ADDED set to implement first phase of remote work policy
The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) announced that it is set to implement the first phase of its remote work initiative for about 180 of its employees operating in several sectors following the success it has achieved in implementing this system when 100 per cent of its employees are working remotely during the peak of the implementation of precautionary measures against COVID-19 spread. The new system is in line with the department’s commitment to create an ideal working environment that enhances employees’ productivity and thereby helps ADDED in meeting its strategic goals in line with Abu Dhabi’s economic agenda.
ADDED employees who are selected to work remotely represent 23.87 per cent of the total number of its employees, in which they are classified to be part of the first category of employees and are specialized in the fields of inspection, supervision, and customer service.
H.E. Mohammed Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman of ADDED said that the positive results they had achieved during the time when 100 per cent remote work system for all employees was being applied due to the spread of COVID-19 pandemic prompted the department to implement this initiative and decided to continue the process especially for divisions where employees have demonstrated high productivity, quality, and excellence in their performance.
H.E. Al Shorafa reiterated the department's commitment to adopting pioneering initiatives that deliver successful results in line with the directions of Abu Dhabi’s wise leadership to create an effective system that adapt to the current situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are currently preparing a comprehensive policy for the remote work system for several specializations and work roles which is expected to enhance ADDED’s ability to adopt a proactive work mechanism that can deliver the highest productivity while creating an attractive work environment for employees. The initiative is also set to help facilitate and expedite the completion of transactions in line with the government’s digital transformation agenda in government services,” he explained.
Al Shorafa noted that since the beginning of the pandemic which had promoted that all government agencies to fully work remotely, ADDED’s employees have achieved great results in productivity and business continuity in which the department exemplified the same level of efficiency and excellence in terms of providing its services electronically at a 100 per cent rate. In addition, the department has continued to implement projects, programs, and initiatives that support Abu Dhabi’s economy and has achieved as well high levels of professionalism right from the early stages of the pandemic.
H.E. Rashed Abdul Karim Al Balooshi, Undersecretary of ADDED, said: "This pioneering remote work initiative aims to provide the Department’s employees with a conducive work environment and enable the staff to facilitate and speed up the completion of transactions in a flexible, easy and fast manner while ensuring quality. In addition, the initiative also continues to serve and meet the needs of investors and businessmen in securing their economic licensing transactions electronically. All the necessary tools and enablers for remote working will be provided to help employees positively work in reduced effort and time."
H.E. Al Balooshi added that the first phase of the initiative focused on tasks of teams involved in monitoring, inspection, and customer service, who are carrying out their duties and responsibilities digitally to serve the business sector’s customers and complete the economic licensing transactions. The first phase was implemented initially on these teams after assessing their productivity when they were working remotely.
H.E. Al Balooshi further stated that a team from ADDED is currently working on studying the impact made by the 100 per cent 'remote work' system in achieving the desired results of the department’s services and analyse the offered services during the mentioned period while evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of the workflow through evaluating the speed of service delivery, assess the efficiency of systems and applications and identifying the required time to complete the service. In addition to this, the team is also preparing a study comparison between the two results--delivery of services while working remotely and the same period of normal work process --and measuring the productivity rate of all services according to sectors.
Ibrahim Al Mousa, Executive Director of ADDED’s Supporting Services Sector, said that the total number of employees involved in the first phase of the initiative has reached 180 employees, with over 66 of them from the Licensing Department who work on customers’ electronic transactions and 114 employees from the Commercial Protection Department, which comprise 90 employees from the field monitoring and inspection teams as well as 24 employees from the Electronic Transactions Division.
Al Mousa revealed that ADDED’s human resources team is currently working on identifying occupations and job roles on which the remote work system can be applied across ADDED’s various units, sections, and branches in Abu Dhabi city, Al Ain city and Al Dhafra region. Work statistics and performance reports will be conducted to oversee the effectiveness of remote work mechanisms, apart from organizing workshops for the employees involved in the initiative to enhance their skills and capabilities to formally adopt the new work policy in a legal and professional manner.
He added that the initiative launched by ADDED’s Human Resources Department is in line with the directives of the Human Resources Authority - Abu Dhabi (HRA) which has been exploring the government entities’ views on applying the remote work system to a number of roles across their entities in Abu Dhabi, among which ADDED was included.