Suhail and Genet

Innovation in Dubai

What drives innovation and creativity? For Suhail Bin Tarraf, CEO of Tanfeeth and graduate of Harvard Business School’s General Management Program, innovation stems from a clear focus on values, data-driven decision making and a culture of continuous learning. Tanfeeth is a services company in Dubai that is raising the bar on customer service globally. And how does Tanfeeth do this?

Focus on Values.

“From the beginning,” Suhail says, “we kept our mission simple: to Wow our customers.” Making that happen meant his team needed strong values to guide decision making.

Yet company values are so much more than a slogan at Tanfeeth; they are embedded in every part of the business. The culture is based on high levels of mutual respect, teamwork, transparency and delivering exceptional customer service.

Data-Driven Decision Making

Tanfeeth’s business model grew out of Suhail’s experience building a “Lean Philosophy” at Emirates Bank. Critical to the ‘leaning’ process is data-driven decision making. Suhail’s leadership team relies on the MIS department data on employee activities which is distributed and posted each morning for the team huddle. The team leader’s role then becomes less about managing the team and more about coaching each member to draw on his/her strengths to deliver exceptional results for the company.

Culture of Continuous Learning

“At Tanfeeth,” Suhail said, “we’re totally committed to supporting the professional development of employees at all levels.” They start by recruiting talented people. Then, Tanfeeth provides employees ongoing training and development and offers high-level coaching for people to succeed. Boston Global works collaboratively with the leadership team to provide the skills, tools and frameworks to help managers do their job more effectively and efficiently.