UNLEASHING THE POWER OF CML: THE JOURNEY TO EKSA AWARD!

21 February 2024 - The Public Sector Conducive Ecosystem, better known as EKSA, is a rebranding exercise of Public Sector 5S practice. The initiative aims to strengthen the organisational culture of high performance and innovation among public sector agencies by providing a conducive environment, work culture, and positive values for public servants. In the spirit of EKSA, the Centre for Modern Languages (CML), Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA), is also implementing this practice to meet its objectives. In preparation for the upcoming Internal Audit on February 29th for the EKSA Award, which coincides with Hari Kualiti dan Inovasi 2024, the CML family joined hands for a gotong-royong to clean and organise the central administrative office in Pekan.

For this gotong-royong, the CML staff focused on standardising asset labelling and organising available items in the central administrative office based on the feedback received during the Self Audit 2023. Labels were applied to each room and drawer alongside the saving labels provided by the Quality Assurance Division, Centre for Strategic and Quality Management (PPSK). These labels included categories such as water conservation, energy conservation, and air conditioner usage, placed in their respective locations. The 5S concept offers numerous benefits, including better root cause visibility, increased morale, improved customer impression, and enhanced productivity by reducing search time. Furthermore, the workspace environment significantly impacts employees' attitudes, behaviours, job satisfaction, and productivity. Consequently, creating a comfortable work environment is essential for boosting employee performance and ensuring organisational success.

EKSA compliance from CML is a contribution that helps UMPSA achieve Strategic Objective 5 (OS5) in University Ecosystem Excellence through Core C. This core involves creating an innovative and sustainable campus which is socially, economically, and environmentally friendly. A socially friendly campus facility can build prosperous human resources, enabling employees to connect strongly with their workplaces. Therefore, the practice of EKSA within CML is expected to enhance performance and further nurture a creative and innovative culture among the staff.

As CML has received its first-ever nomination for the EKSA Award, competing among the other 14 centres of responsibilities (PTJ) in UMPSA, this recognition is a great honour, catalysing the staff to gradually and sustainably embrace EKSA practices. Hopefully, this mindset will eventually become ingrained among the staff, fostering a conducive environment and positive work culture in the long run. Best wishes to CML for the EKSA Award 2024!

Written by: Fathiah Izzati Mohamad Fadzillah & Hanisah Bon (Kasbon)