Syeda Amtul Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — A two-day coaching program was organized to upgrade the competency of Haj personnel and increase the quality of services provided to pilgrims at the Indonesian Haj affairs office in Madinah. Attended by more than 150 staff of the Indonesian Consulate, Consul General Dharmakirty Syailendra Putra dwelt at length on leadership, decision-making and problem solving. He discussed how to become an effective and efficient leader and Islam's emphasis on honesty, commitment, transparency and wisdom, four values he believed were characteristics of good leadership. Drawing on examples he encountered while inspecting Haj service operations, he said: “Leadership styles will influence the problem-solving and decision-making process significantly. “So, to make a healthy and minimum risk decision, good leaders should engage their people as best as they can to absorb any input from them, even from those on a technical level. “Then act promptly to reach a solution.” Ahmad Dumyathi Bashori, Indonesian Haj consul, emphasized on the importance of human resource development. He told delegates: “You should always bear in mind that you are serving the guests of God. “So you must be highly committed to displaying an approachable and likable attitude and be attentive and responsive to every single complaint from pilgrims. “React promptly anytime you receive complaints from our pilgrims. “Any delay in tackling a problem will bring about another. “Always put yourselves in their shoes. “As they are strangers here, they easily lose their way. “As a result, they are not only physically exhausted and but have had their valuable time wasted.” Dumyathi also emphasized the importance of teamwork, sincerity, honesty, patience and commitment in extending the best services to pilgrims so they can perform their rites during their stay in Makkah and Madinah and other holy sites comfortably. Another speaker, Muhammad Jasin Hutasuhut, founder of the MHJ Quality Control and Reliability Consulting Company based in Canada, said all Haj service personnel should be creative and innovative. This year about 168,800 Indonesian pilgrims will arrive in the Kingdom to perform Haj.
