The Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) in Dubai will honour 39 businesses and organisations in the UAE for their exceptional achievements and endeavours in pursuing quality and excellence at the 28^th Business Excellence Awards ceremony, to be held on the 21^st of March 2022 under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The virtual ceremony will be led by His Excellency Helal Saeed Al Marri, Director General of the Department of Economy and Tourism in Dubai. The prestigious awards seek to recognise outstanding efforts and commitment towards adopting best practices and achieve excellence in diverse disciplines of business, locally and regionally.

While 21 businesses from the retail, services, healthcare, hospitality and e-Commerce sectors will be recognised under the Dubai Service Excellence Scheme (DSES), another 18 from diverse sectors, including tourism, service-driven organisations, business associations and industrial establishments, will be honoured in the flagship Dubai Quality Awards (DQA) series at the ceremony.

“The 28^th Business Excellence Awards are a testament to the resilience and adaptability of businesses in the UAE and the impact of the decisive measures adopted by the UAE leadership to ensure business continuity in the face of a challenging global business landscape,” said Shaikha Ahmad Al Bishri,  Director of the Business Excellence Department in DET.

The latest cycle of the Awards saw an increase of over 10 per cent in applicants while the net increase over the last 28 years have been more than 300 per cent, which demonstrates the level of consolidation the concepts of quality and excellence have achieved among businesses and service establishments across the UAE.

Overall, the Business Excellence Awards have had more than 650 winners selected from 22,000 participants during the past 27 years. Till date, more than 500 Mystery Shoppers, 3,000 assessors, and 5,000 applicants have been trained in various disciplines of excellence as part of the Awards and 120,000 feedback reports collected from them.

The Awards have a major role in enhancing the excellence knowledge within the business community. Over 1,500 delegates were involved last year in various excellence events, such as training workshops, webinars, for assessors, mystery shoppers and representatives of the business community, which is a 12 per cent increase compared to the previous year.

“In spite of the pandemic, the government and the private sector have focussed on excellence in technology, innovation and customer happiness, in Dubai and across the UAE. The best practices being recognised at this year’s Business Excellence Awards will be an indicator of the excellence knowledge and commitment to continuous improvement within the business community,” Al Bishri added.

Since its inception in 1994, the Business Excellence Awards have steadily grown and expanded in alignment with the strategic objectives and focus sectors identified in Dubai and the UAE, including digital transformation of industries, e-Services (for Social media channels/Mobile applications/Contact centre/Website), inclusivity programmes for People of Determination, and most recently, health and safety compliance during COVID-19.

The Dubai Service Excellence Scheme is a one-of-a-kind initiative that aims to promote excellence in customer service standards in the business community, in order to create a unique and memorable shopping experience in UAE. Participants in DSES are honoured in two main categories:the Best Branch and the Best Brand.

The Dubai Quality Award encourages and motivates organisations to adopt an international framework, with best practices, to achieve excellence and be recognised as role models.

The DQA winners are honoured in six categories this year – the Gold Category, the Dubai Quality Award, Dubai Quality Appreciation Award (DQAA), Dubai Quality Appreciation Award for Representative Entities, Dubai Quality Global Award (DQGA), and the Dubai Smart Industry Award.

The Business Excellence Awards are a major component of the initiatives launched by the Department of Economy and Tourism to promote quality and excellence as a catalyst for business growth, and contribute to the aspirations of the Government of Dubai to encourage global best practices across the emirate and the UAE to strengthen competitiveness and sustainability.For more details on the Awards, please contact:bec@dubaided.gov.ae or call +9714 4455833.