| 4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?
|
|
Being the first organization in the MENA region to achieve the Hall of Fame Award for Executing Strategy, DEWA continues actively to implement Dr. Kaplan & Norton's five outlined basic principles of a Strategy-Focused Organization by emphasizing executive leadership; translating the corporate strategy into the operational terms; aligning this strategy and cascading it all the way to every employee to make it an every day job for everyone and last but not the least; making it a continuous process.
Based on that philosophy the initiative action and implementation plan was mapped using Balanced Scorecard as well as a mindmap was created illustrating linkage of different project. This initiative was executed by implementation of 8 projects, all of which were aligned to the strategic themes “Elevating Customer Experience” and “ A motivated and competent workforce in a dynamic and safe environment driving world – class excellence”. The following are elements of the action plans for 8 projects:
* Initiate
* Planning
* Execution
* Monitoring and Evaluation
* Closure
Initiate:
For each project a detailed feasibility study was conducted highlighting the project objective, Scope, Stakeholders, Responsible people, along with proposed benefits and deliverable.
Project teams were formed, as per DEWA's Team formation Approach guidelines, from competent employees representing the concerned department. Respective project teams were responsible for executing four elements of action plan (Planning to Closure). Those teams performance was monitored and evaluated by Customer Satisfaction Enhancement (CSE) Committee, headed by EVP – CS. The performance of the CSE committee was evaluated by MD&CEO.
Planning:
Each team developed Plan Matrix containing the following elements:
1- Strategic Theme
2- Strategic Objectives
3- Activities of each program
4- Activity Objective
5- Milestones for each activity
6- Key Success Factors
7- Timeframe
8- Manpower Requirement
9- Budget
10- Detail Roles and Responsibilities
Execution:
After approval of Plan Matrix; budgets allocations and cash flow projections were prepared and approved for each project in accordance with DEWA’s Financial Resource Management Approach (Document # EA PR-03). Human Resource allocation and mapping was done in coordination with DEWA's Manpower Requirement Approach (Document # EA HR-01). Technological resource were allocated in coordination with IT Division.
Kick-off meetings were conducted in presence of all Customer Satisfaction Enhancement Committee members and team members where project Terms of Reference were signed off.
For the execution of the project teams were guided by DEWA's Process Development and Management Approach (Document # EA PS-01), where PDCA was followed. For example: Point of Sale Project – Implementation was done in pilot to understand the impact on process, quality of service and Customer feedback. Accordingly full project was rolled out across in phases.
Monitoring and Evaluation
The team developed Monitoring and Evaluation Matrix covering the life cycle of the project on annual basis. Monitoring and Evaluation reports were generated on Quarterly Basis and results were evaluated in Committee meetings and reported to MD&CEO. Reasons for deviations from project plan identified through gap analysis were justified and corrective and preventive measures were actioned.
Closure
On successful achievement of Deliverables of each project, Lessons Learnt were documented. Team officially signed off and transferred project document to the concerned Sections in Customer Services Division.
Sample of Action plans are uploaded.
|
|
| 5. Who implemented the initiative and what is the size of the population affected by this initiative?
|
|
DEWA stakeholders are rated in terms of the importance & power of each stakeholder in comparison to their level of interest in DEWA's area of activity
* Government: Dubai Smart Government (formally eGovernment) guidelines were followed to design DEWA website. The website and its ease of use is evaluated by Dubai Smart Government.
Adopted Dubai Model guidelines for Customer Service Center Certification
* Customers: Residential, Commercial, Industrial and Government customers using DEWA services. Customers' opinions were collected through different channels such as customer satisfaction surveys, Mystery Shopper Reports, customer suggestions and complaints as outlined in Customer Relation Management Approach.
* Society: Community of people primarily inhabitants of Dubai who have shared customs, values and norms. Engaged during marketing campaign pre and post implementation.
* Partners: An external party that DEWA strategically chooses to provide services to customers, to achieve common objectives and sustained mutual benefits (Banks, EPPCO/ENOC, Etisalat, Emirates post). Partners were involved throughout the lifecycle of project.
Dubai Municipality is one of our main strategic partners. DM and DEWA are working together for mutual benefits including collection of payment by DEWA on DM behalf and by sharing of Business premises for optimum utilization of available resources.
* Employees: Individuals hired by DEWA, to perform a set of agreed tasks and those who have been elected by government to oversee the management of DEWA. (CSD, Finance, IT, Business Process Improvement, Business Support, Marketing & Corporate Communication, Strategy and performance Management and Customer Service Enhancement Committee members). Employees were Involved throughout the lifecycle of the project. Internal customers’ relation is managed through Service Level Agreements (SLA).
* Suppliers: Suppliers are organizations/ companies who deal with DEWA as material or service providers. (Vendors and Developers). Involved at the time of Design, development, implementation as per Partnership and Suppliers Management approach
|
| 6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?
|
|
In accordance with DEWA’s Financial Resource Management Approach (Document # EA PR-03), projects’ costs are planned, estimated, evaluated, mobilized, monitored and spent. For the subject eight projects Cost Benefit Analysis Forms were prepared to study the financial impact and derived benefits of each project.
After approval of Cost Benefit Analysis form by Head of Division and Finance Department, Funds were allocated to each and every project according to the time frame mentioned in the action plan of the respective project; accordingly cash flow projections were estimated and made available on time. The Initiative was funded by DEWA. The Initiative total cost was USD 36 Million
For each project Resource Allocation is done in the following manner:
* Action plan for all projects covering all activities, time frame, responsibilities and budgets
* Listed all financial resources that were required for the projects based on activities, time frame and responsibilities defined in action plan.
* Developed time estimates for project life cycle.
* Total Manpower cost was allocated at Departmental level
* Allocated people against activities identified in Project action plan.
* Begin to plan for Continuous monitoring of project resources to avoid work delays and to define how best to use available project resources.
Projects’ Budget
* State of Art Customer service centers to cover different geographical locations and renovation of existing customer service centers. USD 28.06 Million
* Intensive marketing campaign to educate customers regarding availability of services USD 2.87 Million
* Standardization of services and Process Optimization Charged to DEWA Quality Department
* eServices Adaptation, Adoption and rewards . USD 3.9 million
* Point of sale (POS) was initiated to reduce average long waiting and serving time for bill payment. USD 0.57 Million
* Real time integration with Service Partners for real time data update. Cost allocated from overall DEWA IT budget
* “Beyond Customer Expectation” training program for staff USD 0.60 Million
* Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system enhancement USD 8,000
External human resources’ cost is included in project cost and internal human resources cost were allocated at Departmental level.
The IT support was internally provided by DEWA IT division. Cost was allocated at centralized level. The costs of external knowhow and hardware were included in the total project cost.
|
|
| 7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?
|
|
As stated in projects' action plans, each activity is linked to an output, and outputs are being measured with KPIs . The following were the major outputs of the Initiative:
* Implementation of Point of Sale system:
POS interface at payment collection centers to leverage the performance and maturity of payment system and increase the efficiency of collection, cash management and MIS reporting thus reducing the cycle time in completing a transaction and delivering a greater customer experience. Total Number of POS machines installed are 53.
* Nine Customers Service Centers were opened and Four Customers Service Centers were renovated.
Under the subject Initiative and as per approved action plan, nine new Customer service centers were opened after detailed understanding of demographic concentration of customers and to cover different geographical locations to maximize reach to customers. The Following State of the Art Customer Service Centers were opened categorized as follows:
o 3 Customer Service Centers opened in DEWA's own building
o 6 Customer Services Centers opened in partnership with government departments.
o 4 centers were renovated to accommodate customers' needs.
In addition to above, over 400 service access points created through partnerships.
* Number of employees trained
Under the "Beyond Customer Expectation” capacity building program, developed in coordination between Customer Relations and Human Resources Departments. Training conducted by the Center for Management and Professional Development – University of Dubai. 361 employees were accredited by International Business Trading Association (IBTA). All certificates were endorsed by IBTA, USA. This training program covered effective handling of customers, managing customer service, effective time management, team work and communication skills.
* Queue management system (QMS) Enhanced:
Enhancement of QMS enables elegant management of customers which is essential to avoid customers’ long queues. In addition, QMS also offers valuable data for benchmarking and employee performance appraisal. Total 8 QMS machine were installed at DEWA Customer Service Centers
* Advance and latest technologies Implemented
o DEWA Website was enhanced in line with Dubai Smart Government Guidelines and to provide comprehensive services.
o Smart Devices’ applications: Providing a platform to customers to use DEWA services through their Smart Devices (IOS, Android, Windows & Blackberry).
o Real time integration with service partners: Implemented real-time integration of DEWA system with different payment channels.
|
|
| 8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?
|
|
On March, every year, corporate and divisional strategy maps are reviewed and approved by the MD & CEO H.E Saeed M. Al Tayer.
Since the initiative is invented to bridge the gap towards achieving the 5 strategic objectives cross cutting to strategic themes, as mentioned in Question # 2, the performance of initiative was monitored and evaluated throughout the year at different levels:
* AT the corporate level:
The Initiative's projects were aligned with the strategic objectives and KPIs were identified to measure the performance. KPIs were monitored using Excel worksheet until SAP Strategy Management System (SSM) introduced where the strategic Key Performance Indicators results are monitored in terms of Scope, Status, Trend and Gap Performance. Deviation, if any, are justified and then system results are transferred to Dashboard, where all reports are reviewed, evaluated and assessed, on quarterly basis, at the management meeting chaired by the MD&CEO and attended by senior management. Divisional Management meetings are attended by the MD&CEO and Senior Management of Customer Service Division.
*On Weekly basis Chairman (EVP- Customer Services, Eng. Abdullah Al Hajri) and members of the Customer Satisfaction Enhancement Committee monitor and evaluate projects' performance and accordingly actions are taken. Customer’s satisfaction results are also discussed at the level of the committee
The EVPs, VPs Sr. Managers and Managers from different divisions/departments providing services to customers are members, plus the supporting divisions such as process re-engineering, IT, Marketing, Business Support & Human Resources and Finance.
* At the Divisional Level:
o Monthly divisional meeting.
o Quarterly SAP Strategy System report and SLA Acquisition results discussed
o Monthly eComplain and eSuggest report
o Billing and Customer Relation departments’ co-ordination meeting.
* At Departmental level
o KPI performance monitoring by Managers.
o SLA KPI’s results are monitored through SSM and reports generated on Quarterly basis and reflected on the Strategy Dashboards.
o Annual Employee Satisfaction Survey report
o Monthly Quality Check Report
o Monthly Mystery Shopper reports
* At the Customer Service Centers:
o QMS daily report is monitored by the supervisors and reviewed with the branch manager
o Employee performance report, aligned with the smart and strategic objective, is evaluated semi- annually and results are discussed with employees immediately.
o Internal Audit Reports
o Quality Check reports
|
|
| 9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?
|
|
Obstacles encountered during initiative implementation
* Difficulty in installing POS system in existing Cash payment counters.
* System integration issues due to complexities and difference in technologies of various partners. The Challenge was to Support multi-channel payment systems in which the management of different payment channels are integrated in DEWA IT infrastructure.
* Difficulty in handling day to day operations due to unavailability of large number of staffs, attending the Beyond Customer Expectation training.
* Limited awareness of customers about DEWA offline and online services.
* Resource Conflicts and challenging targets
* Differences in personal styles and personalities affect change management programs.
Actions performed to overcome these Obstacles
* Cash payment counters were redesigned suiting to POS, keeping in view staff Health and Safety.
* Implemented compatible system architecture that allowed real-time integration of DEWA system with different payment channels.
* Proper allocation of trainees and work load, enabled us to manage day to day operations successfully. Regular Internal refresher training on DEWA systems updates .
* Effective utilization of all communication channels (News Papers, Leaflets , web banners, SMS , LCD displays, Radios, and Emails) to educate customers about DEWA services.
* Developed detailed Resource Plans for all eight projects and also gained Commitment from Resource Managers through Service Level Agreements between concerned Divisions/ Departments within DEWA
* More frequent meetings to increase communication between team and minimize inconsistent perceptions and to facilitate more active team-building efforts.
|