Today's Edition
Jumaa Al Nuaimi (Abu Dhabi) - The launch of development projects and initiatives, coupled with the advancement of smart services provision, have contributed to boosting customer satisfaction, according to Major General Suhail Saeed Al Khaili, Director-General of the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs, and Ports Security (ICP).
Speaking to Aletihad in a wide-ranging interview, Khaili said that dozens of development projects and initiatives to elevate smart services have been completed by the ICP. The projects include the launch of the developed smart service system, the issuance of the new generation of the Emirati passport, the upgraded version of the national identity card, the National Tracking Centre, and the National System for Electronically Tracking Trucks and Shipments.
According to Al Khaili, the “My Family Package” services were one of the Authority’s most prominent projects this year. The first of their kind in the world, “My Family Package” provides 16 automatic services to citizens in a variety of categories. The initiative includes services for citizens preparing to get married, spanning from the conclusion of the marriage contract to the service of separating the spouses from the family registry and creating a new family registry for them. It also encompasses housing support services, for couples expecting the arrival of a newborn, reaching the stage of schooling, and reserving a school seat, all proactively, i.e., before the service is requested, and without uploading any documents, the official said.
Additionally, it includes a fingerprinting campaign for school students, updating and developing the passport renewal service outside the country, the electronic family registry, and providing many distinguished services for senior citizens and people of determination are also notable features of this initiative.
A number of transformative projects that were adopted by the Council of Ministers were also completed, Al Khaili said. They include the “Your Golden Residency in One Touch” project, the Smart Traveler Corridor, and the Afsah system for declaring cash amounts and the like carried by travellers to and from the country. In terms of serving and delighting customers, the Authority successfully completed the update of its indicators management system, in line with the level of leadership in the UAE’s distinguished government service programme, as well as completing the development of the system of actual and expected demand volume and capacity at the level of all the Authority’s services and centres.
This has had a significant impact on reducing the operational cost of the centres and their efficiency, he noted. A plan to qualify all service delivery channels and raise their readiness for the global star system evaluation was also completed, as well as the completion of six studies to develop services and their delivery channels.
In addition to facilitating the complaint follow-up process and developing the unified customer voice portal system, the Listening to the Customer Voice project was completed, and the Customer Pulse project was completed.
Development of the Service System
Al Khaili stressed that bringing joy to clients, improving their quality of life, and providing proactive services before they are requested is one of the most important strategic goals of the ICP.
To achieve this goal, the Authority is constantly striving to develop its service system in light of performance indicators, the latest developments, and the latest trends and technologies in the region and the world.
Pioneering and Advanced Centres
The Authority has successfully achieved this strategic goal with efficiency and competence. Within the framework of the global star system for service classification adopted by the esteemed Council of Ministers, the Authority has achieved pioneering and advanced positions.
One of its customer happiness centres received a six-star rating, while seven other centres received a five-star rating, and five centres received a four-star rating.
The reason for achieving these results and major accomplishments in the field of service centre classification is due to a number of important factors. The most prominent of these are the strategic vision and good planning of services, the accurate anticipation of the future of government services at the global level, effective communication with clients, and identifying their future needs and aspirations, Al Khaili elaborated.
This is in addition to the availability of a stimulating work environment, unlimited support from the top leadership, and the possession of qualified, proactive national cadres, as well as the flexibility in continuously providing and developing services based on the results of performance indicators and measurements, and the government trends and wise leadership of the United Arab Emirates.
Key Performance Indicators
Al Khaili pointed out that the Authority has achieved countless accomplishments in strategic and operational performance indicators at the local, regional, and international levels over the last two years. This reflects the validity and success of the Authority’s strategies and operational processes in achieving its goals. These accomplishments have also positively reflected on the level of customer happiness, contributing to improving their quality of life and raising the satisfaction level of society members.
In 2022, the Authority won four awards for institutional excellence as part of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Government Excellence Award in its sixth edition. The awards include the Leading Federal Entity, Best Entity in Service Channel Classification, Best Entity in Proactive Services for Clients, and Best General Manager.
The Authority also ranked first among entities and institutions in the country in the Gender Balance axis and first in the Government Standard (Government Innovation Maturity in Institutions), with the general performance of the Authority in the field of innovation reaching 86% in 2022, a 33% increase compared with 2017. Additionally, the Authority won the award for the Distinguished Entity in the Council of Ministers’ 360 Challenge for the Complaints System for Services.
It also won first place in the category of institutions and in quality, sustainability, government communication, and digital transformation. The organisation won the 2022 Foundation of the Year Award for Quality from the United Kingdom, granted by the International Quality Institute CQI, ranking first in the institutional category.
Additionally, the organisation received the Government of Ras Al Khaimah Award for Sustainability, as well as 30 international certificates in quality systems (ISO) related to operational processes, and the Sharjah Government Communication Award in the category of best practices in government communication with strategic partners.
Moreover, it won the Innovation and Digital Transformation Award for its project transforming the residency summary into an accredited digital electronic summary, endorsed by the Mohammed bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation.
Al Khaili pointed out that the organisation is the first federal entity to obtain the National Standard Certificate for Business Continuity Management from the National Authority for Emergency, Crisis, and Disaster Management, and the first government entity in the Middle East and Africa to obtain the International Standard Certificate (ISO Partner Relationship Management ISO 44001:2017). In terms of performance indicators, the organisation ranked first globally on the Resilience of Residence Laws Index for 2022, achieving 98.7% on the General Institutional Performance Index in 2022, 100% on the Emiratisation Index, and the happiness of the community increased to 88.4%.
The Gender Balance Index rose to 97.22%, general happiness about the organisation’s performance in 2022 reached 89%, and the percentage of electronic/smart transformation of federal government services reached 100%.
To meet the desires of its customers, the General Director of the ICP explained that the diversity of customer categories, including citizens, residents, and visitors, in terms of aspirations, desires, ages, nationalities, and cultures, represents one of the main challenges faced by the organisation in designing and developing services that meet the desires of all customers while at the same time raising the level of these services’ contribution to improving the quality of life in society and enhancing the competitiveness and leadership of the UAE in global indices.
Al Khaili emphasised that the organisation is keen to continuously listen to the opinions, feedback, and aspirations of its customers as part of its plan to measure performance indicators and develop processes and services that lead to customer happiness.
This process is carried out through a set of procedures and initiatives, including regular surveys to know customers’ opinions about the services provided by the organisation, and organising customer councils at the national level to discuss service delivery mechanisms and everything related to the service system.
