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Mawred
Ministry of Civil Service

A. Problem Analysis

 1. What was the problem before the implementation of the initiative?
The Ministry of Civil Service (MoCS) is responsible for managing the recruitment process of all 38 Government Units which fall under the Civil Service Law, via the Central Recruitment System, for developing HR by monitoring training and scholarship plans, for executing Omanisation plans, and for providing an accurate and detailed Statistical Database in the aforementioned areas. Previously, these processes were entirely paper-based between the MoCS and the other 38 Government Units, causing a noteworthy waste of time, effort, and resources, while also being detrimental to the environment. These forms of waste did not only have a negative impact on the nature of the inter-ministerial workflow, but were especially tangible for the beneficiary civil servants whose files were being processed in this manner. Furthermore, any given file necessarily changed hands a number of times prior to completion, and was therefore also constantly prone to human error and faulty data. The average time required to process any given file is estimated to have been approximately six months from start to finish, therefore any financial or other benefit resulting from the finalisation of such a file was deferred, causing notable inconvenience and difficulty directly to the beneficiaries. In total, approximately 900k people throughout the country (179k: direct impact; 716k indirect impact), were affected by this, which amounts to about a third of the local population. Due to the above complications, it was deemed to be of crucial importance to develop a new lean process that would prioritise speed, efficiency, precision and transparency for the benefit of all parties, and that would be in line with His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said’s grand vision of transforming Oman into a sustainable knowledge-based economy with an e-government and a Digital Oman Strategy.

B. Strategic Approach

 2. What was the solution?
The solution is a comprehensive Human Resources Management System (HRMS) called Mawred, which is a unified data model that provides a single, accurate view of human resource-related activities (recruiting, performance management, learning and compensation), helping all Civil Service Units to administer and manage HR-related transactions electronically, and giving the civil servants the opportunity to access, check and manage their personal profile and, from there, to apply for services and make relevant queries remotely. Beyond optimising workflows and processes (lean processing), and thereby saving notable amounts of time and other resources, it gives the utmost transparency to all parties, avoids human error and preferential treatments (promotes equality across the board), and is a valuable source of HR related data for analysts and researchers (strategic planning). It furthermore is a cornerstone in Oman’s e-government strategy, creating an interface with the national Manpower System, the Pension System, and the Civil Registration System (G2G), as well as promoting strategic and simplified interaction with the population through a Self-Service portal (G2E), and direct online application for jobs (G2C).
 3. How did the initiative solve the problem and improve people’s lives?
The strategy of Mawred is to optimise the investment of time, effort and resources of all Government Units which fall under the Civil Service Law and their employees for any human resource-related activities. This is achieved by the implementation of Mawred, a virtual and user-friendly comprehensive Human Resources Management System (HRMS), which enables the streamlining of services provided to government employees of the Civil Service Units, and covers the employee’s entire HR-cycle from appointment to retirement. Mawred has helped the employees of all 38 Government Units which fall under the Civil Service Law manage their HR transactions electronically within their unit and across other related units autonomously. This electronic workflow has saved the government and its employees a lot of time and money, and has made it possible for everyone to easily view and control their own HRM details. The virtual nature of the HR system has made it possible for the concerned employees to access their personal HR profile remotely, 24-hours a day, and to carry out actions such as updating their biodata and their contact information, to apply for leave, and to make use of numerous other services available online through the Mawred Self Service option. To ensure a secure access to Mawred, an employee once appointed is given a strictly personal password with which he can access his profile, using his National ID number as a username. Any access, directly by the user or by the managing team, is traceable and recorded, and any changes made are logged. This procedure is designed to guarantee transparency and eliminate the possibility of any tampering. Mawred gives a clear overview of the employee’s salary breakdown, including any deductions or bonuses, and sends an SMS notification to the mobile number provided by the employee once the salary is transferred to the bank account registered in his/her profile on the 23rd of every calendar month. This easy and transparent system aids the employee in planning his/her budget and to make provisions for his/her financial commitments. From the Government’s point of view, Mawred has notably simplified and sped up the HR workflow, making it much easier to monitor and track any related activity. The transparency of the system provides valuable data in real-time, with which to create concrete references and statistics for strategic planning purposes. This helps to constantly improve the system and the services provided, in pursuit of excellence in Human Resources management and development, and employee career planning strategies.

C. Execution and Implementation

 4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?
We have created the Human Resources Management System called Mawred, which is a unified data model that provides a single, accurate and up-to-date view of HR-related activities. It is innovative, lean and transparent, and automates appoint-to-retire processes for governmental staff, so that alignment between the workforce and strategic objectives can be achieved. This modern system, which is an integral part of the e-Oman vision, contains four modules • HR: to control all employee-related activities • Payroll: to control costs and manage payments according to the Civil Service Law • Self-Service: to update and use staff-specific information • Discoverer: to get immediate access to information that provide a cost-effective, customisable, secure and automatic means of managing Human Resources for all Civil Service Units. Furthermore, the simplicity, transparency and accuracy of the system helps to instill a sense of trust, and organisational commitment in the employees, which, in turn, helps to improve their overall engagement and productivity. Furthermore, the pioneering success of Mawred has inspired other government entities to adapt this system as well.
 5. Who implemented the initiative and what is the size of the population affected by this initiative?
The Ministry of Civil Service has been responsible for implementing and managing Mawred since its inception in 2005. This was done in collaboration with a local IT partner, and later the MoCS’ IT team saw to its implementation in all other Government Units which fall under the Civil Service Law. In total, approximately 900k people throughout the country (179k: direct impact; 716k indirect impact), have been affected by this, which amounts to about a third of the local population.
 6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?
A feasibility study was carried out by the World Bank in 1995, which recommended the implementation of a Human Resources Management System for all Civil Service Units in the Sultanate of Oman, and suggested that the Ministry of Civil Service (MoCS) take the responsibility for this project. Thereafter, a thorough requirements analysis was done by Booz Allen Hamilton, a renowned management and technology consulting firm, and the HR departments of all Civil Service Units were involved in gathering and providing the needed support and data. The analysis of BAH clearly highlighted the flaws in the previously used process, and suggested to completely reengineer it, providing a selection of solutions available on the market. Out of these, the Ministry of Civil Service finally opted for the ready-made HRMS package from Oracle, as it complied with most of the MoCS’ requirements, was easy to manage, and provided new technology based on a global HR experience. Arthur Andersen contributed in the evaluation process of the proposals in order to identify the most appropriate solution. The appropriate budget and personnel were deployed after obtaining the needed approvals from the stakeholders, and then the Oracle package was scrutinized and re-tailored to meet the exact requirements of the MoCS.
 7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?
The need for a redesigned Human Resources Management System for the Civil Service Units in the Sultanate of Oman was initially suggested though the study of the World Bank, and later by the renowned management and technology consulting firm the Booz Allen Hamilton, that was assisted by the HR departments of all 38 Civil Service Units. The prospect of digitalising the new HRMS for the Civil Service Units was entirely in line with His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Al Said’s grand vision of transforming Oman into a sustainable knowledge-based economy with an e-government and a Digital Oman Strategy, therefore Mawred fit impeccably into the future vision of the country. The HRMS’ functionality was perfectly tailored to suit the requirements of the Ministry of Civil Service, based on the Civil Service Law, and was developed and implemented in collaboration with other stakeholders, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education. Once the system was developed and the implementation process had started, active efforts were made to teach the involved stakeholders how to use the new system. Workshops were held across the 38 Civil Service Units to ensure that all employees understood the basic features of Mawred so that they could benefit from it, and the latest satisfaction survey result in an over 90% average value of satisfaction on all aspects of the system.
 8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?
The need for a redesigned Human Resources Management System for the Civil Service Units in the Sultanate of Oman was initially suggested though the study of the World Bank, and later by the renowned management and technology consulting firm the Booz Allen Hamilton, that was assisted by the HR departments of all 38 Civil Service Units. The prospect of digitalising the new HRMS for the Civil Service Units was entirely in line with His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Al Said’s grand vision of transforming Oman into a sustainable knowledge-based economy with an e-government and a Digital Oman Strategy, therefore Mawred fit impeccably into the future vision of the country. The HRMS’ functionality was perfectly tailored to suit the requirements of the Ministry of Civil Service, based on the Civil Service Law, and was developed and implemented in collaboration with other stakeholders, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education. Once the system was developed and the implementation process had started, active efforts were made to teach the involved stakeholders how to use the new system. Workshops were held across the 38 Civil Service Units to ensure that all employees understood the basic features of Mawred so that they could benefit from it, and the latest satisfaction survey result in an over 90% average value of satisfaction on all aspects of the system. 8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective? In no more than 400 words list no more than five concrete outputs that illustrate the success of the initiative and its role in advancing the SDGs. Since Mawred’s success depended heavily on the readiness of people to adapt to change and to adopt new processes and technologies, change management initiatives with stakeholders were carried out early on, through specific training and thorough exploration of the new application. Key functional users were identified in a number of government units to participate in the review and testing process of the new application in its early stages, and this active feedback and constructive criticism helped to eliminate gaps in user expectations. These key functional users became the people of reference within their organization, and later participated in advanced training to become the Mawred-Trainers that are responsible for training newly appointed employees. Seeing the user acceptance of Mawred and its tangible benefits was essential to getting senior management to fully adopt and genuinely support the system, and the sudden availability of reliable data in real time furthermore brought the advantage of being able to make certain managerial decisions based on a more solid foundation. For the employees, this system meant obtaining transparent accessibility to their personal file in real time, as well as having the possibility to manage and monitor numerous HR related matters remotely. The employee could now easily take care of an array of operations related to his/her welfare, in addition to performing various actions online such as applying for leave, handling salary benefits and deductions, and following-up with direct requests.
 9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?
Mawred was first commissioned in 2005, but the Government and its employees were resistant to this change, and fundamentally reluctant to depend on a software system in place of the traditional and ingrained paper-based method of Human Resources Management. In 2009 Mawred was further developed, but there was still widespread resistance to change. In 2011 the Central Recruitment System, which covers the recruitment process from the candidate’s application to his/her appointment, received the United Nations Public Service Award. This important global recognition prompted a shift in the mindset of the Civil Service Units and its employees, as it clearly showed the worth of an innovative system. After being subjected to years of rejection due to resistance to change, this widespread positive reaction was an inspiration to the Mawred team to actively persevere in its intent of implementing the new HR system, hence we consider 2012 as its true launch. It suddenly became very evident that actively implementing a transparent system that would cover the complete HR cycle from appointment to retirement was extremely important in the context of concretely optimizing processes, promoting equal opportunities, and eliminating mismanagement. A further obstacle encountered during the design and implementation phase of Mawred was the identification of process gaps in the previous HRM system, which also resulted in a misalignment with the Civil Service Law. The implementation team worked closely with the stakeholders to address and discuss those key issues, mutually establishing a new action plan that included a workaround solution to rectify the problems. This also required training end users according to the new solution.

D. Impact and Sustainability

 10. What were the key benefits resulting from this initiative?
The benefits of the implementation of Mawred are numerous. The new HRMS has had a direct and tangible impact on the use of resources and time, and has notably simplified the procedures of any HR-related activity. These benefits touch the 38 Civil Service Units, all of their employees, as well as any new recruits. Based on Booz Allen Hamilton’s study, Mawred has addressed general process optimization, and has notably refined of long and/or escalated approval chains. The improvements and benefits from the government workflow perspective include: • The HRMS system is available to all business units directly involved in HR activities concerning civil service employees • HRMS replaces the time-consuming procedure of returning documents due to incomplete or incorrect data • Wherever applicable, electronic workflows are utilized to speed up analysis, reviews and approval cycles • Business Process Re-Engineering (BPR) is performed on general process for optimization • Processes that are not altered by the BPR exercise still benefit from the efficiency gained via information sharing through HRMS • Fully automated processes eliminate the need for a paper trail (i.e. multiple copies, filing, lost documents…), resulting in less waste and much lower impact on the environment • Universal access to accurate, timely information benefits all processes. It also eliminates the ad-hoc processes which are a major obstacle in day-to-day operations: o MoCS requests information from Civil Service Units o Civil Service Units request process status from MoCS • Vast amounts of resources (in the quantifiable forms of employee time, stationery, required transport of documents etc.) are being saved Over all, Mawred has enabled general optimisation, ranging from the simplification of processes, saving time, saving resources, improving and expediting workflows, bringing increased transparency to the communication between the Civil Service Units and its employees, eliminating opportunities for preferential treatments and corruption. The measurements to assess the benefits are very simply made by comparing the various parameters, such as time and expenses linked to the previous system, with those of Mawred.
 11. Did the initiative improve integrity and/or accountability in public service? (If applicable)
Research has clearly shown that an atmosphere of honesty and trust in the workplace promotes positive employee attitudes that directly impact productivity and organisational culture. Therefore, in line with modern management theories, creating a Human Resources Management System that would foster integrity and promote transparency was an important aspect in the development of Mawred. Furthermore, eliminating opportunities to abuse the system, by allowing very limited human intervention, automatically eradicated any potential corruption or unjust preferential treatments. Equal opportunities of both genders are also more easily guaranteed in such a system, as any parameters of employment are necessarily subject to the Civil Service Law. There are a number of areas in which these topics were contemplated, directly or indirectly, examples of which are: Appointment: Mawred ensures that the candidate selected through the Central Employment System is appointed to the job he/she was recruited for. That eliminates any possibilities for preferential treatment. Salary: giving the employee direct and real time access to his/her payroll data avoids any unjust detractions (possibility for direct contestation), and does away with the opportunity that any amounts are illicitly skimmed off the sum transferred to the employee. Leave: the employee has direct access to his/her leave balance, and can plan the absences accordingly with more ease. An important asset of Mawred is also obtaining accurate data for the purpose of transparency and accountability. Previously, data regarding Human Resources was supplied by the various Civil Service Units, and its reliability was not always 100% certain. Through Mawred, a unified data model that provides a single, accurate and up-to-date view of HR-related activities, this problem has been overcome. Having accurate statistics and data concretely helps the government in its strategic planning activities, and aids researchers to properly analyse any HR-related activity of the Civil Service Units. Today the solution of Mawred is recognized and appreciated as an innovative HRM process, as well as being a means of effective communication amongst all Government Unit employees under the Civil Service Law. It receives continuous updates and upgrades in the constant pursuit of excellence.
 12. Were special measures put in place to ensure that the initiative benefits women and girls and improves the situation of the poorest and most vulnerable? (If applicable)
The Mawred system is created to allow minimal human intervention, therefore merit-based equal opportunities between genders are guaranteed. As Mawred is also directly based on Oman’s Civil Service Law, and therein women have specific rights and benefits, these are necessarily respected and implemented within any Mawred process. Furthermore, by being able to remotely manage and monitor one’s personal employee, payroll and leave data, as well as having the possibility to complete and submit numerous types of documents through the Internet directly, a lot of time is saved that ladies can dedicate to their families, creating a greater sense of work-life balance.

Contact Information

Institution Name:   Ministry of Civil Service
Institution Type:   Ministry  
Contact Person:   Ahmed Alameri
Title:   Sheikh  
Telephone/ Fax:   0096892532313
Institution's / Project's Website:  
E-mail:   ahmedalameri@mocs.gov.om  
Address:   3994
Postal Code:   112
City:   Ruwi
State/Province:   Muscat
Country:  

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