TRA recognised for excellence

TDT | Manama

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) announced yesterday that it had received the European Foundation for Quality Management’s (EFQM) “Recognised for Excellence Four-Star Level” Award—becoming the first organisation in Bahrain to have received such an honour.

The TRA began its work towards meeting the EFQM’s requirements in 2013, when an assessment team from their headquarters in Belgium set forth recommendations that would help the TRA qualify for recognition, which led to the first milestone, receiving the certificate for “Commitment to Excellence”, and becoming a member of EFQM.

The TRA set a work-plan based on EFQM’s recommendations that target areas of focus, such as leadership, strategy, people, and stakeholders. Between 2013 and 2017, the TRA began a number of strategic projects that would bridge the gap towards excellence, including the development of a strategy system, leadership programme, career development programme, succession planning, performance management system, reward system, and a number of other major projects that impacted their results to a point where the TRA was ready to submit its outcomes to the EFQM.

“This prestigious award is a testament to the vision of our Kingdom’s wise leadership and their continuous support towards the pursuit of excellence,” said TRA acting general director Shaikh Nasser bin Mohamed Al Khalifa. “It is an honor for the TRA to be the first organisation to receive this award for all its directorates in Bahrain, and we welcome the opportunity to share our experience with any organisation seeking to achieve the same.”

Also commenting in the ceremony, EFQM CEO Russel Longmuir stated: “Normally it would take an organisation three years to increase by a star, and in a very short journey the TRA managed to get four stars, which is a pretty amazing achievement. I have to say how important this is” “In 31 years, we have assessed more than 50,000 organisations and the TRA is the first to have a remote site visit.

They are world leaders in that sense and I have to congratulate them for their agility and their response to this massive challenge we are facing. “To accept that challenge and move forward with a remote site visit, and still deliver four stars, is a phenomenal achievement.” Founded in 1989, EFQM is the world’s foremost leader in management frameworks, fusing data-driven insights, curated learning, and development and networking opportunities for the benefit of organisations worldwide.