Sultan bin Ahmed honours 'Tamayuz' awards winners

Sharjah 24

07-03-2025

Categories and winners
The University of Sharjah won the award for the best institution in governance implementation, while the Invest Bank secured the first place in the best financial oversight category. The Sharjah Media City "Shams" received the award for the best entity in secret shopper reports, and the Sharjah Broadcasting Authority won first place in the best smart application category for its "Maraya" application. Additionally, the Sharjah Government Media Bureau won the award for the best website for its "Sharjah Events" site according to secret shopper reports.
The University of Sharjah also took home the award for the best contact center based on secret shopper reports, while Arada Company won the best service center award for its "City Walk Sales Center." The awards for best entity in customer happiness and best entity in employee happiness were awarded to Sharjah Media City "Shams." The best outstanding practices awards were granted to the "Create with Shams" initiative by Sharjah Media City "Shams," the "House for House" initiative by Arada, and the "Maraya Platform" by the Sharjah Broadcasting Authority.
Recognition of evaluation teams
His Highness also honoured the judging and evaluation teams, presenting them with commemorative shields and taking photos with them, commending their efforts during the previous period.
Speech by Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi
During the award ceremony, His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairman of the "Tamayuz" Excellence Award, delivered a speech congratulating the winners of the first edition of the award. He expressed his happiness at the success of the first edition and noted that he felt the idea of the award was realised through the smiles and impressions of the attendees regarding the results.
His Highness clarified that the award is not an end in itself but a means to achieve the previously stated goals, aiming to create a distinguished work system characterised by strategic agility, executive flexibility, and competitive capability through the collective efforts of all. He discussed the steps to achieve these goals through employee satisfaction and customer happiness, emphasising the need for best practices to be showcased to others, which creates a solid and transparent governance system.
Future plans for the award
His Highness, the Chairman of the "Tamayuz" Award, pointed out that there was a request to increase the number of categories for the next edition of the award and announce them. However, he preferred to postpone this until the results and contributions of the first edition could be studied in depth, considering the positives and negatives with the participation of the entities and incorporating their suggestions for the development and continuity of the award.
He insisted that the selection of winners in all award categories should remain with the judges and that no new category for special recognition should be added, which he personally selects for entities with outstanding practices. This was to confirm the transparency, integrity, and fairness of the award, affirming that entities are capable of improving their performance and competing for the award categories.
Closing remarks
His Highness concluded his speech by noting that he was constantly informed about the positive competition among institutions and their commitment to attending workshops and training sessions. He praised several employees who attended additional special courses and workshops to gain more knowledge about governance and excellence, indicating that this reflects their strong commitment to development and improvement. He emphasised that competition was a motivation for development and innovation, and that excellence is a decision, not a choice.
Insights from the Award Manager
Hassan Yaqoub Al Mansoori, Director of the "Tamayuz" Excellence Award, delivered a speech at the beginning discussing the inception of the award. He noted that it had been on the desk of His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, who wished to create a unified system or office responsible for governing all operations, applying it to all practices in the institutions under his leadership to enhance service quality.
Al Mansoori explained that the team studied the idea and presented it as a comprehensive project developed by a team of experts and consultants from local talent, which His Highness approved for implementation in the institutions he heads.
He remarked that the Chairman of the award envisioned it as a means to initiate improvement and development, serving as an incentive for institutions and teams. He recalled the launch of the award in October 2023 and the Chairman's remarks at the time, stating, "I am often asked what is the secret behind the excellence of the institutions I lead, and the answer is that these institutions excel because of the exceptional teams that have been carefully selected and given trust and support." He described these words as a great motivator for all.
Team efforts and participation
Al Mansoori addressed the efforts of the award's team, which prepared for the first cycle, which had a single main category since the original idea was based on governance in institutions. The team conducted benchmarking studies and developed the award guide leading to the launch of the electronic platform to facilitate participation, evaluation, and judging processes. He clarified that the judging committee members were experienced local personnel in the categories proposed in the first cycle of the award, such as governance and financial oversight.
He confirmed that each entity would receive a detailed report on their participation aimed at transforming weaknesses into opportunities for growth and improvement, noting that future editions would witness participation from new entities led by His Highness, contributing to expanding the scope of participation and enhancing competitiveness.
Al Mansoori concluded his speech by stating, "Allow me to title the last paragraph of my speech with the word 'enthusiasm.' The enthusiasm and interaction I witnessed on everyone's faces were clear and a great motivator for the award team to continue. The unparalleled enthusiasm from institutional leaders, teams, employee responsiveness, and the feedback from judges and evaluators who praised the response and interaction from the excellence teams was truly remarkable."
Presentation of video material
His Highness the Deputy Ruler of Sharjah and the attendees watched a visual presentation titled "Excellence is a Decision, a Renewed Vision, and an Ambition that Races Against Time," which addressed the goals of the award and highlighted its key figures and the participation of institutions along with the efforts of the teams that tirelessly strived to showcase the excellence of the participating entities.
The award had conducted six training workshops attended by over 300 individuals, providing knowledge and establishing a path focused on continuous development, along with eight awareness publications that promoted a culture of excellence. A survey targeting customer happiness was participated in by over 55,000 customers, in addition to a survey for employees that included over 5,000 employees, and more than 530 evaluations for secret shoppers of service channels.
The material also discussed the launch of the "Tamayuz" platform, which facilitates participants in submitting their files clearly and transparently, with over a thousand documents uploaded to the platform and 500 reports for secret shoppers, managed by eight excellence teams consisting of 33 members.