The many ways to jumpstart innovation internally at TRA

Source: TRA.

The General Authority for Regulating the Telecommunications Sector (TRA) has launched initiatives to spur innovation internally. Employees now have more channels to share their ideas and contribute effectively to the development process.

TRA Abu Dhabi and Dubai headquarters host the Idea for Tomorrow initiative, which includes boards on all floors to enable employees to share their ideas in an easy, accessible way. TRA’s Innovation Committee will shortlist ideas that may contribute effectively to enhancing its services, working environment and the telecommunications sector.

Additionally, TRA also organised workshops that aim at introducing employees to the innovation framework and fostering its concept and vitality, in addition to training workshop’s participants on implementing innovative concepts and using innovation as an approach to solving all problems. The workshops introduced innovation best practices and techniques, in addition to brainstorming methods, defining constraints that affect innovation and ways to overcome them. Employees learned to develop decision-making methodology and enhanced goal prioritisation through creating an environment that enables and encourages innovative thinking.

TRA further launched the Interactive Innovation Gate which is an interactive internal network that enables employees to share their ideas with their colleagues. TRA believes that motivation play a vital role in the success of any initiative, and will incentivise the best innovative ideas with awards. Ideas will be assessed on how they contribute to TRA’s development, how effectively they lead to the development of new services, and whether they increase TRA’s income.

HE Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, UAE TRA Director General, stated: “These initiatives reflect our strategic approach and shed the light on the restless efforts that we exert to fuel our employees’ innovative spirit by creating an environment that spurs innovation. The next seven years will be more challenging as they are going to achieve a quantum leap in UAE’s future. In light of this, we have to unite our efforts to encourage youth and motivate them to unleash their ideas through integrating them in the decision making process.”

Ahmed Al Falasi, TRA Human Resources (HR) Manager, stated “TRA adopts an innovative development strategy that is based on encouraging creative thinking, and improving employee’s leadership skills and confidence through integrating them into the development process and paying great attention to their ideas and opinions. TRA believes that the comprehensive innovative system that UAE is building has to be led by innovative leaders who are capable of facing future challenging, therefor, our HR strategy focuses on developing our employees’ leadership skills.”

Source: TRA. HE Al Mansoori inaugurated TRA’s Innovation Center at the TRA Dubai headquarters, in the presence of HE Ibrahim Abdul Malik Mohamed, the General Authority for Youth and Sports Welfare Secretary General. 

UAE Innovation Week witnessed the launch of TRA's Center of Innovation on November 23. The centre provides an environment that spurs innovation through rooms that can be rearranged for ad hoc brainstorming sessions in addition to small business meetings.

The centre also features a smart library that will contribute to enriching employees’ knowledge and broadening their horizons. The books, in English and Arabic, include Flashes of Thought and My Vision by HH Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashid, in addition to other ICT-related books and publications. The library covers scientific and cultural topics, science fiction, and history in addition to periodicals that cover health, engineering, environment, nuclear and renewable energy, legal affairs, and business administration.

HE Al Mansoori stated at the time of the launch: “This inauguration coincides with a critical and vital stage in the future of the national cooperative work. As this period is witnessing the issuing of the Supreme Policy for Technology Science and Innovation and the launch of UAE Innovation Week. This opening comes in line with the numerous initiatives that TRA is launching to support achieving 2020 goals, United in Knowledge and to empower the existing renaissance in our country that is based on knowledge and innovation."

Engineer Mohamed Al Zarooni, UAE TRA Polices and Programs Director stated: “The library was designed with ease of use in mind, which is why, users can access it through various channels (including) the smart application and the website. Aiming to save readers’ time, we designed the library with various search options including searching for a specific topic and searching by book (title). This library will increase our employees’ awareness of a vast array of scientific and cultural topics.”

Raayek gives bonus points for providing telecommunications feedback in the UAE

Source: TRA.

HE Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, the General Authority for Regulating the Telecommunications Sector (TRA) Director General of the UAE, has launched the Raayek app. The application enables users to submit improvement ideas concerning the mobile government and TRA services, in addition to commenting about the services provided by Etisalat and Du.

The application uses gamification to involve customers in the decision making process. This feature was designed to increase user engagement. Users are granted points for registration and more points for active participation. The user with the largest number of points will be ranked as first in a Leader Board can receive awards that will be provided by TRA on a regular basis.

HE Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, UAE TRA Director General stated, “TRA believes that engagement and customers’ involvement in decision making play a vital role in enhancing customer satisfaction. Driven by this belief, we launched this app which comes in the framework of the restless effort we exert to contribute in achieving our 2021 vision. This application also reflects our commitment to the directives of Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum who stated that smart employees are the building blocks of smart services.

"We encourage our customers to interact with us through the app and share their suggestions and remarks regarding the proposed topics. We also promise them that we will treat their concerns with optimum care and strive to resolve their issues whether they are related to TRA, mGovernment, or Etisalat and Du services.

“I am calling all concerned parties to voice their opinions through the app, as this will contribute significantly to our development process and will serve our aim of achieving customer happiness. We are really keen and eager to explore our customers’ perception regarding telecom and smart services provided by various governmental entities."

Saif bin Ghalaita, TRA Director of Technology Development Department, stated, "This application represents an interactive platform that will enable us to interact more effectively with our customers and learn more about their opinions regarding several topics through the quick discussions that we will have with them. We developed this app based on an innovative concept and many constructive internal discussions. The application provides a separate mechanism that evaluates customers’ behaviour and assesses the benefits they gain from the various features provided by the app. According to this mechanism, we calculate the points that are going to be granted to users for each action they perform.”

UAE's TRA publishes YouTube usage guidelines

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of the UAE has launched guidelines to YouTube usage as part of The UAE Social Media White Papers collection. 

The TRA notes that YouTube has more than 1 billion unique visitors every month and over 100 hours of video uploaded every minute, and stated that the laws of the UAE prohibit the publication of content which is contrary to public morals, the principles of Islam and the social and moral welfare of the UAE, or any content that contains irreverence towards Islam and any other heavenly religions. The content must also respect the UAE Government, its leadership, political institutions and ultimately the UAE’s cultural heritage and social norms and customs. 

The white paper on YouTube lists the following guidelines: 

• Users are prohibited from undertaking predatory behaviour, stalking, threats and harassment of others. Harassment could include copying a user’s channel layout, using a similar username or posing as another person. 
• Users must only upload videos which they have made or which they are authorised to use. 
• YouTube is owned by Google. In using the YouTube service, users agree to Google’s terms relating to the collection and sharing of their personal information.

The TRA has an extensive collection of white papers with guidelines on various Internet services and social networks. White papers on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Yahoo/Flickr; LinkedIn; Gmail, Microsoft Outlook, the Apple Store, Blackberry and Keek are also available here.