blackNgreen (BNG), a Delhi NCR-based technology company working with telecom operators in 80+ countries, has changed how it appraises and rewards its people. Its appraisal process no longer relies on a fixed curve. Growth-based profit sharing extends across employee levels.
"Our growth model is built on ownership and shared success. People at BNG build products for live operator networks within months of joining, share in the value they create, and progress on capability," said Atul Tiwari, Chief Human Resources Officer, blackNgreen.
Responsibility comes early at BNG. Strong performers work on live operator networks within three to six months of joining. They move into product leadership roles as they progress.
The model has already paid out. Over the last five months, BNG's commercial traction doubled and demand for its SmartConnect product grew several times over. BNG marked this with company-wide rewards, most of which went to employees outside senior leadership. Profit-share payouts linked to business results were made alongside.
The changes coincide with a large hiring plan. BNG is expanding its engineering, product, marketing, sales and business development teams. The technology team is expected to grow by 65 to 100% over the next 12 months. Sales and business development are set to double within six to eight months. The company will also add six to seven senior leadership roles.
About three-quarters of the new positions will be in India. The rest will be across Africa, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
"Taking AI to new markets at this pace needs a bigger and stronger team. We are hiring across engineering, product, sales & marketing, in India and globally, and we want people who use AI every day to build faster and solve harder problems," said Rahul Gupta, Co-Founder and CEO, blackNgreen.
AI is part of everyday work inside the organisation. Teams across functions are being trained to use AI and build their own tools. A specialised automation team has reduced operational effort from 7,200 to 2,200 man-hours. Feature sprint cycles have shortened from 15 days to one week, and the product R&D cycle for new launches has fallen from around one year to four months.
Employees build products used on live telecom networks. AI On Call allows people to access and speak to AI through a phone call. It is live in more than 24 countries and can reach about 180 million subscribers through telecom networks. It handles approximately 60 million queries every month. Around 3.4 billion people, about 40% of the world's population, still do not use mobile internet, according to the GSMA.
BNG's other AI products include AI PA (Personal Assistant), which answers calls when subscribers are unavailable and currently handles more than 18% of subscriber calls. Its AI outreach platform is delivering 2.5x conversions across 12 countries.
Founded in 2008, BNG handles more than a trillion transactions a month and has 180+ operator relationships.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from PNN.