HR Corner Getting staff up to speed by Ada Poon People-centred culture fosters staff and customer loyalty Some employers believe that happy and motivated staff provide better services to customers, and that organisations that truly appreciate the value of people and implement dynamic and innovate talent training programmes are likely to be leaders in their specific fields. Others view them as simply a commodity. To The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), people are the cornerstone of its business. It strives for continuous enhancements in customer services via staff training, particularly in information technology, to help the company grow. Over the years, HKJC has invested significantly in its in-house IT development and deploys the newest technologies in areas such as its transaction and information access systems. Reflecting the significance of IT in the organisation's overall success, the club debuted "Live and breathe with the business — an action learning programme for IT staff members" in the last quarter of 2006. This provided IT staff a chance to undertake frontline duties and acquire first-hand experience in and better understanding of the process and issues involved in customer service. Thirty-one IT team members who handle frontline IT systems participated in the training. They completed a one-week workshop on product knowledge and customer handling skills and were then assigned to off-course betting branches and telebet centres for six days of customer service experience. Their performance was assessed and feedback collected from mentors, mystery customers, IT management, the human resources team and the participants themselves. "We want to inject new experience, horizons and inspirations into the team" One-customer concept Kim Mak, executive director, corporate development, HKJC says, "The programme is designed around a 'one-customer' concept, which means that all staff, whether working in the frontline or the back office, share the same beliefs and focus in serving the same group of customers." He says that after participation in the programme there has been closer integration between the IT team and its frontline counterparts. "Participants have gained a more concrete idea of what the real situation is and it helps them to develop ideas to fine-tune the systems in every single detail, so as to bring higher work efficiency to frontline staff and enhance customer experience." As a result of the first programme, IT staff have been able to develop a number of valuable system enhancements and workflow improvements. Not only has the programme boosted business value for the club, it also earned the bronze prize in the Hong Kong Management Association (HKMA) Award for Excellence in Training 2007 competition. "Accolades like this are very encouraging," Mr Mak says. "In the face of an ever-changing business environment and growing customer expectations, management, frontline and supporting staff need to constantly modify their mindsets, so as to ensure that our service levels keep abreast of the times." Staff engagement The Jockey Club employs some 24,000 full- and part-time employees and is one of the few corporate organisations to include part-time staff in its training programmes. "Staff members invest precious time — days and years — in our organisation, we hope to provide them with career returns," Mr Mak says. "While we aim to sharpen our staff's quality and skills to improve customer services, we also want to inject new experience, horizons and inspirations into the team to keep everybody fresh and motivated. For example, technologies change rapidly and we are open and supportive in exploring new advancements. This gives a good platform for our in-house developers to test and innovate new systems, and enjoy the satisfaction of creating and fulfilling the whole development of the club." As well as core skills training, classes on languages and soft skills training such as stress management are provided. This people-oriented mission is further reflected in the organisation's training of its part-time staff. This training allows flexibility and human resources benefits to the organisation as part-time staff can apply for full-time positions later and vice versa. HKJC also applies the interesting strategy of maintaining contact with individual staff members, even after they are retired. Mr Mak says, "They are a treasure trove of knowledge and experience. Retired staff can provide valuable advice to current personnel, ensuring the continuity of important knowledge in the organisation. It makes perfect business sense and also creates an atmosphere of a united family." Building on this family culture the organisation runs a "corporate wellness programme" that provides leisure activities and is aimed at helping staff achieve a good work-life balance. In promoting corporate wellness, various events are organised such as a Mother's Day trip on which staff and their family members are invited to encourage support and understanding within the family. Riding on the success of its "live and breathe with the business" programme, HKJC is looking into the possibilities of running similar cross-team training in other divisions. Salient points "Live and breathe with the business" programme offers IT staff frontline customer service experience "One-customer" concept allows all staff to share the same beliefs and focus in serving the same group of customers "Corporate wellness programme" helps staff achieve a good work-life balance Management, frontline and supporting staff expected to constantly modify their mindsets so as to maintain and align service levels Close contact with retired staff creates a bank of knowledge and a sense of united family Taken from Career Times 13 July 2007, p. A24 Your comments are welcome at [email protected]