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Best Practice Awards 2005
Best Practice Management's sixth annual Best Practice Awards presentation was held on 3rd November at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers. The Awards, which focus on customers rather than competitors, recognise best practitioners across a broad industry base in 8 categories. The Winners of Best Practice Awards2005 are:
We’d like to thank the following companies for sponsoring the Best Practice Awards 2005
Keynote Address
Mr Herbert Hui Ho-Ming JP, Chairman of the Hong Kong Institute of Directors, welcomed the opportunity to stress the importance of Best Practice Awards in terms of corporate governance which, he stated, is very much embedded in the hearts and minds of business people, particularly in an international city such as Hong Kong. Governance, he said, is becoming too regulatory and compliance-oriented; it is the people behind it who make it work that is important, and the Awards help people focus on three key areas: to aspire to best practices you have to free your mind, constantly and continually try to do better, compare yourself with your peers; best practices, which are always changing and growing, force you not to feel isolationist, they require comparisons with leading markets which sets a target to aim for; and best practices enable institutions such as ICPA and the HKIoD to be able to promote corporate governance not just as legislation but as practices, which is a far more effective promotional tool for governance than anything else.
Synopses of Presentations Cathay Pacific Airways: Training & People Development: Cathay Pacific is a success story unto itself. The company has a clear direction - to be the “strongest and most dominant aviation group in the Asia Pacific region” by the year 2010. Its strategy to achieve this is through sustained, profitable growth and their People and Service for Profitable Growth workshop, held earlier this year, was the framework for engaging with front line service delivery people and providing the opportunity for them to take control of the means by which the airline can increase productivity, reduce costs, increase revenue from in-flight sales, focus on the areas that matter to customers and engage with them to ensure loyalty. As Mr Graham Higgens, Manager Learning and Development Group, explained, it’s not easy to move a culture from doing things in the right way to doing the right things, but the key is to focus on outcomes and research, rather than rules. Cathay Pacific provides the environment for its “very smart people” to have the freedom to act in both the company’s and passengers’ best interests – and a management approach of “constant constructive dissatisfaction”, looking ahead to anticipate business challenges, building a positive view of the future and “running the shop while you reinvent the shop” –involving employees in the process all along the way – is how Cathay aims to achieve its objectives. The Kowloon Motor Bus (1933) Ltd: Simplicity: In transforming a manual, text-based bus route information system into electronic format powered by digital map search capability, KMB steered its call centre operations to a new era. With user requirements at the forefront of the design process, simplicity provided the key to developing an IT application that has won widespread acclaim. KMB carries 3 million passengers every day, and the hotline channel handles one thousand calls; therefore, said Ms P Y Chan, Head of KMB’s Customer Service Department, the company “knows what customers need.” Their very innovative and simple system is real-time, so operations staff can take immediate action. At the touch of a button, the Digital Map Passenger Enquiry System a 3-D image of prominent landmarks can be readily retrieved to answer passenger enquiries. Although a technologically advanced application that depicts more than 100,000 of these landmarks, the Digital Map PEQ is a remarkably simple concept that has automated the process of searching for bus route information and, along with steering KMB’s Hotline into a new era, additional positive effects are evidenced in improved staff morale, customer commendations and operator performance, which has increased by 100% since its launch.
HSBC: Innovation HSBC was established in 1865, and is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations through the provision of a complete range of personal, commercial and corporate banking and related financial services. In Asia-Pacific, the Bank operates through some 570 branches and offices. The Bank’s solid foundations and systems allow maximum flexibility. Following the highly successful launch of Learning Solutions, feedback received suggested that reinforcement be given to staff in fostering the continuous learning culture and environment assists employees to take on their own learning initiatives, especially via the electronic media. Mr Simon Kam, Senior Manager Learning and Development Services, outlined eVantage: a concise yet powerful innovation that encourages learners to learn; makes learning through e-learning activities more interesting; rewards those who take up self-learning; and enhances the learning culture in the organisation. eVantage is an investment account, electronic, with guaranteed returns. Learning activities on the simple and easy-to-use platform are self-directed and engaged in voluntarily, for staff members’ own benefit. Each staff member owns an eVantage account, and ePoints of varying amounts are earned for participation in every e-learning activity. The points are accumulated in the holder’s account, with the balance displayed through the sitelet on the departmental website. ePoints can be redeemed for prizes, ranging from USB flash drives to PDAs and notebook computer. Hospital Authority: Supply Chain Management Mr Raymond Wong, Senior Executive Manager (Business Support Services) observed that the acronym ‘SCM’ has been used for years – Suppliers Collaboration Mending. “Without that,” he said, “there would be no supply chain management.” In 1991 the Hospital Authority started talking about how to change from decentralised procurement to a more centralised one. A road map was developed in 2002, which was unveiled to over 400 representatives including bankers and logistics companies. Zero wastage is the goal, and the focus is on quality, reliability of services, back up, contingency, responsiveness to front-line and the total cost of changes, keeping sight of strategic focus. From the outset, building partnerships internally and externally has been the chosen approach - partnership, true sharing of information, communication and treating partners as equal stakeholders. End-to-end process alignment is no easy task and non-core functions have been outsourced. Vendor Managed Inventory was initially, and successfully, introduced at Pamela Youde Hospital prior to being rolled out throughout the Authority’s 162 facilities. Mr Wong’s colleague, Ms Anita Tso, Department Operation Manager (Operating Theatre), explained how, because nurses are responsible not only for patient care but also equipment and supplies, manual stock handling activities imposed a heavy burden to nursing staff. Both agreed that change is a feature of everyday life and everyone faces challenges every day. The Vendor Managed Inventory system has eased workload, reduced costs and simplified processes. Mr Wong highlighted the dedication of hospital staff and the importance of mutual understanding, the right use of technology at the right time with the right people, and the achievements that have been made through constructive teamwork. “Collaboration is the real answer,” he concluded.
Cascade Limited: Outsourcing Cascade Limited is a subsidiary of PCCW, Hong Kong’s premier telecommunications provider. Cascade designs, builds and operates network infrastructures to manage the flow of voice, data and multimedia information, providing technical and consulting services in Hong Kong and throughout the Asia Pacific region. The objective, said Mr Y K Wong, Senior Vice President, Network Planning, was to expand outside of Hong Kong and obtain additional business within Hong Kong. He posed the question: How to do extra work without increasing costs? The answer: outsourcing. A flexible structure, maximising use of resources, sharing risk, improving company focus and increasing shareholder value are benefits in addition to the tradition benefit of reducing operating costs. Cascade has over 50 years’ experience in outsourcing and is Hong Kong’s largest contractor. All civil work is outsourced using their Outsourcing Excellence Model, a service culture and strategy that focuses on training and development, quality management skills, process management and contractor management. People are the most important asset, said Mr Wong, plus continuous improvement. Costs can be driven down (40%), and administration time reduced by 50%. Road digging in Hong Kong is the highest in the world (300,000 road works every year) and Cascade has earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records for having only 120 instances of cable damage. It’s important not to focus solely on cost, Mr Wong emphasised. Quality and process are of equal importance. Sound, established systems that are continually enhanced, streamlining processes to meet changing demands, treating contractors as business partners, prompt payment to contractors and enforcing ethical business practices are the keys to outsourcing success. Hysan Development Company Limited: Customer Relationship Management Hysan Development Company Limited is a leading property investment, management and development company. Property interests extend to some 4.7 million square feet of high quality office, retail and residential space. Mr C Y Choi, Senior Manager, Property Management, explained that continuous, ongoing improvements are part of Hysan’s corporate culture and strategy. The Property Management Department came up with an idea to take an objective, proactive and systematic approach to identifying key service drivers to deliver what tenants believe to be important, and fully understand their needs. Working with the University of Hong Kong, a Satisfaction Management System was designed to measure tenants’ satisfaction objectively so that management efforts could be focused effectively on meeting their requirements. An extensive communication program with tenants about the initiative was conducted, and 35 Property Management staff from different departments formed a survey team and underwent training to equip them with the skills and techniques necessary to conduct the one-on-one interviews with tenants. Tenants of 585 offices, retail and residential buildings agreed to spend 30-45 minutes to complete the questionnaires. It took 2 months to analyse the results, identifying satisfaction levels on key satisfaction drivers against performance. The survey also captured important feedback on customer expectations and that assists Hysan to identify opportunities for further improvements. The findings indicated that 99% of tenants were satisfied with the overall service areas. Immediate ratification of several areas was undertaken; other issues, such as traffic congestion, will take more time to resolve. A tenant profiling data base has been built to gain insights into individual tenants’ requirements and concerns. Specific service areas that need improvement have been identified so Hysan can prioritise organisational improvement areas.
Enterprise Governance: Tai Fook Securities Group Limited Tai Fook Securities Group was established in 1973 and publicly listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1996. The Group has a distribution network of 11 branches in Hong Kong and Macau, and representative offices in major cities in Mainland China. The Group provides high quality, fully integrated products and services, including investment banking, asset management and wealth management, to a diverse and extensive client base, with over HK$16 billion in client assets. Enterprise governance ranks high on the Group’s priorities, and Mr Peter S H Wong, Managing Director and Chief Executive, is a strong advocate of governance. He has been instrumental in establishing regular strategy meetings, defining policies, systems of internal audit, quality assurance and compliance, branding Tai Fook as a highly visible and customer service oriented financial services company. Stewardship is everything, he said. The interests of customers and creating value to shareholders are equally important. A broader, more integrated perspective on what needs to be controlled, and new capabilities in order to gain proper visibility into what is going on, are required in today’s increasingly sophisticated and fast-moving business environment. Customer satisfaction is the focal point. Tai Fook is the first financial institution in the Greater China region to acquire ISO quality assurance certification and is one of less than 600 companies worldwide to have obtained BS 7799 certification for its Data Centre. A Balanced Scorecard program is being implemented because each of its key interactive perspectives – financial, customer, internal business processes and learning and growth – has key indicators that are quantifiable and can provide insights into the non-financial drivers of financial value. Adding value is the key, said Mr Wong. The important thing is striking a balance, not box-checking. Langham Place Hotel, Mongkok: Technology Deployment Jeffrey van Vorsselen, General Manager of Langham Place Hotel, described how the vision was to change the face of Mongkok forever. The investment in IT was a premeditated strategy with dual purposes: to redefine hotel connectivity and generate publicity. Both goals have been exceeded. The concept was to provide great guest service and the capacity to evolve as future business demands came about. Using Internet Protocol (IP) technology, the Langham Place Mongkok has not only a competitive advantage; it also has a growing market share and is staying ahead of the curve. The ‘omnipresent Wi-Fi bubble’ comprises one cable, one infrastructure, right through the hotel. On it sits everything. Every inch of the 42-storey hotel is wired and un-wired guaranteeing uninterrupted broadband and internet access through the deployment of almost 600 wireless access points. The system is highly adaptable and ‘intelligent’ and is at the cutting edge of speed. It also creates efficiency, as information can be uploaded and communicated instantly. Mr van Vorsselen added that one reason the technology has been so successfully deployed is because of collaborative partners. He added that one of the biggest challenges – overcome by software development - was the need to be able to realise the technology. Another challenge was whether the guests would be able to use it. This was overcome by forming a team of Guest Service Technologists, recruited from all departments within the hotel. Twenty-four were selected and underwent rigorous training in addition to their other duties. At no additional cost to the hotel, it has a “wonderful impact” and the GSTs are very proud of their work. The hospitality industry is in the forefront of IP technology and Mr van Vorsselen declared it will become a new benchmark for the industry .
Wrap-Up Mr Sidney Yuen, Director of Best Practice Management and facilitator of the day, provided an objective and admiring overview of all awardees’ presentations and noted the key areas of their success, including the speed with which feedback was obtained at Cathay, which quickly captures performance; the clever leveraging of customer lifestyle into training at HSBC; the continuous journey undertaken by the Housing Authority and the honest, authentic way change management is being undertaken; how Cascade practice what they preach to provide a win-win-win-win situation; Hysan’s ability to use CRM as a process, a culture, identifying and focusing on what matters; Langham’s classic example of involving employees and gaining their commitment, adding value; the value creation exemplified by Tai Fook, putting governance as the cornerstone of competitiveness; and KMB’s being able to reduce turnover by 100% while eliminating redundant work and frustration while solving customers’ problems on the spot. It’s all about ideas and information, he said. Ideas that are one step further than the competition, keeping customers informed, and applying best practices that will ensure continual growth.
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