Brasil Telecom has built its people management process on the principle that employees are its most valuable asset. Well-prepared and committed professionals are decisive in obtaining results. However, in order to attract and retain these talents, one must invest in formation, develop their potentialities, and recognize their achievements.

An example of the degree to which Brasil Telecom trusts its staff was the decision to provide customer service internally. This initiative resulted in a significant increase in the number of employees, closing 2007 at 16 thousand people. The strategy is in line with the Company's intense pursuit of excellence in consumer relations. The success of the task depends on a team that is wellversed in the company's values and goal, which are based on transparency and respect for customers.

EMPLOYEE PROFILE

Brasil Telecom closed the year with 16,769 employees. Of the total number of employees, it is worth highlighting that 10,866 became employees of the company after the call center operation was moved internally.

Number of Employees per Company

 

Number of Employees per Position

 

Length of Service Distribution

Companies providing services to Brasil Telecom employed 32,713 people at the end of 2007 in: the maintenance and operation of internal and external facilities, housekeeping, security, corporate security, and information systems maintenance.

ATTRACTION AND RETENTION OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE PROFESSIONALS

The attraction and retention of high-performance professionals is strategic to Brasil Telecom. In 2007, a group of procedures and programs was developed with this objective.

Attraction Programs
The Internship Program is still the main point of entry for young people beginning a career. In 2007, 221 university students were interns in the Company.

Another important investment aimed at attracting professionals was the re-opening of Brasil Telecom's Trainee Program. Seventeen young professionals were hired to work at the Headquarters beginning in 2008, following a thorough selection process among approximately nine thousands candidates. We chose professionals with traits that value, particularly, the spirit of serving with excellence. Throughout 2008, the new graduates will undergo a consistent development program involving job rotation (working in various areas), monitoring by tutors and mentors; and training programs focused on management in partnership with an institution renowned locally and internationally.

Brasil Telecom's goal is also to attract professionals with international experience. To this end, since 2002 it has invested in the Summer Program, which has already brought together ten Brazilian professionals who attended an MBA course in first-tier overseas universities (the best according to Business Week ranking) to work on the Company's strategic projects during their summer vacations. The retention ratio of these professionals in leadership positions is 50% upon course completion.

Retention Programs
In 2007 the BrT Potentials Management program was created, which consists of initiatives divided into three pillars. These initiatives are implemented soon after the unique professionals are identified.

• Development - The preparation of an individualized program to leverage and supply the professional's potential, either through training programs, or by allocating these executives to challenging projects;
• Acknowledgement – The adoption of unique acknowledgement practices, emphasizing the value of meritocracy by paying variable remuneration and awarding superior performance;
• Relationship – The definition of mechanisms that narrow the distance between the high-performance professional and the various levels of the organization, expanding his or her relationship network and access to strategic information.

In addition, Brasil Telecom encourages the participation of all of its employees in the internal career change program, for it believes that a consistent offering of opportunities motivates and retains aspiring professionals.

EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Brasil Telecom's education process aims to promote the necessary abilities to reach results, enabling employees to perform their tasks equipped with full technical knowledge. To this end, Brasil Telecom makes use of the following education and development channels:

• E-learning Portal – 400 online courses are available at the portal for professional self-development, including content related to products, services, systems, processes, and procedures, in addition to an integration program for new employees.
• BrTV – corporate channel that broadcasts institutional, technical, and behavior-related content to Brasil Telecom employees.
• Virtual Classroom – allows for the simultaneous tutoring of students remotely connected to a virtual instructor.

The Company also invests in the technical education of its employees, offering, since 2005, the Professional Masters Degree Program with emphasis on telecommunications in partnership with Brasília University. This master's degree, which is fully customized to meet Brasil Telecom's needs, aims to qualify our professionals in technological trends in years to come. The major benefit of the master's degree is the generation and later implementation of cutting-edge projects in the areas of Engineering and Systems, which drive our business.

Despite all the investments in training our employees, Brasil Telecom believes that leadership is the main motivator for team development. Therefore, it invests in programs that offer unique training for its managers, with a special highlight on the Management Development Program. This program is targeted at strengthening the Company's values, and accelerates the development of managerial abilities, thus ensuring the acquisition and enhancement of the abilities necessary to achieve strategic goals. In 2007, 400 formal leaders completed the first step of the Program, which consisted of building Brasil Telecom's management model in a shared manner. This model guides all the development activities of the Company's managers, and is based in a number of leadership abilities deemed as essential to place the Company at the market's forefront.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

At Brasil Telecom, superior-performance employees are rewarded financial incentives and corporate awards.

Awards Program
Since 2000, the People in the Spotlight Program has acknowledged employees, who, individually or in a team, implemented projects that made a difference both through their innovative and creative characteristics and through the results achieved. Categories and awards are reviewed for each cycle, ensuring that they remain in line with the Company's strategy.Acknowledgement is made in an official ceremony with the attendance of the CEO and executive officers.

Implemented in 2002, the Sales Charge Program has been exceeding expectations; therefore, it is reissued every year with a different theme. The 2007 appeal carried the title: "Negócios da China" ("Bargain Deal"),and will award winning employees with trips to China for the BeijingOlympic games. The program, whose purpose is to promote sales, presentsmonthly awards to the best in each branch, in addition to awarding all the salespeople who have met their proposed challenges.

Financial Incentives
The purpose of the Bonus Program is to acknowledge all exectives for achieving the strategic goals set forth for the year. The program is reviewed and approved annually, and is based on market surveys, guidance by the Board of Directors, and Brasil Telecom's strategic positioning. It is targeted at managers and is a result of the unfolding of Brasil Telecom's targets. The bonus is given as a means of guiding the perception and activities of managers, as well as rewarding them for achieving the goals defined by the Company. With the same philosophy in mind, Brasil Telecom acknowledges other employees (not managers) by means of the PSP: Profit Sharing Program.

Brasil Telecom also uses a stock option program as a financial acknowledgement tool. This program aims to converge the long-term interests and targets of the Company and its executives; to retain strategic employees; and to provide guidance for a long-lasting business vision. To this end, the Company currently maintains two programs:

• The 2000 Program – granted stock options for the Company's preferred shares, in 2002, 2003, and 2004, to a group of senior executives, 21 of whom are still with the Company. Executives are already entitled to exercise all options granted thereto, with the exception of the last lot, which may be exercised as of January 2008.
• The 2007 Program – granted stock options for a basket of Companypreferred and common shares to a group of 65 senior executives. The options have a grace period of one year, and only 25% of the options may be exercised each year.