Creating a service culture

Dhalia's main objective this year will be to embark on a major exercise of reviewing its brand service standards through market research conducted within the organisation and with customers and business partners.

Dhalia will continue to invest in training property consultants to ensure that all possess the repertoire of skills necessary to deliver the Dhalia service promise.

By rigorously enforcing the implementation of service standards, Dhalia will continue to commit itself to provide the highest quality service to property sellers and buyers. This was announced by Dhalia's chairman and chief executive officer Franco Valletta during the company's annual conference held last month at the Hilton's Portomaso Suite.

Mr Valletta welcomed 85 managers and consultants who currently operate from 10 offices in Malta and Gozo. He also committed the company to the ongoing professional development of its human resources.

Commenting on the period 2001-2003, Mr Valletta said this was marked by the implementation of a strategic business plan that rebranded and repositioned Dhalia. Mr Valletta added that Dhalia implemented a radical restructuring of the company by way of its shareholding arrangement and organisation structure.

The company also created a professional support service for operations. This was done via an academically qualified corporate services team. During the past three years, Dhalia also evolved an overseas network in the UK, Ireland, Germany and, recently, Dubai.

In the coming three years, Dhalia will continue nurturing and developing a customer-focused strategy which stems from the company's commitment to provide all customers with value added solutions tailor-made to the individual's expectations and requirements. This new philosophy will continue to strengthen Dhalia's position in the market.

In his presentation, Dhalia's business development director Chris Grech accentuated the importance of adopting a professional approach to delivering a high quality service.

He placed particular emphasis on the commitment each consultant must make to exceed customer expectations. He encouraged consultants to invest in their continuous personal and professional development, avoid complacency and always be one step ahead of the competition.

Dhalia's operations director, Andrew Gatt gave an overview of the company's performance during 2003 and communicated plans for this year. He listed the various marketing, IT and HR initiatives and also presented Dhalia's extensive training calendar, reaffirming the company's commitment to excellence.

The training programme incorporates intensive management training at the Malta Institute of Management, tailor-made training for consultants and academic courses for head office personnel.

The conference was also addressed by Dr Simon Busuttil, who gave a detailed insight on current EU legislation as it relates to property, as well as how the local property market will be affected upon Malta's accession in the European Union.

As a result of the numerous questions and interest shown by Dhalia consultants, it was decided to organise another session on EU legislation in the near future.

The annual conference ended with the presentation of certificates and awards to Dhalia staff as acknowledgement for their effort and hard work.

Prizes were awarded to Neville Sciberras, Michael Mifsud, Damian Galea, Kenneth Debattista and Sabrina Cauchi.