7
SEWA A
Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA) is a government-owned organization with nearly 5500 employees with an annual turnover of US $ 2 billion. SEWA is the only utility that provides electricity, water, and gas to 1.5 million people living in Sharjah City, UAE.
As part of my continued effort and endeavor to provide for my over 5,000 employees and give them a top-quality education that covers both technical and nontechnical subjects, I have established a training and development dynasty where employees can be rigorously trained/coached to be upbeat, friendly, and customer-focused and create "the happiest place on Earth.” SEWA Academy, or SEWA A, as I love to call it, emerged from this idea. My emphasis was on running SEWAstyle leadership and customer service programs/workshops that would create super-engaged employees with cuttingedge knowledge whose a positive outlook would extend to all customer interactions. I started developing in-house blended training programs that breathed a mission into SEWA A: edutain and innovate.
LEADERS DEVELOPING LEADERS
I wanted SEWA A to offer curricula that would support functional managers/employees in improving their skills in a variety of leadership and management disciplines, from business planning and strategic thinking to operations and people development, ultimately empowering my employees to self-manage, manage teams, lead organizations, and become a versatile workforce. Below are the initiatives (that later on turned into mandates) embraced by SEWA A:
• Every SEWA new recruit must attend SEWA A Induction training programs/workshops for a minimum of a full month in the first year with a blended format of learning encompassing classroom learning to E-learning and onthe-job experiential learning.
The programs are oriented around the SEWA Way 15 Principles; these Principles are:
1. Smile
2. Teach and learn
3. Learn from experience
4. Generate sound ideas
5. Instill values
6. Create positive emotional energy
7. Make tough decisions
8. Use vibrant stories that motivate others to reach for a better future
9. Face the reality of where we and the organization are now
10. Develop, implement, and use winning KPIs
11. Pour our creative energy and dedication into everything we do
12. Continuous generation of leaders
13. Foster a culture of continuous improvement
14. Grow together with our supplies and partners for mutual benefits
15. Achieve our common objectives through teamwork
• Every SEWA new recruit must fit in SEWA’s 11 core values which are:
1. Authentic & Effective Leadership
2. People & Safety
3. Passion for Customers
4. Embrace Excellence
5. Ownership
6. Ethics
7. Integrity
8. Teamwork
9. Passion for winning
10. Trust
11. Every idea counts
• Encourage co-opetition (a healthy mix of cooperation and competition) among employees.
• The end result of all the programs ought to produce "happy and delighted customers.”
I remember on the inauguration day of SEWA A, I began my speech with the following words: "Budgets, contracts, meetings, reports, and the never-ending things that eat up your time are of no value unless they end up producing a happy, delighted customer.”
Since its inception, the academy has trained 3,000+ employees with a plethora of programs. In the span of 3 remarkable years, the academy has hosted 334 courses. We have been pioneers in several global immersion and diploma programs. One of the highlights to speak about are the three batches of graduates in organizational excellence and advance engineering diplomas.
The accolades received by the Academy go beyond the boundaries of the nation, into countries such as South Africa, UK, Singapore, and so on.