Dubai, UAE, 1 September 2016: Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has sponsored the first Customer Expectations Forum, which was organised by Dubai’s The Model Centre of the Executive Council of Dubai. This is part of DEWA’s efforts to enhance government services, and achieve the Dubai Plan 2021, which aims for the Government of Dubai to be proactive, and creative in meeting the needs of individuals and society as a whole. Over 250 Dubai Government employees attended the forum under the theme ‘Innovative Platform for Leading Services’, at Palazzo Versace hotel in Dubai.
The forum was attended by HE Abdulla Al Shaibani, Secretary-General of The Executive Council of Dubai, HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, HE Dr. Aisha Bin Bishr, Director General of the Smart Dubai Office, and a large number of Dubai Government officials, and speakers form the public and private sectors.
In his speech at the forum, Al Tayer welcomed the participants, noting that organising the Customer Expectations Forum demonstrates the commitment of the Government of Dubai to communicate with the public, listen to their opinions and complaints, and use these ideas in the development plans of government services, to make customers happier. This helps Dubai become an international role model and confirms its leadership in providing excellent government services.
“DEWA sponsors this forum as we feel that that the combined comments and opinions of our customers and society as a whole is a key contributor to improving government services. Research shows that organisations that deliver good customer services have done so because they have redesigned their operational management to be more customer-centric. This includes understanding and meeting the needs and expectations of customers, proactive customer relationship management, and having complaints and suggestion systems,” said Al Tayer.
“In Dubai and the UAE, officials are always open to the public. As a result of the sharp population increase, in addition to the developments in technology over the last few years, the government has created new channels to communicate with customers, and listen to their opinions, suggestions, while handling their complaints in a timely manner, to ultimately make them happy. The traditional Emirati Majlis has always been the centre for communication and social connection in the UAE. This is why HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, established the Mohammed bin Rashid Smart Majlis as a new platform to facilitate communication. The Smart Majlis receives ideas and observations from the public on a 24/7 basis. It also conducts smart brainstorming sessions that are directly supervised by His Highness who said when opening the smart majlis that, ‘Our traditional majlis is open, our smart majlis is open, the door is open for everyone to make their mark on Dubai’s future,’” added Al Tayer.
“DEWA sees customers’ comments as necessary tools for continuous development and improvement of our services and achieving the highest levels of quality and excellence in all of our work. This is part of our efforts to achieve the Dubai Plan 2021 for the Government of Dubai to be a pioneering and excellent government that is proactive and creative in meeting the needs of individuals and society as a whole. This also supports DEWA’s vision to become a sustainable innovative world-class utility. DEWA Strategy 2021 is based on five main themes. This includes enhancing cooperation with all stakeholders, including customers, partners, and the public. DEWA listens to their opinions, remarks, and ideas. These are translated into services and initiatives that meet their needs and exceed their expectations. These remarks have contributed to the development of innovative initiatives and creative ideas that exceed customers’ expectations and make them happier,” he said.
DEWA adopts an approach to define and understand customers' needs and expectations. DEWA listens to the ideas and opinions of its customers via a number of communication channels, including the Dubai Government Unified eComplaint and eSuggestions Systems, DEWA’s website and smart app, forums, social media, field visits, surveys, focus groups, brainstorming sessions, and creativity labs. All of these channels support DEWA's commitment to promoting transparency and benefiting from individual and collective ideas to achieve the best results and make customers happier.
DEWA has studied and analysed the customer journey and worked to reduce the number of disparate touch points for the customer. This ensures providing high-quality services and a better customer experience. DEWA is gradually implementing the single-point-of-contact in its centres so that customers can get all of their services from one window without having to visit a number of employees. DEWA has a clear and integrated methodology to develop and improve services. This is monitored by a dedicated team for service innovation, to enhance and develop the efficiency and delivery method of services. This is done through initiatives that focus on the customers and work to understand and fulfil their needs and expectations.
DEWA has received three ISO certificates related to managing customer relationships. These are ISO 10001:2007 for Customer Service Charter, ISO 10002:2014 for complaint-handling process, and ISO 10004:2012 for customer satisfaction. In 2015 and 2016, DEWA managed to close 100% of customer complaints within 7 working days as per the criteria set by the Secretariat General of the Executive Council. The preliminary results of the Happiness Meter were excellent and support DEWA’s vision and the ambition of its management and staff. We received an overall 98% happiness rate, based on the Dubai Smart Government formula, up to February 2016.
“I am sure that this forum will effectively aid the development of government services in Dubai, by discussing and exchanging best practices and experiences, in order to better understand the expectations of customers, and achieve the vision of our wise leadership and the happiness of our society, to provide a brighter future for generations to come,” concluded Al Tayer.