.With the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID -19) pandemic, many believed that work would stop at a certain point, until the crisis is completely over, and the return of normal life. However, this does not apply to the Federal Government of the United Arab Emirates in any way

From the very beginning of preparations to confront the crisis and limit its repercussions on different aspects of life, the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources has endeavored to protect the health and safety of Federal Government employees, as a priority, by issuing manuals, circulars and guidelines in this respect.  Another important issue was ensuring continuity of business and   services provision to customers, which reflects the UAE Government’s resolve to turn crisis and challenges into opportunities

Hence, the Authority’s experience in managing the crisis, issuing guidelines, organizing remote work, and managing the gradual return to workplaces during the past period, has been a lesson to be learned   locally and globally, being an exemplary example for similar local,  Arab and international organizations to benefit from it

As the Authority is concerned with exchanging knowledge, and sharing its rich experiences and expertise with those seeking knowledge locally and globally, it has been open-minded in dealing with institutions,  work teams and international delegations wishing to benefit from its experience. In this regard, FAHR has designated an electronic page on Customer Happiness System, via its website: www.fahr.gov.ae for this purpose, as it manages the whole process, receives requests and documents meetings

The pandemic did not prevent these efforts, and standard comparisons continued virtually, like all the services that the authority provides to its clients. It spared no effort to make available  all its experiences and expertise to those seeking knowledge in the field of human resources, focusing this period on the current crisis  and how it has been handled in high professionalism by the Federal Government, and the relentless efforts to maintain business continuity and service provision, while protecting the health and safety of employees and customers at the same time

As an embodiment of the strategic partnership between the Governments of the Arab Republic of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, as per the memorandum of understanding signed between the two parties in 2018, regarding government modernization, a  knowledge transfer session was recently held with a number of government institutions in the Arab Republic of Egypt, and a similar session in the Republic of Malta

The two sessions were intended to shed light on the UAE’s  experience in managing the work system at the Federal Government level, during the coronavirus crisis, as well as Authority's most prominent initiatives launched during the crisis, and the several sessions of knowledge transfer with local institutions

Laila Obaid Al Suwaidi

Executive Director of Programs and HR Planning

Federal Authority for Government Human Resources