Management Initiatives
For succession planning and in support of the department’s career development policy on providing opportunities and encouragement for Land Registration Officers at all stages of their career to widen their exposure and realise their potential, the Land Registry has embarked on a secretariat attachment programme with the assistance of the Civil Service Bureau. Under the programme, an officer at senior management level will be arranged for posting to a Government bureau for a period to undertake duties with greater emphasis on policy formulation. In February 2009, a Chief Land Registration Officer was posted to work in the Development Bureau under the programme. We are working closely with the Civil Service Bureau in arranging secretariat attachment for other suitable officers.
Training and Development
We are committed to provide quality training to support the development needs of all staff (civil service staff and non-civil service staff alike) and prepare them for the forthcoming challenges in relation to title registration and various improvement projects. Through quality training, we aim to help sustain an amicable department that gives excellent service. The measure of quality in training is the confidence that all members of the Land Registry have in them and in the team they work with to be able to give outstanding service. From this comes the ability to perform at our best.
(i) Highlights of Training Activities arranged in 2008/09Theme Training
To enhance staff’s understanding on the importance of building a strong workforce for the overall achievement of the Land Registry, “Team Work, Team Trust” was adopted as the Annual Staff Development Theme for 2008/09. The one-day experiential training workshops for officers at all ranks and grades were conducted in a secluded training environment away from the workplace. The spacious environment and huge open area facilitated group activities and free discussions which contributed to the success of the event.
Professional Training
Apart from the annual development-training programme, we also emphasise on the professional development of officers. This year, “In-house Refresher Training Course on Land Registration Ordinance” and a legal training course on “Hong Kong Legal System and Land Law & Conveyancing” were arranged for the Land Registration Officer Grade staff.
Talks delivered by Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC)
Maintaining a clean, honest and accountable civil service is vital to the maintenance of public trust. To strengthen the awareness of our staff on integrity and refresh their knowledge on ethical management, talks on corruption prevention by the ICAC were delivered to officers of all ranks and grades.
Language Training
This year, the Land Registry provided a range of workplace Putonghua courses to help staff strengthening their proficiency in communicating with Putonghua. Lunch-hour and after-office hour Putonghua courses at elementary, intermediate and advanced levels were arranged to suit the different needs of staff.
Apart from Putonghua, workplace Chinese and English workshops were also provided for officer grade staff with a view to enhancing their confidence in communicating with customers in both Chinese and English.
Exposure Talk and Briefing
We put much emphasis on equipping staff with professional knowledge and skills for meeting the forthcoming changes and development of the department. Throughout the year, exposure talks and briefing sessions had been arranged for our senior staff to broaden their knowledge and exposure on land-related issues, Government framework and issues of general concerns.
Self-learning
To nurture a culture of self-learning, the Land Registry offers a wide range of self-learning packages for staff to choose from. All staff are granted one day e-learning whereby they are free from their office work to attend the e-learning programme at the departmental training unit. In addition, staff can feel free to choose a convenient time during non-office hours, e.g. lunch breaks at their office or after work at home, for self-learning. Besides, we have subscribed the e-magazine of Language Key as an additional learning aid for on-going development of staff’s language skills. The e-magazine can be easily accessed via departmental portal or internet.
(ii) Staff Development Programmes
To broaden staff’s perspectives so that they can anticipate and meet new challenges, strengthen their communication and presentation skills and develop leadership capacity, a wide spectrum of staff development courses had been arranged. During the year,
- one Chief Land Registration Officer had attended the “Senior Executive Fellows Programme” at Harvard University of the USA;
- one Chief Land Registration Officer had attended the “Breakthrough Program for Senior Executives” at International Institute for Management Development of Switzerland;
- one Chief System Manager had attended the “Delivering Information Services” course at Harvard University of the USA;
- one Chief Land Registration Officer and one Senior Solicitor had received senior management development training through attending the “Leadership in Action Programme” at the Civil Service Training and Development Institute;
- one Chief Land Registration Officer and three Senior Land Registration Officers had attended the “Management Development Program” at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; and
- three Senior Land Registration Officers had attended the National Studies course for Middle Managers at Sun Yat-sen University and Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School respectively.
