pioneering
issues on which negotiations are ongoing with
the unions are the afternoon and Saturday
opening of Cytashops and the introduction of a
new pension scheme for newly-recruited staff.
At the same time, with the signing of a draft
agreement between the unions and the
Organisation, negotiations were concluded on the
renewal of the Collective Agreement for
2007-2009. Additionally, during the first half
of 2008, full implementation of the 2004-2006
Collective Agreement was completed with the
delivery to personnel of agreed salary increases
and other benefits.
Following a decision in 2006 to recruit
hourly-paid staff and the inclusion of the
relevant provision in the Cyprus
Telecommunications Authority Staff Regulations,
this institution was established by the
Organisation and as a result, in 2008 we
proceeded to recruit hourly-paid staff in
positions other than that of Call Centre
Assistant. These included shop assistants,
cleaners, gardeners, messengers, labourers and
blue collar workers. Furthermore, in August
2008, the first Collective Labour Agreement
2007-2009 for the hourly-paid staff was signed
with, providing them with a range of benefits.
This institution has proved to be especially
appealing to the Cyprus labour market where the
number of applications for each position has
been particularly high.
Communications Policy
A major
rebranding project was completed in 2008. This
great endeavour culminated in the
synchronisation of almost every place bearing
our logo and other signs of our identity, so
that our new visual image was revealed during a
single 24-hour period on 2-3 October. The
renewal of our corporate identity reinforces the
Organisation’s position in the market as
"the leading provider
of Integrated Electronic Communications
which gives people freedom of choice
about how and how much they interact with the
world."
Cyta’s aim is to provide reliable, total
electronic communications solutions in a simple,
smart and secure manner so as to improve its
customers’ way of life and productivity. For
this reason it was deemed necessary to
reposition our image in order to show our
Organisation’s uniqueness and its relevance to
the new era of electronic communications.
The new, multiple role of Cyta in the life of
our customers demanded the renewal of our visual
image which should effectively promote our
personality and be in keeping with the style of
all the services that we provide. At the same
time, the existence of intense competition had
increased the need to adopt a more modern image,
especially at a time when, due to Cyta’s dynamic
expansion in Greece, our visual image is present
in this particularly competitive market.
In 2008 we also adopted the Organisation’s
overall communications strategy, according to
which we mainly invest in and promote our
corporate brand. This strategy will enable us to
strengthen the brand and we thus avoid building
or maintaining independent brands. There is now
cohesion among all contact points for our brand
and in all our promotional activities, which
makes for easier communication with our
customers.
With integrated brand management as our aim, we
proceeded to implement a series of pioneering
market surveys for the measuring and constant
monitoring of our brand value/productivity. The
results of the surveys are an important tool in
the hands of the Organisation’s Management and
Board when it comes to decision-making and
corrective action, mainly of a commercial
nature.
In the course of these surveys, it was noted
that in the new competitive and, at the same
time, regulated environment in which we operate,
a strong brand can affect consumer choice to a
great extent and can win over hearts and minds
in the long term. With this in mind, we shall
continue to invest in our brand so as to
reinforce it even more as we look forward to the
prospect of our Organisation’s continued
success.
Media Relations
With the aim of providing timely and reliable
information to the public, we continued to issue
regular Press Releases in Greek and English
which were distributed to the media during 2008.
Cyta officials participated in radio and
television interviews and discussions, and gave
interviews to the press. Articles and other
features on the Organisation were published,
press conferences were held and information
campaigns were undertaken on a variety of
issues.
 Participation
in the Cyprus International Fair
In 2008, Cyta
participated in the 33rd Cyprus International
Fair with a new pavilion. Once again the
Organisation’s participation in the event was
viewed as extremely successful and it created a
very positive impression on visitors. Our slogan
was
"Communication Zero Distance",
by which we wanted to stress that the services
we provide contribute to removing distances and
helping customers to get closer to their
objectives.
As happens every year, the
Organisation’s participation provided
information on technological developments in
electronic communications, but it also offered
visual excitement since our pavilion hosted an
impressive interactive multimedia production.
"Telecommunications
Street"
During 2008 we continued to publish Cyta’s
monthly newsletter Telecommunications Street
which is distributed to all present and retired
members of staff and to outside recipients
including representatives of the media. In
October it was redesigned to correspond with our
new logo and new corporate identity.
Websites
Our benchmark
corporate website www.cyta.com.cy is
modern and functional, providing easy navigation
for obtaining information. The home page
provides access to other useful Cyta sites such
as the Cytawebshop online store, Cytamobile-Vodafone,
Cyta e-bill, the Yellow Pages and the White
Pages as well as those of its subsidiaries.
Visitors may also obtain information about our
Organisation, Cytashops, our products and
services, as well as Calls for Tenders, Annual
Reports, archived issues of "Telecommunications
Street" and Press
Releases.
Within the Organisation we
continue to operate our own intranet, which has
been upgraded to an Intranet Portal and is a
fast and reliable means of internal
communication and information exchange.
All of the above contribute
not only to the fast and efficient provision of
information but also to saving paper in the
context of Cyta’s broader environmental policy.
Quality and Strategy Issues
Following a
second assessment by the European Foundation for
Quality Management (EFQM), as part of the
participation in the European Excellence Award
this time, Cyta succeeded in confirming
five-star "Recognised
for Excellence"
ranking for the second year running. Cyta is the
first company in Cyprus to participate én the
award, obtaining in 2008 a score that was 50
points higher than in 2007.
The EFQM model is used by
organisations to evaluate their performance in
regards to excellence.
Regarding the tools used for
the formulation and implementation of strategy,
2008 was the year when upgraded tools were
utilised to draw up a three-year corporate
strategy for 2009-2011. Also, the major project
of mapping and management of all the
Organisation’s activities began, together with
the rational management of the strategic
projects.
A total of 618 ideas were
submitted by 24% of personnel to the idea.click
Staff Suggestions Scheme in 2008. Yet again,
Cyta not only won recognition in an
international ideas competition but won first
prize in a poster competition with an entry
promoting the idea.click scheme.
Also, in 2008 considerable
use was made of the electronic correspondence
distribution system. The aim of the system is to
transform Cyta into a paperless office.
Software
Development
We design and implement projects that
continuously improve the efficiency,
productivity and internal communications of
Cyta’s personnel.
We exploit the potential of the state-of-the-art
telecommunications and IT infrastructure to
provide services that make people "get
closer", however far
away they may be.
Convergence services enable customers to
communicate easily and fast, irrespective of the
type of terminal equipment they have at their
disposal at any given moment.
We offer user-friendly tools, mainly online and
via mobile phone, which allow customers to
modify the services we provide in accordance
with their own personal needs.
For businesses we have developed an
infrastructure for the provision of Ethernet
services. These services enable businesses to
install flexible, reliable, high-speed
connections in all their offices, while
providing other related value added services
such as security and guaranteed quality.
Financial Issues
The robustness of an organisation is, to a
significant degree, based on appropriate
financial management and a correct assessment of
strategic projects and new opportunities.
Our constant concern is to provide top quality
financial data, through the use of
internationally accepted methodologies, for
decision-making regarding the implementation of
strategic projects and financial and business
performance assessment and management.
Financial statements are prepared in accordance
with International Financial Reporting
Standards. We ensure the equitable management of
reserves and apply best practices to the
budgetary control system. At the same time, we
ensure the proper costing and charging of
products and maintain outstanding debts at low
levels.
In 2008 we ensured full compliance with the
directives of the Commissioner of Electronic
Communications and Postal Regulation and took
the necessary measures to ensure the application
of all relevant decisions.
The Organisation’s robust financial state
reflects our customers’ satisfaction with the
quality of the products and the improved service
that they receive. With the aim of providing the
best possible service to our customers, given
the pace of life today, we introduced two new
channels via which customers can settle their
bills on.
Regulatory Affairs
During 2008, Cyta
participated in public consultations on market
analysis and completed important work such as
the preparation and publication of Whole Sale
Offers.
Support Infrastructure
Cyta’s smooth operation depends substantially on
the best possible, most efficient and integrated
management of its infrastructure which includes
land, buildings, vehicles and machinery as well
as security and fire safety systems and guarding
services.
During 2008, we continued to plan new buildings
and to carry out works for the upgrading,
antiseismic reinforcement and extension of
existing buildings all over Cyprus. We went
ahead with procedures for the
renovation/upgrading of the old Electra
building. We completed the study and issued a
Call for Tenders for the renovation of the
Personnel Services building. We continued with
the renovation and antiseismic reinforcement of
the Lakatamia building and with work on the
upgrading/extension of the amphitheatre at our
Head Offices in Lefkosia (Nicosia). Construction
of the new Ammochostos (Famagusta) district
office was completed, as was the
upgrading/extension of the Aglandjia building
and the renovation of the Kionia building. The
whole Cytashop philosophy was redesigned and, on
the basis of the new design, a Cytashop was set
up in the new Ammochostos (Famagusta) district
office. We relocated the Cyta pavilion at the
Cyprus International Fair to a larger space
which was transformed into a modern, flexible
pavilion with which Cyta participated
successfully in the Fair. The signs in all
Cyta’s branches and buildings were replaced with
new ones bearing the Organisation’s new logo.
During the year under review we began the full
implementation of the Integrated
Electromechanical Equipment Management System
which will improve the standard of services,
reduce electricity consumption and make
significant savings. We also continued to
replace old, inefficient vehicles with new
generation ones aiming at the reduction of fuel
consumption and emissions. We proceeded to
replace a large amount of electromechanical
equipment with the aim of further improving the
reliability of the services that we provide.
Finally, we continued with the development of an
Islandwide Fire Protection System and the
introduction of an Automatic Vehicle Location
Management System. We studied and decided as an
Organisation to apply the principles of
sustainable development to the entire cycle of
our activities.
In 2008, the Pancyprian Security System was
expanded with the installation of new electronic
access control terminals in buildings and
internal restricted areas, terminals for the
Time & Attendance System and Intrusion Detection
Systems. Furthermore, automatic fire sprinkler
systems were installed in important buildings.
We also placed emphasis on upgrading our
Cytashop security systems and the guarding of
the Organisation’s buildings in cooperation with
the Cyprus Police and private security firms. We
also consider the execution of drills at all our
manned buildings, in accordance with Cyta’s
Civil Defence Plans, to be extremely important.
Materials Management
The placement and handling of
orders and the management of contracts for the
timely supply of materials and equipment
continued in 2007. Furthermore, the
Organisation’s Central Stores continued to send
materials and equipment abroad for repairs, to
receive and store materials and equipment and to
distribute them to various sites.
With the aim of improving productivity and
reducing operating costs, a private firm was
appointed to draw up a study for the
reorganisation of the entire supply chain and
the modernisation of the stores through the
introduction of modern storage systems and the
use of asset management software.
International Relations
Cyta actively participates in the procedures and
activities of the major international
telecommunications organisations of which it is
a member and is represented in various working
groups and conferences organised by these
bodies. It is thus in a position to monitor and
implement technological and other developments
in the telecommunications sector.
Cyprus is a member of the International
Telecommunications Union (ITU), a United Nations
body, and Cyta closely monitors its activities
and implements all the recommendations of the
ITU and its related sectors such as the
Telecommunication Standardisation Sector, the
Radiocommunication Sector and the
Telecommunication Development Sector.
Our Organisation is a founder member of the
European Telecommunications Network Operators’
Association (ETNO) which coordinates its
members’ activities regarding the promotion of
services and the use of networks in Europe.
Moreover, it determines a common policy for
members on telecommunications issues and submits
views and proposals to various European bodies,
mainly in the European Union, and to other
international organisations. Cyta personnel
observe the Working Groups set up by ETNO
members such as the Competition Group and the
Data Protection Group.
Cyta is also a founder member of the European
Telecommunication Information Society (ETIS) and
of the European Telecommunications Standards
Institute (ETSI) in which it has national
administration membership and whose activities
it monitors closely. It is also an active member
of the Commonwealth Telecommunications
Organisation (CTO).
In the context of its Research and Development
activities, Cyta is a member of EURESCOM, an
organisation which deals exclusively with
research programmes in the telecommunications
sector.
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