DUBAI, 7th June, 2023 (WAM) — The governments of the United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Maldives celebrated the graduation of 50 Maldivian frontline government sector employees in the field of customer happiness. This is part of the training-of-trainers organised by the Emirates Government Service Excellence Programme in the field of government development between the two governments within the framework of the Government Experience Exchange Programme. The objective of the programme, which covered over 2,000 hours of training (approximately 250 working days), is to build the capabilities of elite frontline employees from various government entities in the Maldives and provide them with the necessary knowledge and expertise to qualify them to train their colleagues, hence, develop customer’s experience to leverage service delivery, customer’s happiness, and enhance government efficiency, which reflects positively on improving people’s lives. Abdulaziz Abdulla ALhashemi, Charge d’Affairs at the UAE Embassy in the Maldives; Ibrahim Hood, Secretary of Foreign Relations of the President’s Office of the Republic of Maldives; and Mohamed Nasih, President at Civil Service Commission, were present at the graduation ceremony. Abdulla Nasser Lootah, Deputy Minister of Cabinet Affairs for Competitiveness and Knowledge Exchange, confirmed that building the capabilities of government employees and providing them with skills and tools necessary for effective participation in modernising government frameworks is one of the models of the Government Experience Exchange Programme that will accelerate the adoption of new models in the government work environment. He commended the outstanding results of the strategic partnership in government development between the UAE and the Maldives, noting that the governments of both countries will continue to build on the positive results of such partnership to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the government administration. Mohamed bin Taliah, Chief of Government Services of the UAE Government, emphasised that the government of the UAE, led by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, embraces sharing its expertise in government work, to enhance levels of performance and provide innovative services, which will positively improve individuals’ lives and societies. “Qualifying customer happiness trainers and providing them with the necessary knowledge and expertise to build frontline government employees’ skills would enhance government capabilities among employees in the Maldives, and support efforts to provide innovative and efficient services, which is in line with the objectives of the Emirates Government Service Excellence programme aiming to enhance the customer journey and establish a culture of happiness to provide the best services,” he added. Ibrahim Hood, Secretary of Foreign Relations of the President’s Office of the Republic of Maldives, emphasised that the training-of-trainers programme is a purposeful tool to enhance and develop participants’ skills, and provide them with basic expertise and knowledge to improve performance levels. “The programme has been an engaging and rewarding experience for all participants as it focused on stimulating the skills of frontline employees to achieve a high degree of professional growth and performance, which supports the efforts of the Maldivian government to achieve a quantum leap in the efficiency of government services provided to all segments of customers,” said Ibrahim Hood. Hood further commended the efforts of the UAE government for the special attention paid to building and enhancing the skills of government employees in the Maldives as part of the strategic partnership in government development between the two countries and as part of the Government Experience Exchange Programme. Through the programme, participants learned about the concept of customer happiness, the customer journey in accessing services, as well as practices and experiences in the UAE government work, the characteristics of the service provider, effective communication and listening skills, how to ask effective questions, how to deal with a variety of customers, and how to engage customers in designing services and deal with comments and the important practices followed in the private sector. Participants also reveiwed the UAE government’s leading experience in delivering a premium customer journey that meets the needs of customers, innovative best practices in the areas of government services, capacity building and competencies, and the successful experiences it has developed in providing services to customers easily with the speed in completing transactions. The participants from the Maldives government gave an overview of the presentations that they worked on during the training, which showed the development of their skills and capabilities in defining challenges and achieving results efficiently and professionally. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid launched the Emirates Government Service Excellence Programme in March 2011, aiming to achieve higher standards in customer services that will lead to enhanced performance levels and customer satisfaction.

Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM)