The Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR) has launched the fourth round of the UAE HR Award in the Federal Government, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs.
The launch ceremony took place in a workshop organized by FAHR in Dubai, during which the most important results of the third round of the Award were reviewed, along with the winners including individuals and entities. The event was attended by HE Aisha Al Suwaidi, Executive Director of Human Resources Policies sector, a number of FAHR sector and department directors, representatives of ministries and federal bodies, as well as Award assessors and jury panel members.
170 entries in the previous round
In this context, Aisha Al Suwaidi, Executive Director of Human Resource Policies explained that the UAE HR Award has proved to be a great success in supporting the UAE Government’s efforts to develop and empower the national human, noting that the previous three rounds received tremendous turnout with 170 entries, 101 by federal entities and 105 by individual employees.
She added that the Award introduced recently in the Federal Government, on an annual basis, is one of the most effective recognition methods at the national level in the area of government human resources. According to Al Suwaidi, the Award will act as an important motivation for human resource departments in the federal government institutions, and is expected to contribute in creating a positive work environment conducive to employee motivation, job satisfaction and productivity.
She said: “This Award will play a significant role in recognizing high-achievers, retaining national talent, rewarding creative ideas and initiatives, as well as assist in dissemination and exchange of successful experiences and practices
“The UAE HR Award in the Federal Government is an addition to many strategic initiatives launched by FAHR, and culmination of the achievements of federal entities and employees in the field of human resources in accordance with balanced scorecard performance measurement system. It also provides an opportunity to make advantage of the best human resources practices locally and globally, to achieve higher levels of performance with respect to human capital management, in a positive work environment that ensures the highest levels of satisfaction and happiness”.
Aisha Al Suwaidi stressed that the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs of the award had the greatest impact in encouraging ministries and federal entities to participate, and helped raise the level of competition among the federal authorities and the Federal Government employees who enthusiastically participated in each round of the Award.
She expressed gratitude to His Highness whose patronage has been critical to boosting the motivation of employees in the field of human resources to adopt and implement the best international practices in this area, and encourage the ministries and federal entities to abide by HR legislation, policies and regulations applicable at the federal government level.
New features of 4th Round
Zayed Al Qahtani, Director of Performance Appraisal & Follow-up at FAHR, presented a lengthy review of the main features and outcomes of the third round of the Award which was concluded in May 2017, pointing out that the Award is divided into two categories; the first targets honoring distinguished federal entities while the second focuses on recognizing outstanding individuals.
He pointed out that the Award honors the federal entities in accordance with six categories: leading federal entity in overall human resources management, and outstanding entity in operations, learning, the financial performance, customer service, and most improving entity.
Al Qahtani then highlighted the most important features of the fourth round the UAE HR Award scheduled to conclude in April 2018. He revealed that the Authority added new indicators to evaluate the files of the ministries and federal bodies participating in the Award, in order to support the federal government's policies and achieve the aspirations of the wise leadership.
The new indictors include: training impact measurement, which evaluate the impact of training employees through courses, workshops and tutorials in accordance with annual training plans adopted by the ministries and federal entities. This indicator contributes to identifying the actual outcome of training and development system in the federal government, and its relevance to employee development needs.
He said that fourth edition of UAE HR Award includes a new criterion that measures the level of performance and effectiveness of human resources departments in the ministries and federal entities through BAYANATI System.
Speaking about new ideas incorporated in the fourth edition of the Award, he affirmed that it provides an opportunity for all ministries and federal agencies to apply the best human resources practices deemed fit by each, without limitation contrary to the case in previous editions. “This approach could significantly maximize the benefit, as well as help ministries and federal agencies to identify and benefit from the best experiences and practices applied in the field of human resources at the level of the federal government”, he noted.
Dialogue Session
The launch ceremony featured a dialogue session to respond to enquiries raised by federal entities. In the presence of HE Aisha Al Suwaidi, Zayed Al Qahtani, Lulaa Al Marzouqi, Director of Human Resources Planning, and Mariam Al Zarouni, Head of User Support Section, Human Resource Management System.
Review of Experiments
The event also saw a review of experiences of winners of the previous Award editions e.g. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, winner of best practice in workplace wellness, and the General Authority for Islamic Affairs and Endowments which won the best practice award in occupational health and safety in the work environment.
28 Criteria for assessing participating entities
Federal bodies participating in the Award are evaluated according to 28 criteria, including: Emiratization and replacement plans, nationalization percentage, promotions, annual development & training plans, employee satisfaction with all forms of training, courses implemented through "Ma’aref" initiative for the Federal Government’s preferred training partners, activation of Performance Management and Training & Development electronic systems within the Human Resources Management Information System "BAYANATI", as well as abidance by HR systems and policies, automation of HR systems.
Advantages of the Award
The Award has many advantages to participants, namely: highlighting the best practices supported by success stories, exploring the possibility of applying global best HR experiences and practices, making human resources a partner at work, as well as strengthening the role, professionalism and transparency of human resource departments, identifying the latest innovations in HR governance, in order to honor individuals and federal entities with award shields and certificates of appreciation.
All files of participating federal entities and individual employees undergo assessment a specialist external team whose members are highly qualified and trained by the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources. The team has other responsibilities, including field visits, verification of evidence and accompanying documents, and provision of feedback following the final evaluation reports for participating entities and individuals.
An Independent Arbitration Committee
FAHR has formed earlier an independent arbitration committee from the private sector, semi-government and local authorities to deal with the files of Award competitors during the first and subsequent rounds. The committee is responsible for reviewing the assessment of federal entities prepared by the evaluation team, and determine the winners in each category according to approved mechanism, standards and schedules, before submission to the Award executive team.
At the end of each round, FAHR will prepare a report for each entity, indicating the strengths that must be maintained and areas for improvement which may contribute to enhancing the added value of human resources, according to the role and concept of human resource management.