Dubai: A customer happiness formula has been unveiled to help government employees achieve the happiness goals under the UAE’s National Programme for Happiness and Positivity initiative.
Announced by Uhoud Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Happiness, the formula was created as an effective tool to help the UAE government in the transformation of all government ministries and institutions to happiness destinations.
The announcement was made during an address by Al Roumi at an introductory seminar on the formula to achieve happiness for federal entities organised by the Emirates Government Services Excellence Programme.
“The launch of the Customer Happiness Formula highlights the government’s commitment to provide services that achieve customer happiness and ensure the happiness of the entire community. The formula is one of the comprehensive initiatives to develop government services and build effective partnerships between employees and customers by scientifically measuring the level of customer happiness,” said Al Roumi.
Pointing out that the National Programme for Happiness and Positivity makes the UAE one of the first countries to launch specific initiatives to please customers, Al Roumi explained that the programme is based on three themes — happiness and positivity in government work; happiness and positivity in lifestyle; and measuring happiness and positivity.
The seminar
During the seminar, the role of government entities’ senior management in creating a work environment that fosters innovative ideas and translates them into services that deliver happiness and positivity was highlighted.
Hessa Eisa Bu Humaid, assistant director-general for Government Services in the Prime Minister’s Office, said the formula consists of three main components. They are employees who take pride in providing excellent government services; government entities that are dedicated to making customers happy; and positive and proactive customers who are willing to provide suggestions and contribute to the development of innovative services that creates happiness.
Commenting on the UAE’s approach to happiness, Marc Stickdorn, an expert in service design, described how services can be innovated by involving the customer. He described the Customer Happiness Formula as the translation of the UAE government’s approach to achieve happiness for all.
He also highlighted five principles to design services based on the happiness of customers. They include understanding the visions and aspirations of customers; involving customers in the service design; sequencing services within a series of interrelated factors; designing services based on stages of service development; and taking into account the environment of providing the services.
During the seminar, Dr Mohammad Mattar Al Kaabi, chairman of the General Authority for Islamic Affairs and Endowments, also commended UAE efforts to adopt initiatives to offer happiness to the community within a national framework. He pointed out the concept of happiness has been inherited from the founding father of the UAE, Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who worked hard to make the UAE an incubator for happiness, and created an environment of happiness for all citizens and residents.
“The Customer Happiness Formula will give a big boost to the efforts of the government to achieve happiness for all,” said Al Kaabi.
