Abu Dhabi:  With a vision to deliver a high-performing public sector and to complete its transformation from a centralised, bureaucratic organisation to become a strategic partner of other government departments, Abu Dhabi Department of Civil Service (DCS) set out its five-year strategy on Wednesday.

Rashid Mubarak Al Hajeri, chairman of the department said at the launch ceremony which was held at Emirates Palace that "the executive council's policy agenda last year had given a clear mandate to the department to usher in a new era of professionalism".

He said "the pace of change had been very fast, with the DCS presiding over the introduction of a new culture that, in many other countries, would have been phased in over a much longer period."

"Since the launch of the department in 2005 we have been trying to change the traditional vision when dealing with human resources in order to follow the modern and rapid development in modern establishments" Al Hajeri said.

Value-added change

Ali Al Ketbi, undersecretary, said presenting the government as the employer of choice and an equal opportunities employer was essential in attracting and retaining the right talent to ensure a high-performing workforce. He said "the initiative that we plan to undertake over the next few years will deliver real, value-adding change."

The department is implementing new technology-based human resources systems that are allowing government departments to work more efficiently, "giving employees the best technology, progress and training, it will be possible to benchmark performance against international best practice and this will be an important measure of progress" Al Ketbi said.

"We are co-developing with some of our partners programmes that work in a purely Abu Dhabi context to equip the future leaders of government with the necessary skills; some of these initiatives are unique to the region and will be the first time that they have been seen," he added.

Key achievements

Some of the department's achievements which have come into existence since its establishment in 2005 are:

- An increase in the participation of Emirati women in the government to 12 per cent of its total workforce.

- An eight-fold increase in people with special needs taking up careers in government departments.

- A compensation and benefits programme that now permits the government department to compete against the private sector for the best talent.

Policy

Rashid Mubark Al Hajeri, chairman of DCS. The DSC is on target to achieve its key outcomes as outlined in the policy agenda:

- Viewing the government as an employer of choice and an equal opportunities employer.

- Effective leadership to inspire, transform and deliver.

- A civil service that attracts and retains the best human resources.

- A high-performing workforce.

- A change-ready government.

Reorganisation

Following the reorganisation of Abu Dhabi's government departments, the civil service department was established in 2005 and was tasked with developing human resources strategies related to the civil service of the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

It is responsible for developing HR (Human Resources) regulations and procedures and disseminating these among the HR divisions of Abu Dhabi's government departments for implementation.

The department focuses on people, performance and partnerships to attract, motivate, retain and reward outstanding UAE nationals, this enabling them to be the potential leaders of on Thursday.