Mashreq Wins Award For “Employee Engagement” At The Prestigious GOV HR Summit 2020

Mashreq Bank, one of the leading financial institutions in the UAE, marked another achievement by the receiving the “Innovation in Employee Engagement in the Private Sector” award as part of the coveted GCC GOV HR Awards for the year 2020. Mashreq was recognized for its holistic employee engagement program called “Saadati” and culture of “everyday engagement” with the workforce.

Held in parallel to the eight annual GOV HR Summit 2020, the awards highlighted the outstanding contributions and achievements of public and private organizations as well as individuals in raising the human resource strategies in the region.

Commenting on the awards, Ahmed Abdelaal, Group CEO of Mashreq Bank stated: “At Mashreq, we have taken a holistic approach to employee engagement. Not only does that cover a wide range of physical and mental dimensions, but every HR-related intervention with our employees is viewed through the same prism. Ultimately, employee engagement has a measurable and tangible impact on business performance. The significance of this has had for us as an institution, coupled with this award and others, is why we remain an ‘employer of choice’ in the UAE and the wider region.”

As an institution, Mashreq has implemented a four-tier engagement action structure built from the leadership downwards to ensure that engagement is built one employee at a time. In 2019 the bank revamped its “Saadati” program, which seeks to impact employee’s physical wellbeing through six pillars: physical, professional, financial, community, care for family and fun” Not only do these pillars shape corporate action around Staff Engagement, but a ‘Wheel of Happiness’ gives staff members an opportunity to assess their own happiness and create individual plans around these areas.

A notable employee engagement program at Mashreq is its ‘Good Vibes’ initiative which was launched at the height of the pandemic lockdown – this initiative sought to build positivity and Wellbeing during negative times. For instance, as part of GoodVibes, an appreciation initiative was launched that saw employees send close to 1,000 thanking each other for a job well done.

Notably, Mashreq’s employee engagement strategy has had a measurable and significant impact on its business operations. A host of external surveys benchmark Mashreq staff engagement at world class levels.The various initiatives have also led to greater efficiency, with engaged associates shown to be more productive. Additionally, engaged associates have been demonstrated to create strong brand impact on customers, with Mashreq’s brand equity score at an all-time high. Lastly, attrition has fallen in recent years as engagement has gone up, showing that an engaged workforce is ultimately a productive and happy workforce.

The GOV HR Summit 2020 for the 8th consecutive year has been benchmarked as the region’s key public sector human resource event. The summit brought together brilliant minds and key stakeholders in human Resources from across the GCC for highlighting best practices, unparalleled networking opportunities, to reinvent the role of HR and prepare organizations to respond to the high-priority business and human capital needs