Human Resource Executive - July/August 2018

employees is one of the key mantras that Legere says has guided him throughout his T-Mobile tenure.

Internally, the company got rid of metrics that incentivized employees to dissuade customers from leaving T-Mobile for another carrier in favor of setting employee goals based on customer satisfaction and more proactive measures.

Adopting a new, more customer-centric strategy has paid off. Since 2012, T-Mobile has more than doubled its customer base, from 33 million to nearly 70 million. It has also deployed a nationwide 4G LTE network that now covers 315 million people, a number that stood at zero in 2012. And in its biggest move to date, this spring T-Mobile announced it is merging with Sprint to form a new company called … T-Mobile, with Legere remaining at the helm. Before the deal can be finalized, it will have to be approved by the Justice Department, which will review it for antitrust violations.

Today, T-Mobile serves as an example of an organization that recognized the need to disrupt itself. In order to not only survive but thrive, the company had to instill a mindset that change should not be feared or loathed. Instead, it should be embraced. T-Mobile’s willingness to move away from industry conventions is what distinguishes an agile organization, but shaking things up externally is only half of the equation. The workforce must be willing to shake itself up as well.

The 3 A’s of
Organizational Agility

BY KEVIN OAKES role as “The Un-Carrier,” T-Mobile
has become a disruptive force in an
industry in which it was once nearly
obsolete.

Legere and T-Mobile’s 50,000-plus employees built that reputation with bold moves—both internally and externally—to execute a stunning turnaround for the Bellevue, Wash.-based wireless-network operator.

Externally, T-Mobile ditched the long-term contracts and eliminated costly global roaming fees that had long been commonplace among wireless carriers. The impetus for such changes, Legere has said, was simply asking customers what they wanted. “Shut up and listen” to customers and

In 2012, T-Mobile was flailing. Losing customers at a staggering rate, the company had just seen its proposed merger with AT&T derailed, was ranked last in customer service and market share among its competitors and was about to be left in the dust in a quickly evolving wireless industry.

At that time, John Legere was just months into his tenure as T-Mobile’s president and CEO, and a relative unknown among corporate leaders. Today, most know Legere. He has cultivated rockstar-like status as an audacious executive who is anything