The Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR) recently held at its headquarters in Dubai a workshop to acquaint the federal entities with criteria and requirements of the fourth edition of the UAE HR Award which was launched by FAHR in September, 2016 at the Federal Government level. The workshop was attended by officials of human resources departments in ministries and federal bodies.
In this regard, Aisha Al Suwaidi, Executive Director of Human Resources Policies said that the Award, organized annually by the Authority since 2014 under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, Is considered one of the most important human resources recognition tools at the national level. It allows human resources departments in the federal government institutions, great motivation 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.
She said: “The UAE HR 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”.
New features of 4th Edition
For her part, Fatima Rashid, Head of Government Programs Planning and Development at the Authority reviewed the most prominent features and objectives of the Award, pointing out that the Award divides the federal entities into six categories: Leading Entity at the overall level, Winning Entity at Operations, Outstanding Entity at Learning & Growth, Outstanding Entity at Financial Performance, Outstanding Entity at Customer Service, and the Most Improving Entity.
Fatima Rashid then highlighted the most important features of the fourth round the UAE HR Award scheduled to conclude in April 2018. She 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.
She said: “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.
“SLA indicator has been added to the fourth edition of UAE HR Award as 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, she 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”, she noted.
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.
Regarding assessment of entities participating in the fourth edition of the Award, a team of the Authority will undertake the task of preliminary evaluation of the files and report the result back to entities in order to help them develop their plans in preparation for the final evaluation by external assessors.
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.