How do you deal with daily operational strategic and financial challenges?
When it comes to financial challenges the only way I deal with it is prioritising my next big investment and/or expense while maintaining my cash flow. Quite honestly, at Knox we have not yet seen a severe financial crisis due to my extremely talented management and staff and my constant efforts in increasing different revenue streams.
The basic operational strategic plan was the same from the beginning, having a system in place. Of course, minor changes keep happening as and when we learn on a daily basis. All departments within the firm have custom-tailored ISO standard flow of operations, right from the call received until the job is done. This makes ones’ job as a leader easier, especially when living in the era of technology.
There are more than 255 maintenance companies in Dubai, how do you differentiate Knox from the competition?
Through Response Time. Over the years as I worked within the industry, I realised the first thing that impresses a customer is response time. Of course, quality of service also matters but the first impression is always made by the response time. I have a strict KPI on this within the firm and I don’t mean only for new maintenance requests, but for every aspect such as attending new enquires, quote submission, procurement of material etc.
How important is company culture to you and what measures do you take to maintain this?
The culture of the company plays a vital role in its growth and is something that can only be embedded by the leadership of the firm. I mainly focus on:
a. Steady and slow hiring
Hiring the right staff is extremely important as they would be interacting with other colleagues on a daily basis.
b. Casual interaction with all staff on a daily or weekly basis
Boost employee morale and in return I can understand their role in the growth of the company
c. Maintain small traditions
We schedule company events and dinner gatherings every quarter.
d. Open line of communication
I always believe in an open-door policy, anybody can come to me for anything they want.
What are your values as a company leader, how do you embed them in your employees?
Core values are essential for an organisation to achieve its vision. Ours is customer satisfaction and gaining perfection in response times. Our purpose is to serve up nothing but the best. A company’s vision guides the behaviour of its teams. Setting goals and taking them into action is hard, but my team.. they are warriors!
How does the future look for Dubai’s maintenance industry? Is Knox prepared?
The future looks bright considering the Dubai World Expo 2020 is just around the corner and we have a visionary leader like His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who has approximately $8 billion invested in the development of infrastructure within the city.
The UAE Facility Management Market Report 2020-2030 forecasts growth from $14,949.9 million to $34,959.4 million, and where the MEP services market alone is to witness CAGR of 10.17 per cent. I see a lot of opportunity.
Knox is fully prepared to take its share, yes of course we keep broadening our horizons and entering into different segments so that we keep up with ever growing demands.
