"As MUIS aims to be a catalyst for excellence for the Muslim community, its staff must dedicate themselves to being the best in everything ­ be it in terms of mindset, service or personal character." ~ Mohd Shahbudin Saad, Acting Manager, Human Resource Department

The Zest of HR

In any organisation, the most important resource you will find are its people. The management and development of people is the main concern of the Human Resource (HR) Department in MUIS.

Said its Acting Manager Mohd Shahbudin Saad, 31, "As MUIS aims to be a catalyst for excellence for the Muslim community, its staff must dedicate themselves to being the best in everything ­ be it in terms of mindset, service or personal character."

An exemplary worker in MUIS must according to him "be trustworthy, conscientious, sincere, patient and constantly upgrade his or herself."

Emphasis on Training

MUIS' commitment to constantly upgrade staff's skills and knowledge can be seen from its training and development activities for the staff. The number of hours devoted to training which averages to 12 days a year, is in line with the target set by the PS21 (Public Service for the 21st Century) Steering Committee of 12.5 days by the year 2000. Its training budget is about 10% of its total payroll. This is relatively higher than the national average.

Spiritual Development

Being a Muslim organisation, training includes spiritual training and development which is incorporated into programmes such as usrah (study circle) and qiamullai (night vigil).

Usrah is held once a week for all staff and comprises tafsir Al Quran, book review and discussion of a management topic such as work values.

Qiamullai brings the male staff together in a spiritual retreat held bimonthly at a mosque.

Said Mohd Shahbudin, "Praying together really strengthens the relationship between us and increases team bonding."

The strong familial bonds are enhanced further through the Staff Recreation Club which also involves staff's family members in its activities.

"We want the bonding to extend to all, in line with our family-like working environment. We also want to enhance the inter-connectedness between departments," added Shahbudin.

Serving the Organisation

If all these reinforce the typical view of HR Department as existing to protect staff welfare and benefits, Shahbudin is quick to remind that the department of six staff is still very much focused on serving the organisation.

He said, "Whatever we do for the benefit of the staff, the main beneficiary must ultimately be the organisation."

Shahbudin hopes to steer the department from its current technical function towards a more strategic one in line with prevailing trends.

Did you know? MUIS' training budget is about 10% of its total payroll - relatively higher than the national average.

"HR should be a key player in furthering the corporate objectives of MUIS," he stressed. In realising this, extending HR's various initiatives to MUIS' activists (volunteers) will be its immediate challenge.

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