Dubai Economy honoured the 46 winners of the 2019 assessment cycle of the Business Excellence Awards at a virtual ceremony held today 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 ceremony was held online in view of the precautionary guidelines against COVID-19.

The annual Business Excellence Awards include the Dubai Quality Award (DQA), Dubai Human Development Award (DHDA) and the Dubai Service Excellence Scheme (DSES).

DP World UAE Region (Logistics sector), ENOC Retail LLC (Retail), wasl LLC (Real Estate), and Emirates Group Security (Services) were named as winners of the coveted Dubai Quality Gold Award (DQGA) Award this year, while Lulu Hypermarket Al Qusais (Retail) and LLH Hospital (Healthcare) were the winners of the Dubai Quality Award (DQA).

Al Naboodah Commercial Group LLC (Trade), Planet Pharmacies LLC (Healthcare), AG Engineering LLC (Construction), CORODEX AGENCIES CO. LLC (Construction), SS Lootah Ready Mix Concrete LLC (Construction), EFS Facilities Services Group (Services), TASC Labour Services LLC (Services), Al Jaber Optical LLC (Retail) and Gulf Rubber Industries LLC (Manufacturing) were honoured for winning the Dubai Quality Appreciation Awards (DQAA). Indian Business & Professional Council (IBPC), Pakistan Association Dubai (PAD), Retail Business Group (RBG), and Brand Owners Protection Group (BPG) were named as the winners of the Dubai Quality Appreciation Award in the ‘Representative Entities’ category, instituted in partnership with the Future Economy department in Dubai Economy, to enhance relations with business community groups and look at the way these groups engage their members, offer value-added services and lead their respective industry segment.

Three manufacturing units in the country – Anchor Allied Factory LLC, Hotpack Packaging Industries LLC, Mai Dubai LLC – won the first ‘Dubai Smart Industry Award,’ newly added as part of the Dubai Quality Award in the 2019 cycle. Introduced by the Business Excellence Department in Dubai Economy in partnership with Dubai Exports – the export promotion agency of Dubai Economy – the new category aims to involve the industrial sector in the excellence march in Dubai and encourage the digital transformation of industries in line with the objective set in the Dubai Industrial Strategy 2030.

DEWA (Dubai Electricity & Water Authority) and Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority won the Dubai Human Development Gold Award category from the Government and Free Zone sectors respectively. Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority – Jafza (Free Zone) and Roads and Transport Authority (Government) won the Dubai Human Development Award (DHDA) while India Palace Restaurant LLC (Services) was the winner of the Dubai Human Development Appreciation Award (DHDAA).

The Dubai Service Excellence Scheme, which has over 2,000 members till date, saw 10 of them winning the Best Service Performance Brand for their outstanding efforts and quality of services offered to customers during 2019. The winners in this category were: Inglot – Burjuman (Fashion Retail), National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah – Al Hamra (Services), Al Rostamani International Exchange – Dubai Marina (Services), Aster Pharmacy Branch 2 RAK (Health & Wellness), Al Jaber Optical – MCC (Health & Wellness), India Palace – Mazyad Mall (Hospitality & Entertainment), Dnata Travel – Al Barsha Mall (Hospitality & Entertainment), Samsonite – Yas Mall (Hypermarket & General Retail), AXIOM – Ibn Batuta (Specialised Retail), and BETTER LIFE – MOE (Speclialised Retail).

The Best Service Performance Brands in DSES included: The Dubai Mall (Shopping Centres), Carters (Fashion Retail), aafaq Islamic Finance (Services), Health First Pharmacies (Health & Wellness), Ski Dubai (Hospitality & Entertainment), Absolute Barbecues (Hospitality & Entertainment), aswaaq retail LLC(Hypermarkets & General Retail), Arabian Automobiles – Renault (Specialised Retail), and Matalan, the only winner in the recently launched category for GCC.

Congratulating the winners, His Excellency Sami Al Qamzi, Director General of Dubai Economy, said: “Dubai Economy is indeed proud to honour the 2020 winners of the Business Excellence Awards. This ceremony is also a reaffirmation of our commitment to continue the excellence journey in Dubai past all barriers, and realise the vision of the UAE to be among the best countries in the world. I take this opportunity to express our gratitude to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, UAE VicePresident and Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai, for his benevolent patronage extended to this ceremony and continued support for the excellence initiatives of Dubai Economy. Together we will continue to win.”

Al Qamzi said that the 2019 cycle of the Awards has seen a 3-5% increase in applicants over the previous year, which indicates the level of consolidation the concepts of quality and excellence have reached as an incentive for businesses to grow and achieve sustainability.

“The 2020 Awards had its share of novelties too. All assessments relating to the Awards were done digitally to facilitate processes, and introduce tools for benchmarking, best practices, learning and development and community engagement. The Mystery Shopping Services, Focus Groups and Customer Satisfaction Surveys of the Dubai Service Excellence Scheme were expanded GCC-wide, and we have successfully implemented Mystery Shopping for the government sector. A ‘People of Determination’ criteria was added to the Awards, and we were pleased to see over 95% of DSES members implementing it. In another significant partnership between Dubai Economy and Dubai Financial Market, 10 DFM brokers emerged winners in the DSES Mystery Shopping,” Al Qamzi added.

“The year 2020 has seen the Business Excellence Department moving to online workshops and webinars in line with the Smart city vision of Dubai. We have conducted 10 online events already, with over 1,000 delegates worldwide in attendance,” Al Qamzi said, adding that post COVID-19, DSES members were also provided with assistance in adhering to the new health and safety protocols, leading to a 90% compliance rate among them.

The Dubai Quality Award encourages and motivates companies and institutions to adopt a policy of excellence, provide the best services, and recognise best practices in performance excellence. Since its inception in 1994, DQA has received the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who has been instrumental in driving the quality movement across the private and public sectors in the emirate.

The DQA winners are honoured in four categories – the Gold Category, the Dubai Quality Award, the Dubai Quality Appreciation Award (DQAA) and the Dubai Quality Global Award (DQGA). The awards cover key sectors – government, manufacturing, finance, professional, tourism, services, trade, construction, education, healthcare, free zones, transportation, logistics, media, leisure and entertainment, real estate, retail and representative entities.

DHDA recognises the long-term commitment of the private sector to human resources development. Given in three categories – the Gold Category, the Dubai Human Development Award and the Dubai Human Development Appreciation Award (DHDAA) –and the award covers the trade, manufacturing, construction, professional, services, tourism, education, healthcare, financial services, free zones, transportation, logistics, media, leisure and entertainment, real estate, retail and government sectors.

The Dubai Service Excellence Scheme is a one-of-a-kind initiative that aims to gain customer confidence and to make the experience of shopping in the UAE a pleasurable one. Participants in DSES are honoured in two main categories: the best outlet and the best brand.

For more details on the Business Excellence Awards, please write to bec@dubaided.gov.ae or call +9714 4455833.