TitleLinkage between business strategy and human resourcesmanagement: case study of a telecommunications companyinHong Kong

Author(s) Cheng, Lai-sim.; 鄭麗嬋.

Citation

Issued Date 1995

URL http://hdl.handle.net/10722/37739

Rights The author retains all proprietary rights, (such as patent rights)and the right to use in future works.

UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

LINKAGE BETWEEN BUSINESS STRATEGY AND

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

_ CASE STUDY OF A TELECOMMUNICATIONS

COMPANY IN HONG KONG

SUBMITTED B Y CHENG LAI S M

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR

THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION OF

THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

AUGUST 1995

Abstract

CONTENTS Page

Objectives 67 Benefits to Employees 68 Features of the New Career Progression Plan 68 Comparison Between New and Old Systems 71 Assessment and Development 74 Performance Management System 75 Planning and Implementation 77 Issues Identified 84 Summary 85

Chapter 1 Introduction

Chapter 2 Literature Review

2.1. Role of Human Resources in Achieving 5 Sustainable Competitive Advantage/ Organizational Capabilities

2.2. Strategic Human Resources Management 9 2.3. Linkage Between Business Strategy and Human 13

Resources Management 2.4. Transformation of Human Resources Functions 34

Chapter 3 Company Background 45

3.1. General Information 45 3.2. The Competitive Environment 48 3.3. Key Challenges 49 3.4. Meeting the Challenge Initiatives 51

Chapter 4 The Case Study _ Restructuring of Human Resources 55 Function

4.1. Mission of Human Resources 56 4.2. The New Human Resources Function 56 4.3. Relationship Among Human Resources Services 60

Teams，Corporate Human Resources Teams, Line Managers and Employees

4.4. New Skills Requirements of Human Resources 61 Professionals

4.5. Issues Identified 62 4.6. Summary 63

Chapter 5 The Case Study - New Career Progression Plan 66

5.1. 5.2. 5.3. 5.4. 5.5. 5.6. 5.7. 5.8. 5 9.

Chapter 6 8

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6.1. Overview of the Reshaping, Retraining and 89 Redeployment Process

6.2. The Briefing Session 91 6.3. The Reshaping Task Force 94 6.4. Redeployment Strategy 96 6.5. Redeployment Policy 97 6.6. Implementation Guide 100 6.7. Communications 111 6.8. Employees' and Line Managers' Concerns 115 6.9. Progress and Projection by End March 1996 120 6.10. Issues Identified 122 6.11. Summary 123

Chapter 7 Conclusion 126

Appendices 1. Organization Chart of Hongkong Telecom 2. Career Progression Guide 3. Performance Anchor Forms and Competency

Assessment & Development Forms for Customer Service (CFO) Stream

References

ABSTRACT

Hongkong Telecom is moving from a protective, monopoly and regulated environment to

a highly competitive one. The Company has reviewed its strategies，identified human

resources as a new source of sustainable competitive advantage and recognized that

Human Resources has a role to play in achieving business strategies. To forge a stronger

linkage between business strategy and human resources management, the Company has

implemented a number of initiatives, including restructuring of Human Resources

function, introduction of new Career Progression Plan, and Reshaping，Retraining and

Redeployment Programme. However, there are still a number of issues to be addressed

and lessons to be learnt from experience. Success of the initiatives hinges on joint efforts

of the Company, line management, Human Resources and staff.

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

Hongkong Telecom is the provider of both domestic and international

telecommunications services in Hong Kong. It has long operated in a protected,

regulated and monopoly environment. As the telecommunications market is

opened up，the competitive environment to the Company is changing.

Facing the intensifying competition，the Company has taken some steps to prepare

itself to meet the future challenges. The Company has reviewed what it wants to

achieve, its business strategies，and its ways of doing businesses. More important,

the Company has identified new sources of sustainable competitive advantages in

order to beat competition in future. 'People' is identified as one of them.

To ensure that human resources can be effectively utilized and human resources

practices/ systems can contribute to the achievement of Company's strategies，a

number of initiatives have been taken to align human resources management with

business strategies. These include:

- Restructuring of Human Resources function and to reposition Human

Resources as business partners to line management;

- Introduction of the new Career Progression Plan which forges a stronger

link between reward and skills, performance and contribution，and to

facilitate development of individual and organizational capabilities to

support company strategies; and

- Introduction of the Reshaping, Retraining and Redeployment Programme

which aims at streamlining the work force and ensuring a balance mix of

skills and talents are available to achieve company strategies.

This paper aims at sharing with readers experience gained by Hongkong Telecom

and demonstrating how theories are put into practice in the above 3 initiatives in 3

case studies.

In Chapter 2，literature by various writers on role of human resources in achieving

sustainable competitive advantage, strategic human resources management,

linkage between business strategy and human resources management, managing

downsizing and transformation of Human Resources functions will be reviewed.

It will be followed by company background information in Chapter 3. Details of

the case studies ‘Restructuring of Human Resources Function', ‘New Career

Progression Plan' and 'Reshaping, Retraining and Redeployment Programme7 will

be presented in Chapters 4，5 and 6 respectively. Finally，issues and

recommendations will be highlighted and conclusion will be drawn in Chapter 7.

CHAPTER! LITERATURE REVIEW

Human resources issues tend to reside in the background of discussions of competitive

advantage. For example, Michael Porter (1985)，in his popular value chain approach

to competitive advantage, describes human resources management as 汪 support

activity, serves to sustain higher priority primary activities.

Besides, human resources has been viewed as the administrative arm of the company,

without adding value to the business. Human resources is traditionally viewed by line

managers as controlling the business rather than supporting it. Human resources

people focus too much on dealing with administration and maintenance issues, rather

than competency issues of the employees (Conner and Wirtenberg, 1993).

As the competitive environment changes, e.g. deregulation, emergence of

multinational corporations and collaboration, rising costs and reducing profit margia,

those which have been viewed as source of competitive advantage, like advanced

technology, financial strength and sound production process，can no longer be

sustained. Many companies began to view human resources as a new source of

sustained competitive advantage. Human resources managers began to move beyond

their traditional administrative responsibilities to assume a greater strategic role in the

organization.

In this chapter, various writers' literature on the relationship between human resources

management and competitive advantage/ organizational capabilities，how human

resources contributes to the achievement of competitive advantage, framework of

strategic human resources management, linkage between business strategy and human

resources management，and transformation of human resources functions will be

reviewed.

2.1. Role of Human Resources in Achieving Sustainable Competitive Advantage /

Organizational Capabilities

2.1.1. Resource-based View of Strategic Management

The resource-based view of strategic management posits that organizational resources

and capabilities that are rare, valuable, non-substitutable, and imperfectly imitable form

the basis for a firm's sustained competitive advantage (Barney, 1986，1991).

The resource-based views suggest that human resource systems can contribute to

sustained competitive advantage through facilitating the development of competencies

that are firm specific, produce complex social relationships, are embedded in a firm's

history and culture, and generate tacit organizational knowledge (Barney, 1992; Reed

& DeFUlippi, 1990; Wright & McMahan, 1992).

A fundamental premise of the resource-based view is that organizational competencies

that are heterogeneous and immobile form the basis of sustained competitive

advantage. Barney (1991) argues that in order for heterogeneous competencies to

generate competitive advantage, they must satisfy the following four conditions:

- The competencies must be valuable, enabling the firm to exploit opportunities

and/or neutralize threats in the competitive environment

- Only a small number of firms in a particular competitive environment possess

these competencies.

- The competencies must be relatively immobile to the extent that they cannot

be transferred easily from one firm to another.

- The competencies must have no close substitutes in order to confer durable

economic benefits to the firm (Barney, 1991; Dierickx & Cool，1989).

2.1.2. Competence-Enhancing Human Resources Systems

Lado and Wilson (1994) have explored the potential of human resources systems to

facilitate the development and utilization of organizational competencies. A firm may

achieve sustained competitive advantage through a firm's human resources systems

that can facilitate the development and exploitation of:

- Managerial Competencies that include the unique capabilities of the

organization's strategic leaders to articulate a strategic vision, communicate the

vision throughout the organization, and empower organizational members to

realize that vision (Westley & Mintzberg，1989).

- Input-based Competencies which encompass the physical resources,

organizational capital resources, human resources, knowledge, skills and

capabilities that enable a firm's transformational processes to create and deliver

products and services that are valued by customers (Lado et al., 1992).

- Transformational Competencies that describe organizational capabilities

required to advantageously convert inputs into outputs (Lado et al，1992).

- Output-Based Competencies that include all knowledge-based, invisible

strategic assets, such as corporate reputation or image, product or service

quality, and customer loyalty.

Lado and Wilson (1994) have posited that:

- Firms with human resources systems that facilitate the development and

exploitation of managerial, input-based, transformational, and output-based

organizational competencies will have a greater likelihood of achieving

competitive advantages than firms that have human resources systems that

destroy these competencies and/or prevent their exploitation.

_ Firms with configurations of competence-enhancing human resources system

attributes that are unique, causally ambiguous，and synergistic will have

sustained competitive advantage over firms that have human resources system

configuration that is typical, causally determinate, and nonsynergistie.

- Firms with human resources systems that are reciprocally integrated with their

strategic suprasystems will be more effective in the development and

exploitation of organizational competencies and thus in achieving sustained

competitive advantage relative to firms with human resources systems that are

either sequentially linked to or decoupled from their strategic suprasystems.

- Firms with self-renewing human resources processes will more likely generate

competencies at a higher rate and, thus, will more likely achieve sustained

competitive advantage than firms with human resources processes that are

self-maintaining.

2.1.3. Organizational Capability Built Around Shared Mindset

Hiltrop (1993) suggests that to build and sustain organizational capability, an

organization has to integrate all four elements of organizational capabilities, i.e. a

shared mindset，management and human resources practices，leadership and capacity

for change into a coherent system that will become a competitive weapon. This

requires，in turn, that human resource managers have the ability and competency to

meet the following criteria:

- Become strategic business partners and gear their activities to the strategy and

goals of the organization. Development and training activities, for instance,

must be viewed as means for improving individual and corporate performance,

not as ends in themselves.

- Spend time with line-managers both within and outside the organization to

develop a good working knowledge of their service needs.

- Actively participate in business planning meetings and offer informed insights

on the competency requirements of the organization, and the actions taken for

acquiring those competencies.

- Provide the organization with the right mix of talent to meet current and future

needs of the business.

Ulrich (1992) suggests that to gain competitive advantage in face of increasing

complex and competitive environment, executives need to develop new models of and

approaches to competitive advantage. If competitive advantage is the ability to

anticipate and meet customer needs in unique ways, the competitive challenge is to

discover new sources of uniqueness (Ulrich and Lake, 1990). When strategic

initiatives merge with human resources plans, businesses may perform in unique ways.

Uniqueness may be the ability to transfer strategy to employee action, to align systems

and strategies, and to make strategies happen.

According to Ulrich (1992), competitive advantage may derive from the integration of

strategy and human resources for three reasons:

- The ability to implement strategic initiatives increases when strategic and HR

plans merge; this ability may be a source of uniqueness. Behaviours may be

shaped through HR practices. When strategies and HR practices have a_

common focus, strategic initiatives are implemented more quickly.

- A uniqueness that stems from merging strategy and HR planning is an

increased capacity for change. HR practices such as staffing decision,

development and training programs, incentive systems as well as

communication activities can be used to overcome individual resistance to

change. Strategic initiatives often require change; HR practices help overcome

resistance to change, resulting in a competitive advantage.

- Uniqueness may exist when there is a 'strategic unity' within the business. A

business with strategic unity is more able to anticipate and meet customer

needs and challenges (Brockbank and Ulrich, 1991). Strategic unity exists

when employees at all levels, employees in diverse functions and the

organization's customers and suppliers outside the organization share the same

mindset. Unity can be developed through induction, training and

development, cross-functional meetings as well as close relationship with

customers. Strategic initiatives are more likely to be accomplished when a

unity exists; unity evolves from focusing HR practices on the desired and

shared mindset, resulting in a competitive advantage.

2.2. Strategic Human Resources Management

According to Schuler (1992), strategic human resources management is largely about

integration and adaptation. Its concern is to ensure that:

- Human resources management is fully integrated with the strategy and the

strategic needs of the firm;

- HR policies cohere both across policy areas and across hierarchies; and

- HR practices are adjusted, accepted，and used by line managers and employees

as part of their everyday work.

Schuler (1992) presents a 5-P Model of human resources management (Exhibit 1).

The 5 T's•丨，namely HR philosophy，policies, programs，practices and processes, can

be strategic as they are systematically linked to the strategic needs of the business.

Besides，the model shows the interrelatedness of activities and highlights the

significance of strategy-activity link.

Defining Strategic Needs

Strategic business needs reflect management's overall plan for survival, growth,

adaptability, and profitability. Internal characteristics as well as external characteristics

may well influence the definition of needs. Linkages between human resources

activities and business needs are usually driven by the organization's efforts to

formulate and implement a particular strategy. To trigger specific actions, the business

needs are generally translated into more actionable statements.

Human Resources Philosophy

This is 汪 statement of how the organization regards its human resources, what role the

resources play in the overall success of the business，and how they are to be treated

and managed. This statement is typically very general，thus allowing interpretation at

more specific levels of action within an organization.

Internal Characteristics

Organizational Strategy

Initiates the process of identifying strategic business

needs and provides specific qualities to them

External Characteristics

Strategic Business Needs

Expressed in mission statements or vision statements and

translated into strategic business objectives

Strategic Human Resources Management Activities

Human Resources Philosophy

Expressed in statements defining business values and culture

Exereses how to treat and value people

Human Resources Policies

Expressed as shared values (guidelines)

Establishes guidelines for action on people-related business issues and HR

programs

Human Resources Programs

Articulated as Human Resources strategies

Coordinates efforts to facilitate change to address major people-related

business issues

Htmian Resources Practices

For leadership, managerial, and operational roles

Motivates needed role behaviours

Human Resources Processes

For the formulation and implementation of other activities

Defines how these activities are carried out

Exhibit 1: The 5-P Model: Linking Strategic Business Needs and Strategic Human Resources Management Activilies

Source: Schuler R.S., "Strategic Human Resources Management: Linking the People with the Strategic Needs of the Business",

Organizational Dynamics, Summer 1992, Volume 21, Issue 1, pp20.

Human Resources Policies

All of these statements provide guidelines for action on people-related business issues

and for the development of HR programs and practices based on strategic needs.

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People-related business issues are those that affect the immediate and future success of

the business and involve people. Shared values, which are reflected in the HR policies,

result in part from the organization's structure that in turn results in part from the firm's

strategic directions.

Human Resources Programs

Shaped by human resources policies, human resources programs represent

coordinated human resources efforts specially intended to initiate, disseminate，and

sustain strategic organizational change efforts necessitated by the strategic business

needs.

The strategic organizational change efforts have several elements in common. First,

they receive their impetus from the firm丨s strategic intentions and directions. Second,

they represent major people-related business issues that require a major organizational

change effort to address. They also share the reality of having strategic goals against

which program effectiveness can be measured.

Human Resources Practices

In the process of formulating and implementing new strategic objectives，organizations

typically evaluate the 'who does what1 question. In some cases, this results in a shift of

role responsibilities. Once the role behaviours are identified，human resources

practices can be developed to cue and reinforce role performance.

Human Resources Processes

This area deals with，how丨 all the other human resources activities are identified,

formulated, and implemented. Human resource processes seem to vary along a

continuum of extensive participation by all employees to no participation by any

employees.

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There is a need for consistency across all the strategic human resources management

activities because all such activities influence individual behaviour. If they are not

consistent with each other, i.e., if they are not sending the same messages about what

is expected and rewarded, the organization is likely to be an aggregation of people

pulling in different directions. This is hardly a situation for the successful

implementation of strategic business needs. Strategic human resources management

requires consistency and a systematic orientation.

Implications

The concept presented by Schuler (1992) proposes that the framework of strategic

human resources management is made up of all activities affecting the behaviour of

individuals in their efforts to formulate and implement the strategic needs of the

business. It carries several significant implications:

- Successful efforts at strategic HR management begin with the identification of

strategic business needs. If these needs are important to the success of the

business, and if strategic human resources management can be instrumental in

meeting these needs, then these needs should be systematically analyzed for

their impact on human resources management activities, including HR

philosophy, HR policies, HR programs,皿 practices，and HR processes.

- Because all employees are affected by strategic human resources

management, participatory processes may help cement the link between

strategy and HR practices.

- Strategic human resources management depends upon a systematic and

analytical mindset.

- Human resources departments have a significant opportunity to impact their

organizations' efforts to successfully launch strategic initiatives. This argues

strongly for HR's participation in the formulation of strategy.

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2.3. Linkage Between Business Strategy and Human Resources Management

A number of writers have written literature and developed models on the linkage

between business strategy and human resources management. Specifically, some of

the writers have explored the alignment of staffing and career management system

with business strategy and role of human resources management in managing

downsizing.

2.3,1. Implementing Strategic Intent: HR Processes as a Force of Change

Gratton (1994) argues that systems to select，induct, appraise, reward and develop

may conspire to focus，enable and sustain behaviours that run counter to the very core

of the strategic intent. Existence of the schism is a reflection of relationship between

those who devise strategy and those destined to implement i t In many organizations,

the business strategy is created in isolation and 'handed down' to the human resource

professionals for implementation. This one-way process occurs because there is no

human resource representation at board level to create initial integration and members

of human resources function have limited business awareness (Tyson and Fell, 1986).

This lack of functional synergy can leave the human resource fiinction developing

human resources systems in isolation from the business.

To achieve synergy between human resources and business strategy, Gratton (1994)

has identified four major imperatives:

- Taking a Longer-term’ Future-oriented Perspective

For an organization to create a workforce capable of responding to the needs

of the future, the means by which they are selected，inducted, appraised,

rewarded and developed must mirror future needs and be capable of re-

alignment as perceptions of future needs change. Without this future

perspective human resource professionals and line managers can only respond

tactically to yesterday's problems or the whims of senior executives.

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- Prioritising and Assessing Leverage and Risk

The portfolio of options for human resource systems is almost infinite. The

greatest challenge to line managers would be how to identify those aspects of

human resource systems and processes that create greatest leverage to meet

the fixture strategic intent, or which are potentially of greatest risk to the

implementation of the business strategy.

- Creating Integration Between Human Resources Processes and Outcomes

It is important to maintain a fit between the strategic intent and human

resource processes and the cohesion within the key HR systems to select，

induct, appraise, reward and develop. However, the human resource

implications of strategy also relate to the way in which the jobs are structured，

the motivations, aspirations and talents of its people，the culture and senior

management. Some degree of coordination between human resource factors

is necessary for the successful implementation of many strategies. One of the

ways is to involve managers from many functions, including human resources,

in discussions about the impact of strategic intent.

- Increasing Managers' Understanding of the Process

The involvement of line managers and functional specialists is critical to the

successful implementation of strategy. It is necessary to develop shared

understanding, methodology and skills. The most important aspect of taking a

participative approach is that it can set up an on-going process of strategy

dialogue which provides an opportunity to gain the personal effort and

commitment of managers, to engage them intellectually and emotionally to

create a 记use of reciprocal responsibility.

Alignment between strategic intent and human resource processes is built on a shared

awareness of long-term strategic intent of the company. Building on this shared

awareness, the group of managers can move towards analysis of the impact of

strategic intent on the structure and culture of the company，on the people and the way

in which they will be selected, appraised, rewarded and developed. They can debate

the alignment between the future requirements of strategic intent and a diagnosis of the

current human resource capability.

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The shared understanding of alignment can demonstrate dearly the potential risks the

company faces in delivering strategic intent. Following a diagnosis of current human

resource capabilities, it may be found that the business intent is undeliverable and

requires profound modification. This illustrates a situation where the feedback loop

between the present and the future has a negative, restraining effect on the future

vision. Alternatively, an understanding of the current human resource capability may

create an awareness that the vision for the future fails to build upon, lever and

capitalize on these resources.

2.3.2. Issues Orientated Framework of Human Resources Management

Found from the research by Schuler and Walker (1990), human resources strategy is a

set of processes and activities jointly shared by human resources and line managers to

solve people related business issues. Through human strategy, human resources

management seeks to add value by identifying these issues, assessing them, and

evaluating and resolving the issues most critical to the organization's competitiveness

and ultimately to its success. It is much action-oriented. The set of processes and

activities involved in humajQ resources strategy is being used to focus, mobilize, and

direct all other of the business.

The development of human resources strategy facilitates the process whereby human

resources concerns are first seen as people-related business concerns and then are

systematically addressed as specific HR issues. This activity of HR strategy is based

on a joint effort of HR and line management in addressing HR concerns as people-

related concerns in achieving strategic business objectives - to enhance current and

future performance and sustain competitive advantage.

The process of developing human resources strategies gives a company the following

benefits:

- Defines human resources opportunities and barriers in achieving business

objectives.

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- Prompts new thinking about human resources issues - orients and educates

participants and provides a wider perspective.

- Tests management commitment of actions - creates a process for allocating

resources to specific programs and activities.

- Develops a sense of urgency and commitment to action.

- Focuses on selected long-term courses of action considered high in priority

over the next two to three years.

- Provides a strategic focus for managing the human resources function and

developing human resources staff talents.

This orientation also appears to address human resources issues as business issues.

Thus firms:

- Keep a management view, not a HR staff department view，of critical issues

and opportunities.

- Plan within the context of managing the business strategically.

- Allocate and manage all resources for achieving the business's mission and

objectives.

- Execute the strategy - this requires effective management consensus，

communications to educate，and involvement of all parties.

Human resources strategy is likely to be supported by several organizational

conditions:

- The organization does strategy plamiing. Strategic planning seems to bring

some concern for the environment which in turn brings concern and

appreciation for human resources concerns.

- The organization's strategic planning process allows qualitative as well as

quantitative input and issues.

- The organization has a specific strategic thrust that helps to focus line

managers' attention on specifics，on competition, on the environment, and on

what factors are in the way of attaining success vis-a-vis those strategies.

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- The organization has a corporate planning group.

- The external environment plays a major role in the likelihood that human

resources concerns will become people-related business concerns.

- The extent to which line managers identify human resources issues as strategic，

put them into their business plans, and then try to develop programs to address

them.

- It helps if human resources becomes a business partner. This means helping

line managers by defining the client, defining the issues，doing analysis,

developing action plans, and measuring results. It is also essential that human

resources staff be good, business-oriented planner and analyst in order to add

the value expected of them.

2.3.3. Aligning Career Management Systems with Business Strategy

As suggested by Steele, Bratkovich and Rollins (1990), fundamental changes in

business environment，nature of organization and workforce raise new human

resources issues for organizations. Career management systems must be developed or

revitalized to deliver the new strategic capabilities required by companies undertaking

strategic redirection.

Steel, Bratkovich and Rollins (1990) present a comprehensive career management

model (Exhibit 2) that can successfully address new business and organization needs in

the changing environment. Besides，it can help deliver new strategic capabilities

required by companies undertaking strategic redirection.

Business strategy, organization/ job design and human resource planning provide

the key inputs for developing a career management system. Organization design

and job design specify the nature and allocation of work required to execute the

chosen business strategy. Human resource planning specifies the number of people

and types of skills/capabilities required to staff the organization. The career

management system then is configured to move individuals through jobs and

17

around the organization to develop those strategic skills and capabilities needed to

perform the organization's work.

Business Strategy

Organization and Job

Components

Drivers

Career Management System

Planning Process

Design

Structure Descriptions Distribution Templates Human Resource Cost Impact

Implementation/Administration

Progression/Administration Criteria Monitoring Mechanisms Gap Analysis _ Staff Strategies - Development Paths - Recruiting Profiles - Training Requirements

Linkages

Individual Assessment & Career Planning

Reward System

Exhibit 2: Model of Career Management System

Source: Bemadette Steele, Jerrold R. Bratkovich and Thomas Rollins, "Implementing Strategic Redirection Through the Career Management System", Human Resource Planning, Volume 13, Number 4,1990. pp 247.

The design of the overarching framework of the career management system has

the following components:

“ Structure: the primary developmental stream，often configured as ladders

and branches of related job families, required to develop and deliver the

strategic capabilities.

- Descriptions: the titling protocol; the type of criteria for determining

movement along a development stream; the descriptions that distinguish

one stream from another and each level with a stream.

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- Distribution Templates', model(s) of the target or most cost-effective

distribution of employees among the developmental streams and within the

levels of each stream; used to guide decisions about staffing, individual

allocations, and career pathing.

- Human Resource Cost Impact modelling the human resource cost of a

given structure and set of distribution templates based on the

compensation level and target number of employees at each step in each

development stream; used to evaluate alternative structures and

distributions and to monitor the effect of career management system on

workforce productivity.

Three components provide the foundation for implementation and administering

the career management system:

- Progression/Administration Criteria: guidelines for applying the career

management system to individual progression and development decisions

including the criteria for determining readiness to move to the next

step/level in a development stream.

- Monitoring Mechanisms: processes and measures for providing early

warning of inappropriate administration of the system over time and for

assessing the effectiveness of the system for both the company and its

workforce.

- Gap Analysis: Comparison of current workforce to target distribution

templates to identify area of need and develop strategies for closing gaps.

An effective career management system requires strong linkage to other critical

human resource programs and processes in order to assure compatible objectives

and mutual support. The processes for individual assessment and career

planning, and for moving individuals along the career ladders/ branches, are key

implementation mechanisms for a career management system. Needs identified in

the career management system translate into specific objectives for employment

and training programs. The reward system reinforces those behaviours and

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contribution required at each level in each development stream，and assures

parity in pay across the development streams for comparable levels of

contribution.

For organization undergoing business redirection, certain aspects of the model

are particularly vital to assure that the system addresses new business realities

and organizational needs. The areas requiring special focus include:

- Upward linkage to the organization's mission and business strategy

Organization should consider reexamining their professional hierarchies if

they have experienced significant shifts in their business environment,

technologies, marketing strategies, or internal functional relationships.

This process begins by identifying those strategic capabilities now needed

in the workforce. When the traditional professional hierarchies and career

paths did not cultivate capabilities, values and behaviours now required,

new and reconfigured career ladders and paths are needed. Values and

behaviours could be instilled and reinforced through selection, promotion,

performance appraisal, reward management, and other human resource

processes. The process can reveal the need for unique jobs. These jobs

may not represent full-fledged career ladders，but through their definition

and staffing they can play an important part in increasing organizational

responsiveness.

- Configuration or redesign of jobs and ladders

An organization often requires new or modified jobs to accommodate the

strategic capabilities dictated by its new business strategy or environment.

This may necessitate new or restructured career ladders, or new branches

added to existing ladders，to groom individuals for the new roles needed

by the organization.

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Job that are narrowly defined may require too many ladders, leading to

unnecessary administrative complexity， excessive career pathing

obstacles, and too little variety of tasks to ensure long-term job

satisfaction. On the other hand, jobs that are defined too broadly may

exceed the ability of most incumbents to develop the competencies

needed for satisfactory performance.

Selection of relevant criteria for describing ladders and for making

distinctions between levels

The quality and integrity of a career management system hinge on the

descriptions of the distinguishing characteristics of each level or band in a

ladder. Whether a ladder is segmented into discrete levels or broader

band，those levels or bands must be clearly distinguished from adjacent

ones. This is essential for the support of training, development, and

advancement decisions that are consistent with the original intention of

the ladder.

The most common descriptive approaches employ either descriptions of

job content (the general nature of the work at each level)，job

competencies (the underlying characteristics of an incumbent that

produce superior performance at that level，or some combination of the

two. Competencies have the advantage of being easily translated into

criteria for selection，training, and development programs (Boyatzis，

1981). Competencies also can be useful for emphasizing the new values

and orientations required by organizations that are orchestrating

significant culture change. Lack of the appropriate values and orientation

could lead to behaviours that seriously obstruct effective organization

functioning. Job or role outcomes in ladder descriptions can encourage

the direction of competencies and efforts toward specific end results.

21

Development of staff distribution templates

A staffing template is a model for managing the distribution of employees

among multiple ladders and within each ladder. Application of target

template will assure that the ladders1 populations reflect anticipated

business and organizational needs, both in the near- and long-term.

The human resource planning process of the organization, using a 'zero

base' perspective, first identifies the optimum mix and level of capabilities

for a given business scenario. Considering these results, the target

percentage or ratio of employees in each career ladder and branch is

specified. This target is further refined by stipulating the distribution, or

percentage, or individuals required at each level within each ladder or

branch. Target template might vary under different scenarios of growth

and business direction. The staffing allocation template is invaluable for

assessing the cost implications of various staffing and distribution

alternatives.

An organization should apportion its current workforce against the new

or revised career ladders on a test basis. A comparison of the resulting

patterns with the target template will highlight 汪 variety of

implementation and transition problems. This gap analysis can reveal

areas where the organization has too few or too many individuals relative

to its redefined needs. In such cases，transition plans for achieving

targeted levels should be developed，including such consideration as:

- formulating •make1 versus 'buy' strategies for acquiring the

competencies desired

- creating/ modified desired recruiting profiles

- outlining training requirements implicit in the ladders，and their

make or buy strategies

22

- mapping developmental paths and identifying key broadening or

developmental experiences

Comparison between a target template and actual distributions at any

point in time should be part of an ongoing monitoring program. The

target templates must be reassessed regularly as part of the human

resource planning process. It may be necessary to address how to

'retrofit' current employees, giving them other competencies of greater

need to the organization.

Downstream linkage with other human resource programs

The following critical linkages must be present to ensure that other

human resource policies and programs support the new career

management:

_ sourcing strategies and hiring plans should incorporate make-

versus-buy strategies and desired recruiting profiles.

- hiring， selection， and promotion criteria should reflect the

competencies articulated or implied by the career ladders.

- training programs should be configured to support the

development of new capabilities.

- the performance appraisal process should supply key performance

data to support individual career development and progression

decisions.

- the individual career planning and development process should

incorporate the developmental paths imbedded in the new ladders

and branches.

- the compensation system should provide rewards for the kinds of

behaviors and contributions required in each ladder and at each

level，as well as establish real parity between management and

non-management tracks when equal contributions are received.

23

For a major business redirection, reexamination of the total human

resource strategy may be in order. This may lead to other modifications

in various human resource programs to bring them into line with new

business and organization needs.

Implementation of monitoring and performance measurement

mechanisms

Monitoring the administration of the system is important to ensure the

appropriate application of the ladder concepts and structures over time

and across organizational units. The erosion of many existing programs

can be curtailed with early detection of shifting distributions,

inappropriate application of progression criteria, or misuse of upper

career levels.

Simple monitoring measures might include:

- longitudinal analysis of staffing distribution patterns within each

ladder on a functional, subflxnctional，and aggregate basis.

- audit of progression decisions to ensure consistency over time and

across organizational units.

An organization can also assess the success of the career management

system in increasing the effectiveness of the workforce from two

perspectives:

- the perception of the system by the people affected by it.

- the measurable impact of the system on business results, e.g.，

overall productivity or return on the cost of human capital and

specific forms of contribution by the jobs in the ladder that could

enhance competitive advantage or cost-effectiveness.

24

2-3.4. Aligning Staffing With Business Strategy

According to Bechet and Walker (1993), for organization with ever changing

business needs，identifying and addressing future staffing needs is an important

element of strategy execution and organizational change. Staffing strategies

guide the recruitment, utilization，development, movement, and attrition of talent

in ways that support long-term business requirements. The time frame for human

resources planning should match the length of the business planning cycle.

In well-managed companies, both the business focus and the human resources

focus include long and short-term components (Exhibit 3):

Business Focus Human Resource Focus

Long Term Business Strategy

1 Short Term Budget/Annual Operating Plan ^ ^ Immediate Staffing Actions

Exhibit 3. Linking Human Resource Plans and Business Plans

Source: Thomas P. Bechet and James W. Walker, "Aligning Staffing with Business Strategy", Human Resource Planning, Volume 16, Number 2, pp 6

Staffing Strategy

On the human resource side，immediate staffing actions are defined annually,

often as an integral part of the budgeting process. Many companies also prepare

longer-term human resource strategies - defined as longer-term，directional plans

of action - that support business strategies. These human resource strategies

provide a context for defining and integrating short-term human resource

activities and initiatives.

Direct linkages exist between business planning and human resource planning in

both the long and the short-term. Business strategies both influence and are

influenced by human resource strategies. Once business strategies are developed，

it is possible to define human resource issues, such as gap between desired and

actual capabilities, that must be addressed for effective implementation of

business strategies.

25

When gaps in the staffing are identified，the strategies needed to address the

issues can be developed. Business strategies sometimes assume an adequate

supply of appropriate talent that in reality cannot be recruited or developed in

time. The lack of required talent has slowed capital investment and business

development in some companies. In this case, business strategies were modified

in light of human resource constraints.

Line managers are ultimately responsible for defining staffing requirements,

assessing current talent and performance, and making the selection and

development decisions necessary to ensure that staffing supply will equal to

staffing demand. Human Resource staff play a key role in supporting this

decision making by providing information，technical support，and consulting.

Human resource staff who have a grasp of business issues and a sound

understanding of strategic staffing tools and techniques are in the best position to

act as 'internal consultants'. They can provide value-added services, ensuring that

managers identify critical staffing issues and prepare realistic plans for addressing

those issues.

Strategic staffing planning approach requires an assessment and understanding of

the business context, definition of future requirements, and establishment of

future action commitments. Steps involved in the process is shown in Exhibit 4:

Establishing Future Commitments - Evaluate Current Talent - Define Action Plans - Review Plans and Progress

Define Future Requirements - Define Competency and Staffing Requirements - Define Current Staffing - Project Future Staffing Availability

Understand the Business Context

Define Business Scenarios Identify Staffing Implications Identify Staffing Drivers

Exhibit 4: Flaming for Strategic Staffing

Source: Thomas P. Bechet and James W. Walker, 'Aligning Staffing with Business Strategy’’ Human Resource Planning, Volume 16, Number 2, pp 3

26

Understanding the Business Context

In today's changing business context，planning begins by looking three to

five years into the future. Managers and human resources staff develop

and evaluate alternative scenarios of future business conditions and

demands. They identify staffing implications of the most likely scenarios

and the factors that drive change in staffing requirements.

The role of human resource staff is to provide a framework for

developing this understanding and to guide the analysis by asking

questions, examining business plans，and facilitating a dialogue with and

among managers who are in the best position to anticipate future business

changes.

Defining Future Requirements

Once the future business context is defined, managers and human

resource staff interpret anticipated changes in terms of competencies and

staffing levels required. They also define current staffing in terms of head

counts and the capabilities currently held by the work force. Future

staffing availability is determined by projecting attrition, transfers,

promotions and other staffing changes. Based on their experience and

knowledge, managers identify opportunities to improve job design, talent

utilization，organization, and competency mix.

Establish Future Commitments

Near term actions should not only address near term staffing imbalances,

but ameliorate anticipated longer-range needs. Human resource staff who

are familiar with alternative actions play a key role in helping managers

formulate suitable and realistic plans. Managers should define staffing

objectives in ways that achievements may be tracked and evaluated.

27

2.3.5. Managing Downsizing

According to Freeman (1994)，there are two general approaches to downsizing.

One is downsizing as convergence and the other one is downsizing as

reorientation. Either of these two approaches to downsizing may be the 'right'

approach, depending on the organization's aim and circumstances. Each involves

a particular pattern of downsizing strategies, activities, and changes.

Downsizing as Reorientation

Reorientations are most often brought about by poor performance or perceived

threats to future performance. They involve simultaneous and abrupt shifts in

strategy，power distribution, structure, and control systems.

When organizations undertake large-scale downsizing programs, whether as

proactive strategic adaptation or in reaction to past missteps or environmental

change，they should approach downsizing as an opportunity to rethink the

organization, its structure, its primary purpose, and most important goals, from

the ground up and to realign the organization with its environment.

When organizations undertake major downsizing programs, they should follow a

strategy where redesign drives downsizing. Downsizing should be viewed as an

outcome of a redesign effort aimed at altering the organization's fundamental

relationship to its environment. Downsizing and change efforts are likely to be

directed externally in reorientation. Effectiveness concerns will predominate

efficiency concerns.

_ Downsizing Tactics

Downsizing tactics refer to the means by which individuals exit the

organization or are redistributed within it. These include workforce

reduction techniques, such as lay-offs，early retirements，or normal

28

attrition, speed of downsizing，retraining and redeploymemt of personnel

to support new activities as well as the selectivity of cuts.

Across-the-board cuts should be avoided; needs and skills analyse and

selective downsizing are critical. Human resource managers should

compare the skills that will be required in the new organization to the

skills in residence. Planning should aim to preserve needed skills and

knowledge including organization-specific knowledge and history, as well

as to develop new skills. Every effort should be made to retain the most

skilled, high-performing individuals.

Although large-scale downsizing is likely when the organization is

radically altering its structure or its relationship to the environment,

caution should be used in assuming that this implies large-scale layoffs or

other programs such as early retirements or special incentives to leave the

organization can backfire because they offer little control over who stays

and who leaves (Cameron et al.，1991). Lay-offs are difficult to

implement selectively, particularly when contractual obligations or

longstanding practices dictate a seniority criterion or when accurate

performance information is unavailable. More important, layoffs have

been associated with undesirable consequence, such as turmoils, conflict,

lowered morale，job insecurity, and 'survivor guilt.，They can damage

productivity and impede the organization's attempts at reorientation.

Downsizing Implementation Processes

Systematic Analysis. Systematic analysis of the organization's structure,

processes, jobs，tasks, and personnel is necessary. This analysis is part of

determining how to reach，as nearly as possible，an 'ideal' organizational

design. If redesign is to drive the downsizing process, then a great deal

of care and planning should go into the redesign.

29

Participation. Organizations also have the choice of employing narrow or

broad participation in identifying the need for change. Broad

participation refers to both horizontal and vertical decentralization of

decisions about downsizing and redesign, as well as broadly scattered

sources of ideas for change. Bartunek (1988) has suggested that broad

participation can lead in turn to greater ownership and acceptance of

changes, thereby advancing implementation. Whereas definitions of

organizational mission and the overall vision and direction are likely to

emanate from the upper levels of the organization，specific ideas about

downsizing and redesign are more likely to be found in the middle and

lower levels.

Communication and symbolic management. When downsizing is part of

reorientation and the organization is implementing broader change, doing

new things，and in general transforming itself，increased ambiguity and

uncertainty will likely be resulted. Communication can alleviate these

problems by providing substantive information regarding the content of

changes and their anticipated impact. Communication can also decrease

the incidence of rumours，provide meaning and reframing for organization

members struggling in the midst of change, create shared meanings,

connect individual efforts and pain to collective goals.

Likewise, symbolic management signals change in the organization. It

can be an important tool for managing and providing meaning and values,

help organization members to reframe the organization and its meaning

for them.

Systemic change. Downsizing as part of reorientation should also include

a systemic approach, acknowledging that the organization is embedded in

a network of other organizations. (Cameron et al , 1991). Relationships

with other organizations can be exploited to further downsizing efforts.

30

Types of Change

Reducing organizational size. There is a four-level hierarchy of these

changes (Freeman, 1992; Freeman & Cameron, 1993). This hierarchy

begins with (1) decreases in size without restructuring，and continues

through (2) decreases in the number of parallel units, (3) decreases in

differentiation，and (4) divesting or dissolving entire organizational

subunits. When one moves up this hierarchy, the types of change

encountered go from individual level to organizational level, from less

restructuring to more restructuring, from less extensive and less complex

change to more extensive and more complex change. When organization

design is rethought from the ground up, there is likely to be a high

number of changes involving restructuring, including systemic change.

Downsizing is accomplished primarily by changes involving decreased

differentiation within or between organizational subunits and by

divestment.

Reducing the workload. This relates to changes made to reduce the

workload of the employees who remain in the organization. In any

downsizing program, in order to accomplish its basic functions with fewer

people，the organization must make changes aimed at reducing and

reconstructing the workload. This can be achieved through changes in

work，changes in technology used and changes in structure.

Accompanying changes. Downsizing as reorientation is likely to be

accompanied by changes in top management team, changes in technology/

systems as well as changes in organizational mission and strategy. There

may be changes in human resource management system. These start

with the systematic analysis and selective downsizing (which imply

selective retention), procedures and criteria for appraising，rewarding，and

developing employees, career tmcks and employee motivation.

31

• Downsizing as Convergence

Downsizing can also be incorporated into the organization's routine as part of

continuous improvement. Managers and all organization members should adopt a

mindset that continually questions the current way of doing things, there is

always room for improvement and constantly seek ways to reduce organizational

headcount and to streamline operations. Downsizing is everyone's responsibility

and it is an opportunity for improvement and innovation. By integrating a

continuous improvement perspective on organizational change within the

business，s normal operations, organizations may be able to use downsizing today

to avoid massive lay-offs in the future.

- Downsizing Strategy

Changes are aimed at refining and reinforcing the organization's basic

approach to doing things and thus are unlikely to produce major

upheavals. Changes are likely to be internally directed and driven by

efficiency concerns.

- Downsizing Tactics

Incremental downsizing can be accomplished with relative ease via

normal attrition. In approaching downsizing as part of continuous

improvement, lay-offs and demotions can also be avoided more easily

when redesign precedes downsizing, because changes under convergence

are localized. In fact，job protection for individuals is necessary in order

to generate continuous improvement and to surface suggestions for the

elimination of work and redundancies.

32

Downsizing Implementation Processes

Under downsizing as continuous improvement, the key processes take

place at a micro level accompanying particular improvements. That is，

the principal point of implementation is at the level of the individual, job,

task, or process rather than at the level of the organization subunit.

Systematic analysis. Systematic analysis is likely to be localized and ad

hoc，and to occur spontaneously as ideas and chances for improvement

arise. Organizations in continuous improvement mode should focus

analysis at the level of specific tasks，jobs or processes that can be

eliminated or enhanced. Thus analysis is best conducted at the micro

level by individuals who are close to the process.

Participation. Participation in specific changes is narrow and localized,

but participation in continuous improvement as a general process is

broad. The individuals more informed about the most affected by

changes should be empowered to make them without invoking multiple

levels of hierarchy. Downsizing during convergence should be largely a

bottom-up process，although the goals and tone may be set from the top.

Communication and symbolic management. Communication and

symbolic management are used to reinforce the mindset of continuous

improvement. These processes are important in reinforcing continuous

improvement and the need to seek constantly efficiencies and downsizing

opportunities.

Types of Changes

Changes involving individuals and jobs or tasks are most likely.

Downsizing occurs primarily at the level of the individual or work group，

and the workload is reduced largely through changes in jobs or tasks.

33

These kinds of lower-level changes have a less extensive impact on the

surrounding organization. Downsizing as continuous improvement means

always being on the lookout for ways to reduce，simplify，and streamline

organizational structures and processes, as well as the number of people

required. Incremental, localized, less extensive changes are likely to

predominate.

Managers should, therefore, cease treating downsizing as either a quick

fix for the bottom line or as an indication of failure and missteps. Instead,

downsizing should be integrated into the organization's overall

improvement efforts. Incorporating downsizing into organizational

change and improvement can serve to promote employee commitment, to

move dysfunctional employee turnover into functional employee turnover,

and ultimately to enhance organizational performance and survival.

2.4. Transformation of Human Resources Functions

A number of organizations become increasingly aware that their existing human

resources functions could no longer meet their business needs and add value to

their business. They begin to think of transforming the human resources

functions, reviewing the role played by human resources in future and the

competency of the human resources professionals. Human resources is being

regarded as business partners with line managers. In this section, the Northern

Telecom's and AT&T's cases will be reviewed.

2.4.1. Northern Telecom

In order to achieve a full 30% reduction in headcount and in response to

increasing realization that Human Resources had became too internally focused

and thus drove initiatives that did not meet the needs of the business, senior

Human Resources staff began to rethink the Human Resources function

(Kochanski and Randall, 1994).

34

Northern Telecom Human Resources Mission Statement

The mission statement defines what business HR is in. The mission of the

function is to maximize employee effectiveness in contributing to the achievement

of corporate objectives. Human Resources does this by cost-effectively

promoting and enabling:

- strategic leadership with regard to the employees of the corporation

- efficient，customer-satisfying processes and practices

- development of employee capability

- a healthy and productive work environment

- advocacy of fair treatment

- the ability of organization to change

New Work Alignments

To ensure that the Human Resources mission can be achieved and the human

resources processes can contribute to the overall business strategy，the Human

Resources function was restructured. Outside-in (customer driven) and inside-

out (core capability) perspectives were applied to align key roles, core

competencies，delivery paths and relationships. The new structure is shown in

Exhibit 5.

The BU HR groups include a team of HR professionals with broad experience

providing strategic perspective to the senior management of the unit. Solid line

reporting relationships are within the HR function and dotted line to the President of

the BU. The plan is to reverse those relationships when the rearchitecting is M y

implemented.

35

Corporate HR 'Core Competencies .Functional competencies

/Roles

.Corporate-wide programs

.Standards

.Agent for Board - 'Due Diligence'

.Functional network leadership

Customers .All HR for support & expertise

.NTL Board for 'Due Dilligence' matters

ore Competencies Cost-effective delivery of HR processes/transactions Customer Service

Service Delivery Through B.U./ Services for programs initiatives Jointly with B.U. for Due Dilligence' issues

Service Delivery Systems Automation Outsourcing Direct delivery for selected purposes

Roles Delivery of common services Processing of HR-related transactions

Business Unit HR Core Competencies

Business partnership Customers

B.U. management All HR for sharing B.U. needs Roles

Strengthening B.u organization effectiveness HR support for B.U objectives HR plan for B.U B.U. info/feedback to HR

Service Delivery Through influence & consultation with management

Collaborative customer-supplier partnership with primary consideration being the business and employee needs.

Exhibit 5: HR organizational model

Source: Kochanski, J. and Randall, P.M., "Rearchitecting the Human Resources Function at Northern Telecom", Human Resource Management, Summer 1994, Volume 33, No. 2，pp 302.

The HR Services organization provides 'high touch' and 'high tech' services to

managers and employees regardless of their business unit affiliation. The focus here is

on efficiency and quality. The high touch elements include employee and labour

relations and organization development. The high tech elements include transaction

processing，compensation and benefits administration, and information management.

Services is the largest organization within the NT HR. By isolating the transaction-

based work, Services is able to aggressively reengineer, automate, and drive toward

more self-service by employees and managers.

A small corporate HR group exists to develop future-oriented products，tools，

services and systems according to needs identified by the business unit HR groups. In

36

addition, the corporate HR group provides support for acquisitions，divestitures, and

other corporate office initiatives. The corporate group is made up of experienced

specialists in the area of Organization and Employee Development，HRIS,

Communications, Compensation, and Benefits.

Exhibit 6 represents the critical connections between the line organization and the

three HR groups. The BU HR groups deal mainly with the senior levels of the line

organization. For the Services Group, the relationship is inverted. The Corporate

HR group supports the business strategy as identified by the strategic business plans.

The HR groups have a ccollaborative customer-supplier relationship'. While the

purpose of new architecture is to support business needs and the corridor between

the business strategy and the HR function is the BU HR groups, the relationship

among the three groups is intended to be equitable and jointly satisfying.

HR Senior Management

Senior \ Management

Corporate HR Business Unit HR

Managers

Employees

Exhibit 6: HR relationships

Source: Kochanski, J. and Randall, P.M., "Rearchitecting the Human Resources Function at Northern Telecom", Human Resource Management, Summer 1994，Volume 33, No. 2，pp 303.

37

2.42. AT&T

The goal of transformation of the Human Resources function at AT&T is to

transform the 6000 people of the Human Resources organization into strategic

business partner - team players who will help the company sustain its competitiveness

in today's, and tomorrow's, global telecommunications enterprise (Conner and

Wirtenberg，1992).

Both the near- and long-term objectives of the reinvented HR role are the same: to do

customer-driven HR work that adds value to AT&T's businesses by leveraging all the

talents of its increasingly diverse work force.

In the increasingly competitive environment, it is increasingly evident that AT&T's

most powerful source of advantage lies in the talent and creativity of its workforce.

AT&T chairman and CEO Robert E. Allen emphasized this point in 1988:

“It is our people who must apply the assets of AT&T to create a competitive

advantage in our markets around the world. I trust in our people to apply their

talents，knowledge and skills to make AT&T the global leader in enabling customers

to reap the benefits of information technology. That is our mission."

Human Resources' transformation journey started late in 1988. One of the

transformation team's first recommendations was to establish the position of HR

Leader for each AT&T business unit and division. These HR Leaders would report

both to the president or division head of a business unit and to the senior vice

president of HR. They were charged with two major tasks:

- To collaborate with corporate HR professionals to begin shaping a business

focused direction for the HR community.

_ To partner directly with the business unit heads in their strategic planning

efforts, particularly when those efforts were people-related.

38

In early 1991 corporate Human Resources launched an initiative - HR

Professionalism - to discover, to define，to coach, and to leverage high-impact

professional skills and behaviours - attributes that would empower the HR

community to contribute more strategically to the company's business goals.

According to customers' view，tomorrow's high-performance HR professional should

model these attributes:

- Share responsibility for the performance and profitability of the business.

- Be customer-driven and operate with the broad perspective of a business

partner, not the narrow perspective of a functional specialist.

- Focus on solutions, not activities.

- Apply HR expertise creatively and strategically.

- Initiate, lead and facilitate cultural change, helping to move the company from

its bureaucratic，level-conscious tradition to one that champions creativity and

risk-taking.

- Support AT&T's globalization drive by creating models for developing global

managers and for transferring core competencies world-wide.

- Act with urgency.

A change in mindset is also required:

From

Rulemaker

Functional Orientation

Narrow Perspective

Internally Focused

One Size Fits All

Traditional Approaches

Reactive

Centralized Decision Making

Mutual Distrust

Focus on Activities and Processes

Consultant

Business Orientation

Broad Perspective

Customer Focused, Externally Competitive

Tailored Programs

Thinking 'Outside-The-Box?

Proactive

Framework For Others to Make Decisions

Partnering

Focus on Effectiveness and Impact

39

Based on the findings from extensive internal and external research, a series of

interviews, and the focus groups, a new HR competency model，called the High

Performance Excellence Model, was developed.

High Performance Excellence Model (Exhibit 7)

The model presents the success factors for superior Human Resources performance

in complex, fast-paced，customer-focused enterprise. It is expected to be the

centrepiece of all future Human Resources professional development efforts at

AT&T. The skills and behaviours associated with success cluster in the following

three areas:

- Accountability for Business Results

- To stay aligned with business priorities，a superior HR professional

learns the customer's business as a whole, not just the HR dimensions.

This enables the HR professional to position HR issues in customer

and market terms, and to formulate tailored practices that succeed in

a specific market.

- The success factors are:

- Results orientation

- Strategic thinking

- Business partner

- Customer-focused

- Use HR expertise

- Self-Image

- HR professionals see themselves as members of the leadership team

and as catalysts for change. They encourage innovation and creativity

as they communicate a vision of the future to their customers，and as

they coach people in the long-range change process. HR

professionals should express confidence in their viewpoints and

exhibit a •can-dcy attitude.

40

The success factors are:

- Sees self as catalyst for change

- Sees self as member of the leadership team

- Demonstrate self-confidence

- Managing Interpersonal Relationships

- To get sponsorship and buy-in of key initiatives，HR professionals

build trust and remain open to diverse viewpoints. To overcome

institutional obstacles, they draw on team and relationship-building

skills to persuade others. They use networks and other resources to

bring the best talents, ideas and resources to bear on business

problems.

- The success factors are:

- Building information networks

- Influencing others

- Exhibiting interpersonal flexibility

• Building and managing teams

- Energizing and empowering other

Three generic HR competency models were designated:

- HR Leader - a senior HR person within a business unit or division.

- HR Function Manager - responsible for a function or a group of functions in

corporate, a business unit or a division.

- HR Specialist - generally manages a single function in corporate, a business

unit or a division and handles the day-to-day issues.

Although the competencies remain the same among the HR models，the specific

behavioural indicators of success often vary depending on the degree of responsibility

and leadership required of the position.

41

HR Leaders HR Manager (Function) HR Specialists < —> 4

Clusters

Accountability for Business Resu Self Image Managing Interpersonal Relationships

Results Orientation

Strategic Thinking

Business Partner

Customer-Focused

Uses HR Expertise

Success Factors

Behavioural Indicators

Demonstrates Sufficient HR Expertise to Achieve Results Is Sought After by Others as a Problem-Solving Resources Utilizes "Best" Practices to Bring About Results

Exhibit 7: High Performance Excellence Model Source: Conner, J. and Wirtenberg, J., "Managing the Transformation of Human Resources Work", Human Resource Planning, Volume 16, Number 2, pp 22.

Facing the Challenges Ahead

It is necessary to change the perpetuation of traditional expectations of HR by the line

managers. It is necessary to determine how to redefine the relationship between HR

professionals and line managers. It is required to work directly with the business

heads, coaching and educating them about their new HR partners, showing them how

HR people can add value to their businesses. A company-wide vision of how the HR

organization will function in the future should be developed.

To embed 汪 real paradigm shift, business managers must learn and understand the

basic role they play in people management. Thus, another major challenge is to figure

out how to educate and encourage line management to assume responsibility for

managing the human side of business.

The old and new paradigms are shown in Exhibit 8 and Exhibit 9 respectively.

42

Human Resources Managers Business Unit Managers

Accountability for Managing People

Think 'People' first - the Conscience Less sensitive to business impact Leverage human assets to maximize employee satisfaction and contribution

Accountability for Business Results

Thmk ‘Bottom Line5 first Less alert to people impact Leverage financial and capital assets to generate profits, and 'delight' customers

Exhibit 8: Old Paradigm Source: Cornier, J. and Wirtenberg, J., "Managing the Transformation of Human Resources Woric", Human Resource Planning, Volume 16, Number 2, pp 22,

Human Resources Managers Business Unit Managers

Shared Accountability for Business Results and Managing People

Integrate business and people strategic plaiming Joint responsibility to share effective human resources management learning Leverage financial, technological, and human assets to create value, 'delight' customers and maximize employee satisfaction

Exhibit 9: New Paradigm Source: Conner, J. and Wirtenberg, J., "Managing the Transforaiation of Human Resources Work", Human Resource Planning, Volume 16,

Number 2, pp 22.

2.4.3. Comparison of Northern Telecom's and AT&T's Cases

Both Northern Telecom and AT&T gave good examples of strategic human

resources management in the changing competitive environment by demonstrating

Human resources is regarded as a source of competitive advantage.

Human Resources fiinction becomes important in contributing to the

achievement of corporate strategy by being strategic business partners,

43

merging strategic and Human Resources plans, as well as gearing activities to

the strategy and goals of the organization.

- Business strategy cannot be created in isolation by line management and

'handed down’ to Human Resources professionals for implementation.

Alignment between strategic intent and human resources processes by

enhancing shared awareness of Human Resources and line management is

critical.

- Joint efforts of Human Resources and line management in addressing human

resources issues as people-related business issues is important.

Northern Telecom and AT&T made similar moves in restructuring Humajm Resources

function by creating a senior Human Resources position reporting to both head of

business unit and Human Resources. This is to strengthen the role of Human

Resources as business partners and to enhance involvement of Human Resources in

business planning process of line management.

The major differences between the 2 cases are that Northern Telecom focused more

on ‘hard’ side while AT&T on the csoft' side. Northern Telecom put more emphasis

on the organization structure, role played by each Human Resources team, service

deliveiy processes, efficiency，as well as relationship among Human Resources Teams

and line managers. On the other hand，AT&T focused more on the importance of

changing mindset of both Human Resources Professionals and line managers, and

how to improve contribution of Human Resources as business partners by redefining

competencies requirements of Human Resources professionals.

However，neither 'hard' nor 'soft' elements alone could lead to good strategic human

resources management. Both should be taken into consideration

44

CHAPTER 3 COMPANY BACKGROUND

3.1. General Information

Hongkong Telecom is a member of the Cable and Wireless pic which together

with its associated companies conducts business in over 50 countries and has

about 40,000 employees. Hongkong Telecom is the provider to both domestic

and international telecommunications services in Hong Kong. The exclusive

local franchise expires on 30 June 1995 and the exclusive international license

remains in effect until 30 September 2006. It has been agreed with Government

that the international prices will be reduced by an aggregate 12% over a three-

year period, ending next year and there is a price increase capping at CPI - 4%

’ for domestic services.

• The Company Mission

The mission of Hongkong Telecom is:

“To be the most successful telecommunications company in Asia ”

• Financial Information

The major shareholder of Hongkong Telecom is Cable and Wireless pic and its

subsidiary companies，and China International Trust & Investment Corporation

Hong Kong (Holdings) Limited and various companies associated with it

(together CITIC) which had notified a beneficial interest in 57.5% and 12.9% of

shares respectively. For the financial year to March 31，1995，total turnover rose

11% to HK$26.91 billion and operating cost grew 9% to HK$17.15 billion，as

compared with last year's results. Operating profit was HK$9.76 billion.

For the financial year 94/95，Cable and Wireless Group reported turnover at

£5，133 million and operating profit after exceptional items at £1,134 million.

45

Hongkong Telecom contributed to a turnover at £2，244 million and operating

profit at £810 million.

Organization Structure

There are three major companies within Hongkong Telecom Group, namely

Hongkong Telecom，HK Telecom CSL and Computasia. While Hongkong

Telecom and HK Telecom CSL (HKTCSL) mainly provide telecommunications

services and sell telecommunications products, Computasia is mainly responsible

for provision of computer services to the Group.

In March 1991，two operating entities, namely Hong Kong Telephone and Hong

Kong Telecom International merged to form Hongkong Telecom. There was

rationalization of overlapping functions, mainly support functions. Around 1,100

employees were declared redundant without advance notice or prior

communications from Management. A total of around $6 billion was paid out as

compensation. This is known as the cMarch 27 Event.

In March 1995，marketing and sales functions of non-Mobile businesses in

HKTCSL merged with those in Hongkong Telecom. Mobile business remains as

an independent business unit under HKTCSL.

Organization chart is shown I Appendix 1.

• Employees

By end of March 1995，there were about 16,000 employees in the Group. With

effect from January 1，1995，the same career progression systems，and pay and

benefits programmes apply to all employees in the Group. Salaries and related

costs represented 21.4% of the total operating costs，a rise of 13.4% from last

year.

46

In March 1995，the Company announced plans to streamline the workforce

without having to lay off any of its employees. The workforce will be gradually

reduced by 2,500 employees over the next three years. An internal

multifunctional task force is developing comprehensive redeployment strategies

and programmes to help ease the transition. For example, the Company is

offering new career opportunities in areas which are currently experiencing

growth.

Businesses in the Region

China remains a very important part of Hongkong Telecom's fiiture plans. Close

to 34% of total IDD revenues and nearly half of total IDD traffic volume is

between the territory and the mainland. The Company is working in partnership

with telecommunications authorities on joint venture projects in various

provinces，including Beijing，Shanghai and Guangdong. Agreement with

Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications on joint development of Beijing -

Hong Kong fibre optic cable link has also been reached. Besides，Letters of

Intent have been signed enabling Hongkong Telecom to provide GSM roaming in

Beijing and Shanghai next year.

Hongkong Telecom also plays an active role in other parts of the Region. The

Company is the first foreign telecommunications companies licenced to operate

in Singapore. Hongkong Telecom has been awarded the licence to build a second

mobile telephone and paging network as part of MobileOne (Asia) Pte Ltd

consortium. Letters of Intent have also been signed for Hongkong Telecom to

provide GSM coverage in Taiwan and Macau.

In conjunction with nine other leading telecommunications carriers, Hongkong

Telecom is building the longest optical fibre telecommunications superhighway in

the region - the Asia Pacific Cable Network - which，when finished in 1996，will

be 11,480 km long. By end of this year，a fibre optic cable system linking

Thailand, Vietnam and Hong Kong will be completed.

47

There are altogether 4 representative offices in the region: Taiwan, Singapore，

Korea and Vietnam. Following the opening of Vancouver office in November

1994，the Company plans to open a second Canadian office in Toronto soon.

3.2. The Competitive Environment

The environment in which the Company operates is changing from a protected,

monopoly and regulated one to a deregulated and highly competitive one.

In November 1990，the Government opened a new page of competition history

for the telecommunications industry in Hong Kong. The Government announced

the opening up of the local telecommunications market when the franchise for

local fixed network of Hongkong Telecom expires on 30 June 1995. The Office

of Telecommunication Authority (OFTA) was set up in July 93 to regulate the

telecommunications market by setting up fair trading requirements and laying

down a set of competitive safeguards.

With the expiry of Hongkong Telecom's franchise on local fixed network in July

1995，three new competitors, namely Hutchison Communications, New World

Telephone and New T&T Hong Kong，will join in providing local telephone

services with their own fixed networks.

In addition, OFTA has already made recommendation to issue an extra 6

personal communications service (PCS) licenses and 4 cordless access services

(CAS) licenses in 1996. Such intense competition will further drive prices of

telecom services down and service quality up. The Company is currently bidding

for licences to operate both a PCS and CAS in Hong Kong.

Regarding international services, the franchise of Hongkong Telecom will expire

in 2006. However, there are already a number of resellers providing international

call services with calling card or other call-back services in Hong Kong. To

48

name a few，they include City Telecom, AT&T，Sprint and USA Global Link.

This further intensifies competition in the telecommunications industry in Hong

Kong. A price-cutting war has already started. As there is a world-wide trend of

deregulation of telecommunications market, it is very likely that the international

telecommunications services market will be opened up upon expiry of franchise

for international services of Hongkong Telecom in 2006.

3.3 Key Challenges

As both internal and external environment in which the Company operates is

changing, the Company faces and needs to address a number of challenges.

• Intensifying Local and Global Competition

Competition in local telecommunications market is intensifying since the opening

up of the market upon expiry of the franchise for local fixed network of

Hongkong Telecom on 30 June 1995. Three new competitors, namely

Hutchison Communications, New World Telephone and New T&T Hong Kong,

will join in providing local telephone services with their own fixed networks from

1 July 1995.

Though the franchise of Hongkong Telecom for international services is still in

effect，there are already a number of resellers providing international call services

with calling card or other call-back services in Hong Kong. Following the world

trend in deregulation, the international telecommunications services market will

very likely be opened up upon expiry of franchise for international services of

Hongkong Telecom in 2006.

Besides, OFTA has already made recommendation to issue 6 personal

communications service (PCS) licenses and 4 cordless access services (CAS)

licenses in 1996. This would further intensify competition in telecommunications

market in Hong Kong.

49

Limited Growth Opportunities in Existing Business Areas

Currently, the Company focuses much of its businesses on the traditional voice

and data services markets. However，in recent years，the market growth rate

declined and the market is saturating. The revenue base of the Company would

probably be eaten up by the new competitors. Besides，the growth of revenue of

the Company is limited by its agreement with Government on reducing the prices

for international services by an aggregate 12% over a three-year period and the

price increase capping at CPI - 4% for domestic services. To survive the

competitive environment, the Company needs to expand its business to new

areas.

Increasing Customer Demand

With the changes in the social environment and increase in number of

competitors, customers become more sophisticated and demanding. Simply basic

voice and data services and products could no longer satisfy customer needs.

Customers are now expecting value-added and value-for-money products and

services, quality customer service, tailor-made services, total solution and one

stop shopping convenience.

Competencies and Capabilities of Employees

As the environment and technology are changing，and the customers become

more and more demanding，the existing competencies and capabilities of

employees may not be able to cope with the future development. The Company

has long been technology-driven and operating in a protective monopoly

environment, therefore，technical skills in traditional voice and data services are

much more emphasized and better developed than customer service, marketing

and sales skills. The existing competencies and capabilities of employees as well

as the mix of staff in different disciplines may not be able to meet future

requirements in surviving competition and expanding businesses in new areas.

50

Organizational Culture

At present, the Company culture is rather bureaucratic, traditional and

hierarchical. Under such culture, employees observe orders from superiors, there

are barriers between different functions, employees are expecting protection and

care from the Company, employees perform duties according to instructions and

established procedures/ practices，equity and consistency are emphasized,

decisions rested in the hands of superiors, etc. This culture has negative impacts

on the Company's systems and practices and may weaken the competitiveness of

the Company.

3.4. Meeting the Challenge Initiatives

The telecommunications industry has been more and more competitive. To

ensure that it can survive and remain competitive in the deregulated environment,

Hongkong Telecom needs to review what it wants to achieve, its ways of doing

business, as well as to prepare itself to take fixll advantage of the emerging

opportunities. Top management team initiated the ‘Meeting the Challenge，and

started to review the Company strategy in November 1991，shortly after the

merger of Hong Kong Telephone and Hong Kong Telecom International to form

Hongkong Telecom. Many senior managers were also involved in the process.

The objective of the strategy review was to thoroughly review the Company's

strengths, weaknesses, strategies and objectives, and to identify those areas

where the Company should excel in and beat the competition in the long term,

i.e. sources of competitive advantages. A range of strategic options were

identified，such as advertising, new product/service development，innovation，

production capabilities.

At last, four competitive advantages in where there is room for improvement and

which are critical to the Company's future success are identified. They are:

‘Market Position', 'Customer Service，，'People' and 'Quality Image . Four

teams which comprised senior managers，and were responsible for identifying

‘how to get from here to there' and action plans were formed.

Market Position

Strategy Statement:

“We will maintain an optimum position in our Hong Kong Telecommunications

markets and will seek investment opportunities to position ourselves in selected

telecommunications markets in S.E. Asia.，，

Action Plans:

- Improve coordination of customer information databases.

- Develop customer incentive programmes.

- Establish premium business services.

一 Build product management skills.

_ Cooperate with Cable & Wireless to pursue projects in the region.

- Widen the range of products and services offered to customers outside

Hong Kong.

- Improve our routes to market by opening representative offices in

different countries.

Customer Service

Strategy Statement:

“We will listen to our customers to understand and meet their needs and the

criteria by which they will judge us. We will constantly review and improve our

performance from the customers，perspective to ensure that we are easy to do

business with ”

52

This means the Company should provide products and services that meet

customers' requirements, ever improve levels of service to customers and

provide guaranteed service.

Action Plans:

- Establish hard service standards and satisfaction indicators.

- Establish Customer Charters which commit the Company to levels of

performance for business and residential customers.

- Set up Customer Satisfaction Unit to monitor achievement against

Charter and internal standards, and to recommend changes to internal

standards and service levels.

- Set up Customer Care Unit which operates a first tier complaints centre

and analyzes complaints.

- Invest in information systems to improve efficiency and productivity and

quality of service to customers as well as to create new products to

improve competitive edge.

• Quality Image

Strategy Statement:

"We will achieve status in the telecommunications market place as the benchmark

for Asia. We want customers to come to us on the basis of our reputation ”

This implied that a quality culture，i.e. everyone is motivated to satisfy his

customers, should be cultivated. To achieve quality, the Company should

identify its customers, determine their requirements, design our processes to meet

their requirements and continually review the requirements and processes.

On the other hand, the corporate image should be developed through reputation,

identity and public relations.

53

Action Plans:

- Work towards Group consistency in advertising through establishment of

corporate guidelines.

- Evolve the Telecom Showcase to provide an interactive history and

future of telecommunications.

“ Introduce uniforms for employees who are involved in day to day contact

with customers.

- Introduce Total Quality Management and seek ISO 9000 accreditation.

People

Strategy Statement:

"We will give clear direction and leadership to create an environment which

encourages high levels of achievement, enhanced productivity, open

communication, and respect for the contributions of others. We will develop our

people by substantial investment in training."

It was suggested that there would be a change in management style, from

structured to flexible, from directed to delegated and from standardized to

customized. Besides, people should be empowered through communication of

clear objectives，open communications，delegation, as well as training and

development.

Action Plans:

- Review motivation and reward systems to ensure that behaviour and

contribution required for staff are reinforced.

_ Review training and development programmes to ensure that they are

configured to support the development of new capabilities.

54

CHAPTER 4 THE CASE STUDY _ RESTRUCTURING OF HUMAN RESOURCES FUNCTION

On 25 October 1994，Director of Human Resources held a briefing session on the

fiiture role and the new structure of the Human Resources function for all Human

Resources professionals. Director of Human Resources started the briefing

session with the background on why it is necessary to review the future role and

structure of Human Resources function:

"The Company mission is - To be the most successful telecommunications

company in Asia. To ensure that strategic issues are identified, the management

board has started the strategic planning process one year ago. A 10-year

strategic plan including corporate strategy, strategic objectives, as well as

strategic programmes and activities was developed. Three-year development

plans for different functions were hence derived.

Regarding external and internal environment, we anticipated that there will be

significant changes, like intensifying competition，pressure on margins, significant

changes in organization culture, management style, working environment,

convergence of existing companies and new skills requirements as a result of new

business development，etc. As human resources has been identified as a source

of competitive advantage, we need to review the current role and structure of

Human Resources and whether the current existing human resources practices

and systems can be aligned with the new business strategy and needs. We need

to ensure that we are facilitating achievement of business strategy/needs. We

should position ourselves as business partners to line management.

A Human Resources Workshop was hence held. A number of senior managers

from Human Resources in the Group have participated in it. In the Workshop,

Company's business strategies，as well as role，structure and skills requirements

of Human Resources have been discussed. Structure of Human Resources

55

function has been identified as one of the critical human resources practices/

systems where alignment with Company's business strategies is essential ”

4.1. Mission of Human Resources

The mission of Human Resources is “To ensure that the Company has the

resources and organizational capability to achieve its business objectives". To

achieve this，the past role of Human Resources as a rulemaker, an internal police

that controls the business and an administrative arm as well as its inward-looking

style and narrow perspective will no longer be appropriate. Human Resources

needs to position itself as a strategic business partner of line managers and a

consultant providing support and advice on human resources-related business

issues. Human Resources professionals should hence possess good business

knowledge, broad perspectives, proactive attitudes as well as consultancy and

influencing techniques.

4.2. The New EUmrnn Resources Function

To facilitate the development of business partnership with line managers as well

as the provision of consultancy and supportive services, the Human Resources

function was reorganized on 1 February 1995. The new structure is shown in

Exhibit 10.

The new organization is based on local Human Resources Teams providing a full

range of Human Resources services to dedicated business units，backed up by

Corporate Human Resources Teams offering specialist skills and addressing

groupwide policy issues.

56

HR Services Teams

Services Team -Marketing

HR Services Team _ Operations

[R Services Team Finance, Admin & New Business

[R Services Team Mobile Business

Corporate HR Teams

Policy & Regional Support

Errployee Care

ISL Services Team - I n f o Tech

Exhibit 10: New Structure of Human Resources Function in Hongkong Telecom

Human Resources Services Team

There are a total of 5 Human Resources Services Teams which act as consultant

and business partner and provide a full range of human resources services,

including recmitment, manpower planning, personnel and benefits administration,

performance management, employee communications and employee relations to

dedicated business units. Their primary purpose is to provide human resources

support required for the business units to achieve their business objectives and

this is the basis on which their success will be judged.

These teams have dual accountability to the Director of Human Resources and

the head of the business unit that they support. They also draw on specialist

expertise related to compensation and benefits, information systems，employee

communications and relations from the two Corporate Human Resources Teams.

Each Human Resources Services Team is headed by a Human Resources

Manager who oversees all the human resources issues of the client business units.

Human Resources Managers mainly work with senior managers in the business

units on human resources issues and participate in business units' management

meetings. They are supported by a number of subteams. Staff in the subteams

are front-line Human Resources professionals responsible for daily operation.

Corporate Human Resources Teams

The primary purpose of Corporate Human Resources Teams is to provide expert

advice and additional resources to support the front line staff in Human

Resources Services Teams. They work very closely with personnel in Human

Resources Services Teams and undertake specific projects jointly/ directly with

line managers.

There are two Corporate Human Resources Teams, namely Policy and Regional

Support Team and Employee Care Team.

- Policy and Regional Support Team

It is mainly responsible for review of human resources policies，career

management and compensation and benefits issues, human resources

information systems，personnel administration of expatriate staff as well

as providing human resources support to members Cable & Wireless pic

within the region.

There are 3 subteams, namely Policy & Remuneration, Information

System and Regional Support Services.

58

The major purpose of Policy & Remuneration subteam is to ensure

effective consolidation and continuous development of reward systems to

support business objectives. It is responsible for the review of issues

related to compensation and benefits，career progression, incentive

schemes, human resources policies and practices, salary administration

and administration of medical benefits.

The objective of Information System subteam is to ensure that updated

and accurate human resources related information is provided to support

business decision making. It is responsible for the development,

enhancement and maintenance of the Human Resources Management

Information System which is accessible by all staff in Human Resources

and line managers. Besides，it is responsible for the effective utilization of

computer systems and automation within Human Resources.

The Regional Support Services function is newly created last year as the

Company's business in the Region and its support to enhancing mobility

of human resources within Cable and Wireless pic expanded. It is

responsible for providing full range of human resources services to

members of the Cable and Wireless pic within the region.

Employee Care Team

The Employee Care Team aims to maintain a positive and open employee

relations climate. It is responsible for enhancing effective open

communications between management and employees via Joint Staff

Council which is the formal communication/ consultation channel

between employees and management，as well as recognized union. It is

also responsible for organizing company-wide social，sports and

recreational activities, employee welfare programmes, as well as the

management of Credit Union.

59

4.3. Relationship Among Human Resources Services Teams, Corporate Human Resources Teams, Line Managers and Employees

Under the new Human Resources structure, the relationship among Human

Resources Services Teams, Corporate Human Resources Teams and line

managers can be described in Exhibit 11.

Management B o a r d D i r e c t o r o f Human R e s o u r c e s

HR S e r v i c e s Teams

C o r p o r a t e HR Teams

S e n i o r Management

Managers

Employee

Exhibit 11: Relationship among Human Resources Services Teams, Corporate Human Resources Teams, line managers and employees.

In last August, Director of Human Resources was appointed a member of the

Management Board. As a result, Director of Human Resources can have a better

perspective on the Company's fixture direction, business strategies and strategic

issues. He can also highlight human resources related business issues to other

Management Board members so that human resources issues can be taken into

account in the determination of business strategies and making of business

decisions. Also, better human resources strategies，policies and practices can

hence be developed so as to ensure alignment with business strategies and

utilization of human resources as 迁 source of sustainable competitive advantage.

60

Through Director of Human Resources and participation in regular management

meeting of client Business Units, Human Resources Managers can have a better

understanding of client Business Unit's business and human resources needs.

Human Resources Services Teams also act as a bridge between Corporate

Human Resources Teams and different levels of management/employees. On the

one hand, they communicate human resources policies, practices and issues to all

levels. On the other hand, they provide input related to business environment and

business requirements of client Business Units which have impacts on

determination of human resources practices and policies, and feedback comments

collected from different levels on any human resources issues where improvement

and attention are required to Corporate Human Resources Teams.

To ensure that all parts of Human Resources work towards the same direction

and the five Human Resources Services Teams implement human resources

practices consistently, regular meetings among Human Resources Managers and

Corporate Human Resources Team Heads are held.

4 A New Skills Requirements of Human Resources Professionals

As Human Resources is transforming itself into business partners of line

managers，only proficiency in Human Resources knowledge, practices and

systems is no longer sufficient. Human Resources professionals should:

- Possess good business knowledge and a broad perspective as a business

partner, not a narrow perspective of a functional specialist.

- Be able to apply Human Resources expertise creatively and strategically.

- Be able to facilitate and to assist line managers in initiating and leading

cultural change and organization development programmes.

61

In view of this，a series of development programmes in consultancy and

influencing skills，change management and organization development for Human

Resources professionals will be held. Besides，Human Resources professionals

will be rotated among Human Resources Services Teams and Corporate Human

Resources Teams so that they can become an all-rounded expertise and have a

better understanding of different businesses of the Company and hence a broader

business perspective.

Issues Identified

A number of practical problems have been identified in the implementation

process:

Skills/Capabilities of Human Resources Professionals

As role of Human Resources is changing, skills and capabilities of Human

Resources professionals should be enhanced. Only proficiency in human

resources skills and knowledge is insufficient. They need to be open-minded, be

alert to changes in business environment, possess good knowledge about business

needs and hence human resources needs of clients, and to apply human resources

expertise creatively and proactively.

Trust and Rapport Between Human Resources and Line Managers

Currently, level of trust and rapport between Human Resources and line managers

is still not strong enough. Besides，communication is still insufficient. On the one

hand，line managers may not let Human Resources fixlly understand their business

needs，and human resources related business issues and plans. On the other hand,

Human Resources may still working on some programmes without considering

business needs of clients in advance. For Human Resources to become true

business partners of line managers, trust and rapport between Human Resources

and line management should be enhanced.

Balance Between Business Units' and Company's Interest

As Human Resources Teams work closely with line management and are

responsible to Business Unit，they may tend to achieve Business Unit's interest at

the expense of the Company's. Besides, there may be conflicts between Human

Resources Services Teams which implement the human resources policies/

programmes from clients' perspectives and Corporate Human Resources Teams

which develop company wide policies.

• Communication Among Human Resources Teams

As different Human Resources Services Teams support different business units

independently and company wide programmes/policies are developed by the

Corporate Teams，sometimes there are misinterpretation of policies and different

practices in implementing the programmes in different teams. This could

adversely affect the professional image of Human Resources and may cause

grievances from employees.

4.6. Summary

As human resources has been identified as a source of competitive advantage in

the changing environment, it is necessary to review the current role and structure

of Human Resources function. Human Resources should position itself as

business partners to line managers to facilitate achievement of business

strategy/needs. Human Resources should have a better perspective on the

Company's future strategy and strategic issues and to highlight human resources

related business issues to line managers. As a result，Human Resources function

was restructured in February 1995 and Director of Human Resources was

appointed to Management Broad.

63

The new organization is based on local Human Resources Services Teams

providing a full range of human resources services to dedicated business units,

backed up by Corporate Human Resources Teams offering specialist skills and

addressing group-wide policy issues. Human Resources Services Teams act as the

bridge between Corporate Human Resources Teams and different levels of

management and employees.

There are a total of 5 Human Resources Teams which act as consultant and

business partner to provide a full range of human resources services to dedicated

business units. These teams are headed by Human Resources Managers who have

dual accountability to Director of Human Resources and heads of business units

which they support. Human Resources Managers mainly deal with senior

managers in their client business units on human resources issues and participate in

management meetings of these business units.

There are 2 Corporate Human Resources Teams，namely Policy and Regional

Support Team and Employee Care Team，which provide expert advice and

additional resources to support the front line staff in Human Resources Services

Teams. Policy and Regional Support Team is responsible for review of human

resources policies，career management and compensation and benefits issues,

human resources information systems, personnel administration of expatriate staff

as well as providing human resources support to members of Cable & Wireless pic

within the region. Employee Care Team aims to maintain a positive and open

relations climate by enhancing effective open communication between

management and employees and organizing various company-wide employee

functions.

As the role of Human Resources is transforming, the skills and competencies

requirement of Human Resources professionals should be redefined. They should

possess good business knowledge and a broad perspective as a business partner,

be able to apply human resources expertise creatively and strategically, and be able

64

to facilitate and to assist line managers in initiating and leading cultural change and

organizational development programmes.

A number of practical issues have been identified, including skills/capabilities of

Human Resources professionals, trust and rapport between Human Resources and

line managers, balance between business units' and Company's interest, as well as

communication among Human Resources Teams.

65

CHAPTER 5 THE CASE STUDY - NEW CAREER PROGRESSION PLAN

Hongkong Telecom has long been operating in a protected, monopoly and

regulated environment. Many systems and processes were bureaucratic and

rigid. Some human resources systems and practices，like career structures，career

progression and reward system were good examples.

In the old career progression system, qualifications and seniority, instead of skills,

performance and contribution，were emphasized. Headcount and promotion

were under tight control. In the reward system，there was no direct linkage

between performance and reward. Besides, training and development of staff

members were not effective in meeting specific business and individual needs, and

development of required individual and organizational capabilities. Under these

circumstances, good performers were not properly rewarded and motivated.

Skills and resources could not be effectively utilized. It was also difficult to

retain, motivate and develop staff. All these are detrimental to competitiveness

of the Company in the competitive environment.

Introduction of the new Career Progression Plan was driven by both internal and

external forces.

There were 3 major internal forces.

Firstly，in 'Meeting the Challenge5 initiatives, 'People' was identified as an area

which is critical to the Company's future success. It can also support the

achievements of the other 3 areas ('Market Position，，'Customer Service，and

'Quality Image，). Systems that ensure development of individual and

organizational capabilities to achieve the strategies should be introduced.

Secondly, there might be integration of functions among the three group

Companies, namely Hongkong Telecom，HKTCSL and Computasia. Different

career structures, career progression systems and reward systems existed in the 3

66

companies had negative impacts on the mobilization of human resources among

the companies and hence the integration of functions.

Thirdly, under the tight financial control, the cost effectiveness of the old system

should be reviewed.

The most important external force is the intensifying competition. Intensifying

competition means the change in ways of doing business, hence types of people

and skills required. It also leads to increased competition for the pool of

customer service and experienced telecom personnel. Career management and

reward systems that could attract, retain, motivate and develop quality staff

should be adopted.

The new Career Progression Plan was introduced by 2 phases. The first phase

was the pilot run for front-line customer service staff introduced in February

1994. The second phase was the roll out of plan to all other employees in

January 1995. The Plan is a result of joint contribution of Human Resources,

Training & Development and line managers. Throughout the whole planning and

implementation process，communication with employees and line managers，and

their inputs were emphasized.

5.1. Objectives

The new Career Progression Plan is introduced as part of the Meeting the

Challenges initiatives. The major objectives are:

- To attract, retain and develop ‘quality，employees by means of a tailor-

made development and progression plan for various career streams.

- To develop individual and organizational capabilities to support the

Company strategies.

- To provide a flexible career progression with cbottom-line? control.

67

- To forge a stronger link between reward and skills/ performance/

contributions.

- To provide competitive and market-driven remuneration packages.

- To achieve harmonization across three Companies in Hongkong Telecom.

5.2. Benefits to Employees

Other than contributing to achieving Company strategies, the new Career

Progression Plan also brings benefits in terms of career development，reward and

motivation to employees. Major benefits to employees are:

- Provision of a systematic career development for employees with skill

requirements clearly defined for each career step of the nine career

streams.

- Through recognition and reward, the new Career Progression Plan

encourages employees to acquire new skills for progression and future

development.

- The new Career Progression Plan enables line managers to plan, develop

and motivate staff under his/her control in a timely manner and in

alignment with business needs.

5.3. Features of the New Career Progression Plan

The new Career Progression Plan is significantly different from the existing

career/ salary structures. Major features of the new Plan are described below.

• Different Career Structures for Different Streams

Under the New Career Progression Plan, the career structures are developed

based on business requirements, skills requirements and market practices

regarding different streams.

68

There are nine main career streams:

Career Steps

-Customer Service (CFO) -Customer Service (Technical) -Engineering -Finance -Information Technology -Market/ Product Management -Sales/Sales Support -Supplies -Administration

There are sub streams in certain main streams.

substreams for Supplies stream.

Other areas/ fonctions such as Business Development, Multimedia Services,

Regional Development, etc. follow the progression steps of the appropriate

streams(s) according to professional background, skill mix, and job nature.

Also, the number of career steps within each stream may differ, to meet different

business needs in those areas. The skills levels and core competencies for each

career step are clearly defined. The Career Progression Guide in Appendix 2

shows the career steps of the main streams and provides information on the

corresponding skill requirements and core competencies for each career step.

Progression and development for positions above the new Career Progression

structures are separately planned and managed by senior management.

Two Main Groups Within Each Stream

In each of the career streams，there are two main groups，namely

Professional/Managerial and General/Supporting. Professional/ Managerial

group mainly includes managers, specialists and supervisors while

General/Supporting group mainly includes supporting staff and junior

C卜 C l l T1 -T10 E l - E l l F1 - F8 11-111 M l - M 8 SI -S8 PI - P 9 A l - A10

69

supervisors. The boundaries between groups are drawn up to act as benchmark

for external comparison and demarcations for benefit entitlements.

Sub-groups are established within each group to avoid grade drift and unchecked

‘pushing up，of staff. For example, in General/Supporting group of Engineering

stream, there are 3 subgroups. Career steps El-2, E3-4 and E5-6 belong to 3

different subgroups whereas E2，E4 and E6 are regarded as ‘cream steps'.

Focus on Skills, Performance, Contribution and Business Needs

Whilst the existing old system is subject to vacancy, the new Career Progression

Plan creates more career opportunities for employees. Progression is based on

individuars merits, skills and achievements, not grade service or seniority. Line

managers are allowed to develop and reward staff under his/her control in a

timely manner based on staffs merits，skills, achievements and on business needs.

There is no fixed service requirement for progression under the new Career

Progression Plan. High calibre employees with outstanding performance/

contribution will have a faster career progression.

Continuous Review and Development

It is the Company's aim to attract，retain and develop high quality employees to

meet customers' needs and contribute to business growth. To achieve this, the

Company adopts a flexible approach to career progression and development,

through a continuous review and development process.

For each particular career stream，there is a tailored review system for

performance management and career progression purposes. A continuous review

and development process is normally conducted by means of a Performance

Anchor Form for General/Supporting group and a Competency Assessment &

Development Form for Professional/Managerial group. A customized

assessment form is developed for each particular career step which stipulates the

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required skills/behaviours and competencies for the career steps within

General/Supporting group and Professional/Managerial group respectively.

Skills and competencies are described in terms of demonstrable behaviours so

that the assessors and assessees have concrete examples and evidence for the

application of knowledge and skills in performance on the job. A set of

Performance Anchor Forms and Competency Assessment & Development Forms

for Customer Service (CFO) stream is shown in Appendix 3.

The review process is a continuous one and is conducted at least once a year for

career progression and reward purposes. In the review process, an employee's

performance, contributions and skills is assessed against the requirements as

stipulated in the Performance Anchor Form or Competency Assessment &

Development Form and the individual's objectives for the assessment period.

5.4 Comparison Between New and Old Systems

• Career and Salary Structures

Before the introduction of the new Career Progression Plan, each of the three

Group Companies had its own career and salary structures. This hindered the

cross-company transfer and hence affected the effectiveness of utilization of

manpower resources within the Group.

Under the old Telecom system，a banding system was adopted. Band 1 to Band

4 were classified as General staff while Band 5 and above were classified as

Senior staff Basically，different benefit provisions applied to the 2 groups.

However，there were grey areas in benefits provisions for Band 4. They were not

eligible for work-related allowances as other General staff and were not eligible

for Housing Allowance as other Senior staff.

For Senior staff，the same salary scale applied to the same band，irrespective of

the functions/ areas. While for General staff，different salary scales applied to

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different bands in different functions. There were 5 functions, namely

Administrative，Operating, Technical, Secretarial and Sales. Overlapping salary

structures applied to Band 4 and above while non-overlapping salary structure

was adopted for Band 1-3.

The old Telecom CSL system was similar to the career structure under the new

Career Progression Plan. There were two main groups, namely Senior and Non-

Senior. Employees in different groups enjoyed different benefits.

Overlapping salary structures applied to the two groups. For Non-Senior grades,

different career and salary structures applied to the 8 functions, namely

Accounting/Programming, Administrative, Customer Service, Engineering/

Computer Operations, Paging, Retail Sales，Cashier and Direct Marketing/ Direct

Sales. There were different number of grades within the Non-Senior group in

different functions. While for Senior grades, a single career structure (Grades A-

C) applied to all functions. However，two different salary structures applied to

Sales and Non-Sales grades.

The career and salary structures adopted in Computasia were the simplest among

the 3 Companies. A single career and salary structure applied to all employees.

There were 11 grades (Grades 1-11) where Grades 1-6 were Junior grades and

Grades 7-11 were Senior grades. Different benefit provisions applied to these

two groups.

Criteria for Progression

Under the old systems in the 3 Companies, grade service was one of the

requirements for progression. While under the new system，service requirement

is no longer emphasized. Progression is based on individuaFs skills, performance

and contribution. Fast progression for high-fliers is allowed and encouraged.

72

Besides，progression was based on job size and availability of vacancies under the

old system but business needs and market conditions under the new system.

Selection Method for Progression

In the old system, vacancies were advertised internally and interested individual

needed to apply for it. Shortlisted candidates were interviewed by a formal

selection panel, which consisted of line managers and representatives from

Human Resources. While in the new system, employees are being assessed

continually. Once their skills，performance and contribution warrant, subject to

business needs, employees can be recommended for progression.

Control

In the past, progression was controlled by headcount budget and regular job

evaluation which determined the value of the job，not the value of the individual

staff member. In the new system, progression is controlled through bottom-line,

budgeting approach and headcount budget. Job evaluation will only be applied

to benchmark jobs for market reference.

Internal Consistency Vs External Competitiveness

Internal consistency in service, skills and qualifications requirements as well as

salary/career structures across different functions were greatly emphasized under

the old system. This hindered flexibility and alignment with market conditions.

Difficulties in attracting，retaining and motivating employees in certain functions

were experienced.

While in the new system, external competitiveness is emphasized. Career and

salary structures of different streams are reviewed continuously to ensure that

they are in line with market practices and are competitive. Besides，more

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flexibility can be exercised in handling salary administration and career

progression issues across different streams.

5.5. Assessment and Development

Under the new Career Progression Plan, managing an employee's career is a

shared responsibility between line manager and employee.

After the assessment which is based on the Performance Anchor Form or the

Competency Assessment and Development Form is conducted, skill gaps for

improvement, potential and readiness for progression/ development for an

individual employee can be identified. Line manager together with the employee

concerned will draw up a specific, achievable and measurable development plan.

Such plan may include training needs，agreed job rotation, assignments to

particular teams, projects or customers, overseas attachments, etc. Line manger

can decide at what intervals progress against plan is to be reviewed, given the

business objectives and progression plans for individual

A number of steps have been taken to ensure that assessment is carried out

objectively:

- Behaviours and competencies have been developed by teams including

line representatives and all items have been agreed to be specific and

measurable.

- Assessments are carried out by supervisors who understand the

requirements of the job and have available evidence of behaviours,

achievements, and performance.

- All assessors have been trained in the objectives and principles of

assessment and in the use of the forms.

- Assessor training includes simulated assessment and checking to ensure

that assessors have a common understanding of the levels of achievement

and the performance anchors so that they will work to the same standard.

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“ Al l assessments are endorsed by countersigning manager. When

progression to a higher step is being recommended, endorsement by

functional manager is required.

If an employee being assessed does not fully understand the reasons for the

assessment ratings, he/she will have the opportunity to seek clarification and

discuss the process with the countersigning manager. In exceptional cases where

agreement has not been reached, the final channel of appeal will be to Director.

5.6. Performance Management System

To cope with introduction of the new Career Progression Plan, a new

Performance Management System is being developed and will be introduced later

this year. The major objectives of the Performance Management System are:

- To align performance effort for achieving business objectives; and

- To enhance performance ability of all individuals.

The systems adopted for Professional/Managerial and General/Supporting staff

are different.

• For Professional/Managerial Staff

The Performance Management System for Professional/ Managerial staff covers

the goal setting，performance review，and competency assessment and

development.

The main purpose of goal setting and performance review is to help achieve

business objectives with integration of performance effort. Every

Professional/Managerial staff should set goals with target dates under respective

goal setting areas at the beginning of the year. Some common goal setting areas

are Programme，Customer，People，Productivity, Finance，New Development，

75

etc. Individuals may have different goal setting areas but their goals should

support the unit/function/business goals.

Goals should be specific in terms of targets, improvement, cost，quantity，quality,

timing, as appropriate. The completed goal setting form should be kept by the

staff member and the supervisor, each with a copy. Where necessary, goals

should be reviewed during the year, taking into account changes in the business

requirements.

During the year，the supervisor and the staff member should have regular

discussion and review of the progress in goal achievement. The goal setting form

can also be used for recording progress/ goal achievement during the year.

At year-end, performance will be reviewed against the goals set. The year-end

assessment will provide information as to whether the requirements/targets as

indicated in respective goals have be exceeded, met，or partially met.

Managers and supervisors can have continuous competency review and

development planning with their staff with the use of respective Competency

Assessment and Development Forms..

For General/Supporting Staff

The Performance Anchor Form is the key part of the Performance Management

System for General/Supporting staff since it helps indicate the performance and

skills requirements and is also used for continuous review of skills and

performance and development planning. Details have been described before.

Throughout the year，managers and supervisors should communicate regularly to

their General/Supporting staff regarding the plans and priorities of the

unit/fimctionTbusiness，so as to help the individuals understand their work

priorities and focus their effort for achieving business objectives.

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5.7. Planning and Implementation

5.7.1. Phase I: Career Progression Plan for Customer Service Staff

• Reasons for Introduction of the Plan

In ‘Meeting the Challenge' initiatives, customer service and people have been

identified as areas which must be focused on and excelled in to beat competition.

Regarding customer service, customer service standard should be improved, a

‘service excellence，culture should be nourished and skills of employees should

be enhanced. Regarding people, a stronger link between pay and performance/

contribution should be forged and skills of employees should be enhanced.

To improve customer service and management of customer database, a new

system 'Dragon' was introduced. It consolidated a number of databases and

systems used by different customer service departments, such as order

processing，line testing, installation and maintenance. A new concept 'Customer

Front Office，was also introduced. Upon full implementation of Customer Front

Office，all customer services, such as directory enquiries, international calls,

installation, maintenance, order processing，telemarketing, etc.，will be provided

under one roof. All front-line staff will work in one Centre and customers can get

all the services by just calling one hotline number. Front-line staff are hence

expected to be multi-skilled and transfer across functions. However, different

career structures previously existed in different functions hindered such transfers.

Regarding external forces，more and more companies, like second networks,

paging companies，credit card companies and banks are competing vigorously for

customer service staff. Therefore，good performers should be retained. The old

rigid reward system and career structure posted difficulties to it.

77

Objectives

The major objectives of introducing the new Career Progression Plan are，on the

one hand quite specific to the business needs and on the other hand in line with

Company's strategies. The major objectives are:

- To improve customer service standard;

- To nourish ‘Service Excellence5 culture;

- To forge stronger link between pay and performance/ contribution;

- To rely on internal sourcing of good customer service staff;

- To develop ‘best in class' customer service staff and groom high fliers;

and

- To encourage acquisition of multi-skills and cross function transfers.

Planning and Implementation

A task force consisting of representatives from respective customer service

functions, Human Resources and Training & Development was formed. It was

responsible for the planning and implementation of the new Plan.

To ensure that the new career and salary structures are in line with market

practices and conditions, Human Resources conducted a market survey on career

structures，skills requirements and responsibilities of customer service grades.

Proposal on career and salary structures was then prepared. The structures were

modified based on the inputs from line managers.

Line managers were mainly responsible for specifying job responsibilities of

different career steps in different functions, identifying skills requirements for

different career steps，assessment and development of employees, as well as

communication of the new career/ salary structures，and assessment and

development approach to employees. They also determined the target profile of

the staff population，including percentage of staff to be appointed to 'cream

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steps’. Based on the target profile determined by line managers, Human

Resources conducted costing analysis.

Training & Development developed customized Performance Anchor Forms for

different career steps，in conjunction with line managers. The Performance

Anchor Forms were for assessment and development purpose. The major

assessment criteria were customer handling behaviour, ability to handle operating

system, job and product knowledge and behaviour as team member.

After approval was obtained from top management, the New Career Progression

Plan for Customer Service staff was implemented. The implementation schedule

was as follows:

：：：：：：：：：：：：：：：：；：：：：：：：：：：：：：：：：：：：：：：：：；：：：：：

Time Frame Announce framework to line manager and Joint Staff Council

End December 93

Communicate the new scheme to staff January 94 Training of assessors By mid January 94 Commence assessment process Mid January 94 Transfer existing employees to new plan 1 February 94 Appoint first batch of staff to ccream steps' March 94 Draw up development plan for those who require further training/ development

January 94 onwards

Measure effectiveness of plan August 94

What Have Been Achieved

Al l front-line staff (about 2，000) were included in the new Plan with effect from 1

February 1994. They were all transferred to Customer Service - Customer Front

Office stream. In the first batch of assessment conducted in March 1994，about

21.3% of staff were appointed to ccream step，and 2.9% increase in salary was

incurred. By end June 1995，a total of 31.2% of front-line staff were appointed

to 'cream steps'.

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5.7.2. Phase II: Career Progression Plan for All Other Staff

• Reasons for Introduction of the Plan

Introduction of the new Career Progression Plan addressed 3 main issues.

Firstly，to harmonize the career and salary structures among the 3 group

companies to prepare for future integration of the companies. Before

introduction of the new Plan, the 3 group companies had their own career and

salary structures. This not only hindered inter-company transfer but the

integration of most of the functions in the 3 companies at a later stage.

Secondly, to be more in line with the market practices in the competitive

environment. In the past, there was rigidity in rewarding good performers

because seniority and qualifications were emphasized，there was no direct link

between pay and contribution, and internal relativity rather than market

competitiveness was stressed. Introduction of the new Plan could address these

issues.

Thirdly, the proven success of the phase I introduction for Customer Service staff

encouraged roll out of the Plan to all other staff.

• Objectives

The objectives of introducing the new Career Progression Plan have been

discussed before. They are:

- To attract，retain and develop 'quality' employees by means of a tailor-

made development and progression plan for various career streams.

- To develop individual and organizational capabilities to support the

Company strategies.

- To provide a flexible career progression with ‘bottom-line’ control.

80

- To forge a stronger link between reward and skills/ performance/

contributions.

“ To provide competitive and market-driven remuneration packages.

- To achieve harmonization across three Companies in Hongkong Telecom.

Planning and Implementation

Again，introduction of new Career Plan for all staff was a joint effort from line

managers, Human Resources and Training & Development.

Shortly after introduction of the new Career Progression Plan for Customer

Service staff, a total of 8 Task Forces consisting of line managers, as well as

representatives from Human Resources and Training & Development were

formed. Each of them was responsible for the development of framework of

career structures and assessment tools，as well as identifying skills requirements

and assessment criteria for a particular career stream (Customer Service -

Technical, Engineering, Finance, Information Technology, Market/Product

Management, Sales/Sales Support，Supplies and Administration). In the process,

they had taken into account business needs，existing career structures, and

market practices.

To ensure that the new career and salary structures are in line with market

practices and competitive, Human Resources conducted a market survey on the

career structures, salary structures and skills requirements of different career

streams among a number of commercial firms，utilities，government bodies and

accountancy firms. Such market information was taken into account in the

preparation of proposal.

A discussion session among Human Resources representatives was held after

proposals for different career streams were prepared. The discussion session was

very fruitful. Many issues were raised and resolved. All had a clear

81

understanding of the common framework and basic principles on which the

career/salary structures should be built.

By assuming different portion of staff would be appointed to ‘cream steps，，

Human Resources conducted costing analysis for different scenarios.

After approval for the proposal was obtained, a special communication task force

consisting of representatives from different career stream task forces was formed.

Communication of the new plan was in high profile. It aimed at ensuring that:

“ A l l line managers and staff have a clear understanding of objectives，

benefits and framework of the plan，the career structures, the skills

requirements of different career steps, as well as the new career

management philosophy.

- Two-way communication channels between management and staff were

established and maintained.

The communication plan was as follows:

g 讀 咖

Briefing sessions to line managers and Joint Staff Council representatives

12 September 94

Distribution of Career Progression Folder，consisting of covering memo from Chief Executive, Career Progression Plan Booklet, Career Progression Guide, Implementation/Communication Plan and Questions & Answers Bulletin, to all staff

13 September 94

Communication with staff - Line managers to brief staff -Career Progression Video broadcasted through internal TV network

-Feedback through HR Hotlines

13-30 September 94

Regular Questions and Answers Bulletins (Weekly or bi-weekly) summarizing staff enquiries

19 September to 15 October 94

Letters to individual staff members advising them of their new career steps w.e.f. 1 January 1995

30 December 94

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Feedback and inputs were collected through different communications channels,

like Human Resources Hotlines. Such inputs were valuable to the

implementation of the Plan.

The implementation plan was as follows:

.Events Horizontal transfer of all staff in Hongkong Telecom, HKTCSL and Computasia to the new structures

1 January 95

Assessment of skills, performance and contribution of staff by line managers

January 95 onwards

Line managers draw up development plans for those who require further training/ development

January 95 onwards

Appointment of qualified staff to higher steps April 95 onwards Line managers to include in 95/96 business plan the effect of new career structures

March 95

What Have Been Achieved

In the second phase of implementation, all the staff in the Group (about 13,000),

other than those Customer Service staff who have been transferred to the new

Plan in February 1994，were transferred horizontally to the new career structures

on 1 January 1995. Assessment in accordance with their skills and performance

requirements was then conducted, and appointment to next higher step

commenced in April 1995.

A total of about 1,100 staff representing about 7.8% of the total number of staff

within the Career Progression Plan are being recommended for progression to the

next higher step after the first batch of assessment in April 1995. Two of the

Technical Customer Services functions recommended over 20% of staff being

appointed to higher steps. By end June 1995，13.2% of staff were at ccream

step，，including staff in Customer Service - Customer Front Office stream.

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5.8. Issues Identified

A number of practical issues have been identified:

• Target Staff Distribution Templates

In developing the Plan, there is no target staff distribution template. Thus, it

cannot be assured that the distribution of staff across career streams and career

steps reflects the anticipated business and organizational needs. Besides，there

will be difficulties in measuring the effectiveness of the Plan and developing

effective sourcing, training and development programmes.

• Monitoring, Control and Maintenance Mechanisms

Currently, there are no established monitoring, control and maintenance

mechanisms for the new Career Progression Plan. The Plan may be misused or

exploited, deteriorated in time, or cannot stay competitive as compared with

external market. There is inconsistency in application of assessment tools across

the Company and grade drift issue caused by overuse of the tools and principles

under the Plan. Besides, the skills and competency levels as stipulated in the

assessment tools may be outdated in time. Also，cost effectiveness cannot be

measured. Therefore, proper mechanisms should be established.

• Link Between New Career Progression Plan and Performance Management/

Reward System

Currently，link between new Career Progression Plan and performance

management/ reward system is rather weak. As a result，the desired individual and

organizational skills and capabilities cannot be developed, retained and reinforced.

S4

Line Managers，Ownership

Many line managers still view that the Plan is just another performance appraisal

system and human resources practice. They do not understand that they can folly

utilize the Plan to develop capabilities required to achieve their business and

strategic needs. Besides, they actually have an important role to play in

monitoring, controlling and maintaining the Plan.

5.9. Summary

Introduction of new Career Progression Plan was driven by both internal and

external forces. Internally, 'people' has been identified as an area critical to the

Company's future success. It is necessary to ensure that individual and

organizational capabilities contributing to achievement of strategies are

developed. Besides, there will be integration of fonctions among the 3 group

companies. A common career management system can facilitate mobilization of

manpower among the companies. In addition, cost effectiveness of the old system

should be reviewed under tight financial control. Externally, the Company is

facing intensifying competition which leads to changes in ways of doing business,

types of people and skills required，and career management and reward systems to

be adopted.

The new Career Progression Plan is developed based on business requirements,

skills requirements and market practices regarding different career streams. There

are 9 main career streams and two main groups within each stream. The number

of career steps within each stream may be different to meet different business

needs in these areas. Skills levels and core competencies for each career step are

clearly defined. Under the new Career Progression Plan, progression is based on

individuars merits, skills and achievements. Line managers are allowed to

develop and reward staff under his control in a timely manner based on staff s

merits, skills, achievement and on business needs.

85

For each particular career stream, there is a tailored review system for

performance management and career progression purposes. A customized

assessment form is developed for each particular career step which stipulates the

required skills/ behaviors and competencies for different career steps within

General/Supporting group and Professional/Managerial group respectively. A

continuous review and development process is normally conducted by means of a

Performance Anchor Form for General/Supporting group，and Competency

Assessment and Development Form for Professional/Managerial group. After

assessment，line manager together with employee concerned will draw up a

specific, achievable and measurable development plan for the employee. A new

performance management system is being developed to align performance efforts

for achieving business objectives and to enhance performance ability of all

individuals.

The new Career Progression Plan is significantly different from the old system.

Individual's skills, performance and contribution instead of service requirements

are emphasized. Besides，the new Career Progression Plan places emphasis on

external competitiveness, as well as control via bottom-line, budgeting approach

and headcount budget

Development of the new Career Progression Plan was a joint effort between line

managers, Human Resources and Training & Development. Training &

Development was responsible for development of assessment tools. Human

Resources collected information on market practices regarding career structures

of different streams，conducted company-wide communication of the Plan, and

conducted costing analysis. Line managers were responsible for specifying job

responsibilities of different career steps, identifying skills requirements for

different career steps，assessment and development of employee，as well as

communications to employees.

The new Career Progression Plan was introduced by 2 phases. The first phase

was introduced in February 1994 and was the pilot run for front-line customer

86

service staff. The second phase was the roll out of plan to all other employees in

January 1995. Throughout the whole planning and implementation process,

communication with employees and line managers and their inputs were

emphasized.

A number of practical issues were identified, including absence of target staff

distribution templates，no established monitoring, control and maintenance

mechanisms, weak link between new Career Progression Plan and performance

management/ reward system，as well as little line managers' ownership of the Plan.

87

CHAPTER 6 THE CASE STUDY - RESHAPING, RETRAINING AND

REDEPLOYMENT PROGRAMME

On March 27，1991，around 1,100 employees were declared redundant and laid-

off immediately, without advance notice or prior communication from

management. This ‘March 27 Event' is well-known to the Company's staff and

the general public.

Since then, around March every year, there were rumours and speculation that

the Company would make another massive job cut. This year，it was rumoured

that the Company will cut 4500 jobs due to merging of Hongkong Telecom with

another Group Company HK Telecom CSL, and saving in manpower

requirements after full digitalization of the network. Also, there would be plan

for compulsory redundancies.

On March 10，1995，Linus Cheung, the Chief Executive held a briefing session

on the Company's 5-year business plan. Hundreds of line managers and Joint

Staff Council Representatives were invited to the briefing session. Many of them

expected that something related to the rumours would be announced.

In the briefing session, rumours and speculation were brought to an end. It was

announced that the Company planned to reduce the manpower level from 16,000

to 14,700 by end of March 1996. There would be a further reduction of 1,200

jobs to achieve total headcount of 13,500 by March 1998. To achieve this, a

company-wide reshaping，retraining and redeployment programme would be

introduced.

To ensure that this message and the underlying reasons could be clearly

communicated to all staff，a memo for Linus Cheung was sent to all staff and all

line managers needed to brief their staff on the Company plan and the specific

plan for their areas within 3 working days.

88

After the announcement, the Reshaping Task Force which is responsible for

ensuring the effective reshaping，retraining and redeployment to be carried out so

that the right balance of skills and resources can be maintained whilst overall

manpower numbers can be reduced was formed. The Reshaping Task Force has

developed the redeployment strategy and policy as well as the Implementation

Guide which outlines the principles and procedures in implementing the exercise.

Besides，it has drawn up the macro manpower plan from which major surplus and

shortfall areas were identified, and retraining/ redeployment plans were

developed and implemented.

Different communication channels were employed throughout the whole process

to ensure its transparency. Besides, the process is being closely monitored by the

Reshaping Task Force.

In the following sections, an overview of the reshaping, retraining and

redeployment process will first be discussed. Then, different critical components

of the programme, including briefing session held by Linus Cheung, the

Reshaping Task Force, the redeployment strategy and policy，the Implementation

Guide and communications channels adopted throughout the process，would be

examined. Finally, concerns of line managers and staff，the progress of the

programme，the projection of the manpower situation by end March 96 will also

be discussed.

6丄 Ovprview ofth Reshaping. Retraining and Redeployment Process

The whole reshaping, retraining and redeployment process starts with the

development of the macro manpower plan. The macro manpower plan describes

the existing distribution of manpower by functions and grades and the respective

headcount target figures to be achieved by end of March 96.

The drawing up of the macro manpower plan is based on the target headcount

figures in business plans which are submitted by functional managers before

89

beginning of each financial year. The target headcount figures are set as part of

the Company's long-term business plans，taking into account business

projections, investment plans in new business areas as well as productivity

improvement programmes.

By incorporating wastage projection，the projected staff strength as at end of

financial year will be found. By comparing this figure with the target headcount

figure, surplus or shortfall by function and grade can be found.

Once surplus and shortfall areas are identified, all available career opportunities

in shortfall areas will be advertised in the internal vacancy notice. All staff are

welcome to apply for voluntary transfer. If the application is successful,

retraining programmes will then be arranged by the gaining area managers.

When the number of successful voluntary transfers is not sufficient to reduce

surplus or shortfall in a particular area, more guided approach of redeployment is

required. Surplus areas' managers need to develop retraining and redeployment

plans in consultation with gaining areas' managers，Human Resources and

Training & Development. The retraining and redeployment plans include the

number, career streams and grades of the surplus staff as well as the time frame

for releasing of staff and retraining requirements.

Retraining programmes，ranges from on-the-job training to tailor-made skills

training，will then be organized. Types of training programmes required depend

on the gap between the skills possessed by the staff concerned and the skills

requirements in the gaining areas. For example，retraining for staff transferred

from Customer Service - Technical stream to Administration stream will be more

extensive than that for staff transferred from one Engineering function to another.

The retraining programmes can be arranged for staff either before or after

transfer to the new jobs.

90

The whole implementation process followed the principles and procedures laid

down in the redeployment policy and the Implementation Guide. The progress

was being monitored by the Reshaping Task Force. Adjustments to plan would

be made as and when necessary.

The whole reshaping，retraining and redeployment process can be summarized as

in Exhibit 12.

6.2, The Briefing Session

The atmosphere of the briefing session was positive and sincere. It was

positioned as an opportunity to seek trust and support from both line managers

and staff

Linus Cheung began the session with the Company's mission, the anticipated

changes in business environment and its impacts on the Company in the coming 5

years.

“The Company's mission is - To be the most successful telecommunications

company in Asia. As the Company stands on a threshold of tough competitive

challenges and exciting opportunities, we must take fixll advantage of the

opportunities which exist. To realize the mission, we must continually review the

way we do business.

This will mean that what we did yesterday and the way we did it may not be

applicable for tomorrow. So we must continue to improve operating efficiencies

through leaner and more efficient organization, and employing latest technology.

We must also continue to build on our strengths and explore new opportunities.

The whole management team，supported by the input of many of you through

various initiatives and the five-year rolling forecast plans, believe this is the right

strategy to move the Company forward.

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Business needs, including requirements in new business areas

Productivity improvements

Redeployment Strategy/Policy

Implementation Guide

Projected wastage based on past pattern

Implementation

Voluntary transfer of staff

Business Plan -Headcount target

Monitoring

Macro Manpower Plan

Identification of surplus/ shortfall areas, including career streams and grades being affected

Development of retraining and redeployment plans by surplus areas' managers，in consultation with gaining areas' managers and Human Resources

Retraining programmes

Exhibit 12: Overview of Reshaping, Retraining and Redeployment Process

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Hongkong Telecom does face tough challenges: revenue growth is affected by

intensifying local and global competition, IDD tariff reductions and the restriction

on price increase on local services by the CPI-4% formula. At the same time we

have substantial opportunities to invest in new business areas such as Video On

Demands (VOD) and other interactive Multimedia Services (IMS), and we are

bidding for licences for Personal Communications Services (PCS) and Cordless

Access Services (CAS) in Hong Kong and a range of opportunities in China and

the Region.

To achieve the mission, we need to strive to invest in new business areas, grow

revenue and reduce unit costs. We can grow revenue by increasing standards of

customer service，launching effective marketing programmes and introducing

new services and products within a short time. While for reducing costs，we

have to adopt more efficient systems and processes，eliminate unnecessary

activities and benchmark the best practices in class worldwide. We have been

working on this for some time and will need to continue and accelerate the

programmes we have begun.

Following this strategy，we need to make substantial investment in new systems

and technology to provide efficient tools for serving customer needs and to

enable staff to achieve higher productivity. There will be emphasis on keeping

skills up to date and continuously improving performance.

We also need to reduce the overall number of jobs in our existing business areas

and create new jobs by investment in new business areas.

We now have 16,000 staff，whom some 2,000 leave each year as part of normal

staff turnover. We will continue to tightly control recruitment to allow numbers

to gradually reduce. We will set up a special Reshaping Task Force for effective

retraining and redeployment to maintain the right balance of skills and to ensure

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resources correctly positioned to meet customer needs. We plan to reduce

manpower level to 14,700 between now and the end of March 1996，a net

reduction of 1,300 jobs over the period.

Beyond March 1996, we anticipate a further net reduction of 1,200 jobs resulting

in an overall manpower level of 13,500 by March 1998. Exact numbers will of

course depend on impact of competition, and the rate of growth of opportunities

in new business areas. This further reduction of 1,200 jobs will also be achieved

through normal staff turnover and investment in retraining and redeployment.

Let me stress once more that the Company has no plan for any compulsory

redundancies and it is the Company's objective to avoid to take such a step. We

firmly believe we can reach our manpower targets by not replacing every person

who leaves the Company, by retraining and redeploying staff and by voluntary

measures. We will consider voluntary measures in specific areas if normal staff

turnover and redeployment are insufficient to meet the target

The Company will continue its caring approach in managing this reshaping,

retraining and redeployment process. We will keep the whole process

transparent to all. We will continue to communicate with you on a regular basis

and keep you informed of the progress and any changes which may affect you

and answer any questions as they arise.

You are welcome to provide feedback and inputs related to the process to us

through your managers or Joint Staff Council Representatives. I firmly believe

that with your help we can create a better company, and I know that I can count

on your support ”

6.3. The Reshaping Task Force

After the announcement on March 10，1995，Reshaping Task Force was formed.

Its main purpose is to ensure the effective reshaping，retraining and redeployment

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are carried out so that the right balance of skills and resources can be maintained

whilst overall manpower numbers reduce.

The Reshaping Task Force consists of a full time Task Force Coordinator who is

a senior manager in Human Resources reporting to Director of Human

Resources, and seven senior managers from major surplus/ shortfall areas. There

is a small team reporting to Task Force Coordinator which provides support to

Task Force members. The Task Force works closely with Training &

Development and the Human Resources Services and Corporate Human

Resources Teams and draws fully on their resources.

The role of the Task Force is to provide company wide coordination, advice and

support to establish a framework within which line managers, supported by

Human Resources, can progressively manage their manpower resources to

achieve service, revenue and cost targets. This framework ensures a caring and

professional approach for any staff affected by the reshaping, retraining and

redeployment process. Its prime objectives are:

- To translate the reshaping, retraining and redeployment strategy/ policy

into procedures and practices.

- To consolidate the long-term manpower plans，highlighting shortfalls and

surpluses and to recommend appropriate courses of action for

Management considerations.

- To oversee retraining programmes to ensure that the right level of

support from the Company is available.

- To contribute in the areas of organization design with the aim of

improving management efficiency.

The Task Force regularly monitors and reports on progress，adjusts plans and

programmes as necessary, and in due course identifies whether any areas should

open up voluntary redundancy programmes. It is also responsible to ensure that

staff are well informed of the latest development.

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6.4. Redeployment Strategy

The Reshaping Task Force proposed the following redeployment strategy which

was endorsed by top management.

Redeployment should be positioned as follows:

- It is a process of distributing human resources and skills in an optimum

way to achieve the Company's business objectives. It is NOT the means

to get rid of poor performers.

- Al l parties have to give a share to make the plan successful. Line

managers are responsible for managing the process of achieving the

manpower targets, while the Reshaping Task Force, Human Resources

and Training & Development will provide the framework and services to

assist.

- Employee's expectation/ speculation about voluntary redundancy should

be managed. Voluntary redundancy will only be the last resort, and

should not be mentioned in the early stage of the process.

Assuming a clear and detailed manpower plan, it was proposed that the approach

to redeployment should be:

- Criteria for Selection

Identification of employees for redeployment and placement to specific

job vacancies is based on skills，experience and potential for retraining/

redeployment for the particular job.

- From Soft to Hard

As a first step，invite employees to volunteer for redeployment from areas

with manpower reduction to specific job opportunities in other functions.

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Subsequently move to a more directed approach，with line managers

nominating employees for redeployment based on the criteria mentioned

above.

6.5. Redeployment Policy

Based on the redeployment strategy endorsed by the top management，a

Redeployment Policy was formulated and communicated to staff members

through line managers，Joint Staff Council Representatives and notice boards in

late March 1995. This Redeployment Policy formed the basis for the

development of Implementation Guide which gave details of principles and

procedures in implementing the exercise.

• The Philosophies

It is the Company's aim to retain and develop high quality employees to meet

customers' needs and contribute to business growth. However, where there are

changes in the job requirements, organization structure, work processes or

business opportunities, the number of employees needed in a particular area may

change. The type and/or level of skills required of a particular job may also vary.

The Company will seek to manage these changes through normal staff turnover

and retraining so as to minimize the impact on its employees and the business.

Where there is a need for redeployment, the Company will use it as an

opportunity for employees to broaden their skills and experience, and thereby to

better develop their career.

In the redeployment process，the Company will manage the situation and the

employees in a fair，consistent，objective and supportive manner.

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Manpower Planning

The Company will review its manpower plans on a regular basis to identify

surpluses and shortfalls. Where there is a need to redeploy a group of

employees，the Company will plan and implement retraining and redeployment

programmes in a systematic and proactive manner so as to minimize the impact

on employees.

Criteria for Identifying Employees for Redeployment

A redeployment situation may arise when, due to changes in technology or

business need:

- the number of employees required for a particular job or function is

reduced, or

- the nature of a particular job has substantially changed so that the existing

job holder no longer has the necessary skills to perform the job.

In areas where there is a need for redeployment, employees to be redeployed will

be identified by managers，assisted by Human Resources. Identification will be

based on skills, experience and potential for retraining and redeployment.

Employees will also be invited to volunteer for alternative job opportunities

within the Company for which they consider themselves suitable.

The Company will take into account the need to retain a balanced workforce to

enable the business to continue effectively.

The redeployment process is not meant to be a mechanism for dealing with

employees with performance issues. While retraining may be helpful in

correcting performance problems，managers will closely manage these cases on

an ongoing basis as a separate process.

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Communication and Consultation

Employees will be informed of the need for redeployment in their area, suitable

alternative employment opportunities as well as other options in a timely manner.

They will also be consulted before and during the redeployment process.

Placement Process

Once a job vacancy becomes available within the Company，a skills matching

process will be conducted amongst the employees who have volunteered or been

identified for redeployment.

Where the number of suitable candidates for a position is more than required, a

selection process will be conducted by a panel chaired by the manager of the

position and with representation from Human Resources.

Once the Company identifies suitable alternative employment，an offer will be

made to the employee. Where the employee decides to reject the offer，he/she

will give clear explanations for the decisions.

In filling any vacant positions within the Company，employees identified for

redeployment who meet the requirements of these jobs will be given priority.

External recruitment will not be allowed until it is proven that no internal

candidate is qualified or retrainable for the vacant position within a reasonable

period.

Retraining

For employees to be redeployed，the Company will provide appropriate retraining

to assist them in seeking alternative job opportunities within the Company. Such

retraining may be in the form of classroom courses or on-the-job training.

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Once the employee accepts an alternative job offered by the Company, the

manager will arrange retraining opportunities to assist the employee in learning

new skills and knowledge required by the job. The manager will also provide

coaching and assistance to support the employee in adapting to the new job

environment.

• Terms and Conditions Upon Redeployment

There will not be any reduction in salary and benefits of employees upon

redeployment.

Progression of redeployed employees will be assessed and managed in the usual

manner.

• Counseling Service

Employees may make use of the Employee Counseling Service provided by the

Company when dealing with any possible issues or difficulties in adjusting in the

new job.

• Appeal

Employees who wish to complain about any aspect of the redeployment process

may do so to the next higher level of management along the line of authority, and

if necessary，to Human Resources. Investigation into their claims will be

conducted in a fair and objective manner.

6.6. Implementation Guide

The Implementation Guide was issued on May 5，1995. It aims to assist

managers and supervisors in managing the reshaping，retraining and

redeployment process. It covers principles and procedures in implementing the

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exercise, the responsibilities of various parties in the process, as well as the

support the Company provides to these parties. It was developed based on the

Redeployment Policy and the input of Joint Staff Council Representatives，

employees and line managers collected through different communication

channels. This process itself reflected the Company's commitment to adopting a

caring and professional approach with open communication and consultation.

Manpower Planning and Identification of Shortfall/Surplus

The Reshaping Task Force will, together with respective line managers and

Human Resources, review the approved manpower plans on a quarterly basis,

taking into account the staff turnover trend, the impact of competition and the

rate of growth of opportunities in the new business areas. Areas with either

shortfall or surplus will be identified. This information, as well as skills

requirement of the areas with shortfall, will be communicated to staff.

Line managers will manage their manpower levels through normal staff turnover.

However, there may be some cases where shortfalls/surpluses will be identified

and handled as follows:

- In Case of Shortfall

The Company will try to source the required skills within the Group

through internal transfers (primarily from areas where there are surpluses)

and in-house training to build up the new skills set.

The available vacancies will be advertised internally for open applications.

Priority will be given to staff from surplus areas for horizontal transfer.

External recruitment will not be considered until it is proven that no

internal candidate is qualified or trainable for the available position. Prior

approval from top management members is required.

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- In Case of Surplus

Where it is anticipated that normal staff turnover will not be sufficient in

achieving the manpower target，line managers will inform their staff of the

situation and encourage them to proactively apply for job vacancies

outside their own area. They will at the same time work actively with

Human Resources to identify career opportunities for their staff.

• Redeployment Process

- Communication to Employees

Once the manpower plan has been approved by Management, line

managers will inform their staff of the following:

- The number and type of jobs to be reduced and how this will be

achieved - either through normal staff turnover or redeployment.

- The time frame to meet manpower targets.

- The relevant career opportunities in the Company.

- Voluntary Application

Staff are encouraged to apply for vacancies outside their business area:

- They may submit their application directly to Human Resources

without having to go through their line supervisors. They may

also request their supervisors to give recommendation in their

application. Acknowledgment receipts will be sent to applicants

via their supervisors.

- Once all applications have been received, a skills matching process

will be conducted by the gaining party. If the number of suitable

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candidates for a position exceeds the requirement, a selection

panel chaired by the gaining party together with representation

from Human Resources will be conducted.

- Offers will normally be made to successful candidates within 4

weeks from the closing date of the vacancy notice. The gaining

area will liaise with the releasing party on the date of release

(normally within 1 month). Unsuccessful candidates will be

notified according to normal procedures.

- Staff from surplus areas volunteered for transfer will be given a

trial period of up to 3 months. Those who ultimately found the

new role unsuitable may request for reverting back to the

releasing areas, or seeking alternative career opportunities within

the Company. Such a request will be thoroughly considered and

be supported where practically possible.

- Unsuccessfol applicants will not be discriminated.

Directed Redeployment

Staff will be directed for redeployment by line management if:

一 the whole function or area is no longer required due to change in

business requirement.

- the number of successful voluntary transfers falls short of

manpower reduction.

Once an area has been identified for directed redeployment the following

process applies:

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The line manager will advise their staff of the selection criteria

which, depending on circumstances, are based on all or a

combination of the following:

- transferability of skills and knowledge

- potential for retraining

- adaptability to changing needs

The profile of those staff identified for redeployment will be

matched against the available vacancies by line managers from

both the gaining and releasing area，with the support of Human

Resources. Once a suitable job has been identified，an offer will

be made to the selected staff member.

As the redeployment offer is based on a thorough job/ skills matching

process staff are not expected to decline it. Where they consider

themselves having reasonable grounds to decline the offer，they may raise

their concerns to their line managers.

To ensure that a redeployed staff member adapts to the new job, follow-

up reviews between releasing and gaining line mangers will be conducted

in the initial period after redeployment.

Placement Process

- Immediately after the transfer, the line manager of the gaining

party will brief the redeployed staff member on his new roles，

responsibilities, key objectives and training arrangements.

- The redeployed staff member should try his best to acquire the

required skills and adapt to the new environment. He should seek

help from his supervisor if difficulties are encountered.

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- If the gaining manager considers the redeployed staff member not

suitable for reasons other than performance, he is required to

submit a written report with reasons for the decision to Human

Resources.

Training Support

In the reshaping, retraining and redeployment exercise, training forms an integral

part and plays a vital role throughout the process.

- For Staff

- For staff who may benefit from support in relation to potential

career changes, a Career Planning Workshop can be arranged.

This 1-day Workshop helps staff who are considering a career

move to review themselves and their environment so as to make

effective career decisions and plan for action. The Workshop

includes:

- Taking Stock: Learning about own self，exploring

strengths and weaknesses and personal goals.

- Opening up and Assessing Career Options: Exploring the

business environment and understanding future skill

requirements.

- Developing a Career Action Plan: Deciding on a direction

and development needs and formulating an action plan.

- In preparing staff who are making an imminent career move，a

half-day Career Management Seminar may be offered. It assists

them in understanding the impact of change in business

environment on their career and what they can do to help

themselves throughout the change. The Seminar discusses:

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- Importance of Career Development

- Examples of world-wide trends in business management

and career development.

- Why and how to take personal responsibility in career

management in the midst of change.

- Career opportunities and challenges in the Group,

- Staff who voluntarily transfer or are redeployed to a new job will

be provided with the following training support:

- an orientation to the job and its environment to assist them

in adapting to the new role and the work team;

- customized skills training programmes in the relevant area

such as technical, customer service and selling;

- on-the-job training and coaching to ensure satisfactory

application of the new skills.

For Supervisors

- For supervisors in the gaining areas, briefings on the process and

techniques in orientating new staff，developing a positive team

climate and guiding new members on the job will be arranged.

This will help create an environment for staff upon transfer/

redeployment to:

- effectively integrate with the existing work team;

- acquire new skills and knowledge to meet the requirement

for the job; and

- feel that their initiative in making the move is being

recognized.

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For supervisors in the releasing areas, briefings will be arranged to

assist them in understanding:

- the implementation process， and their roles and

responsibilities in it;

- the process by which they should identify staff for specific

job opportunities;

- the skills in guiding staff in making a career move; and

- the training and support services available.

Career Care Services

Career Care Services, provided by Training & Development，are aimed at

offering guidance and support to staff in taking ownership of their careers, and in

facilitating their career decisions. There are three areas of service:

- Career Training

The training courses on career management are already outlined before.

Staff interested in these courses may bring to the attention of their

supervisor. Where a particular staff member may benefit from any of

these courses, the supervisor may also arrange for him/her to attend.

- Career Information Service

Training & Development will co-ordinate a series of briefings on and

visits to areas requiring additional staff resources. This aims to enable

staff who are considering making a career change to acquire an early

understanding of job environment and skills requirement of these areas.

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The following are also available:

- Career related books，articles and videos.

- Full set of internal vacancy notices.

- Full set of Performance Anchor Forms/ Competency Assessment

and Development Forms which outline the competency/ skill

requirements of jobs of different career steps and streams.

- Career Counseling Service

The Career Counseling Service enhances decision making in career

development/ change and to offer support and advice around concerns

about career transition.

This in-house counseling service will provide one-to-one discussion

sessions on career planning and development. The discussion will be

conducted in a strictly confidential manner and the content will not be

disclosed to any party without consent from the staff member concerned.

The process may include:

- Identifying and discussing of career issues.

- Use of professional tools to find out personality and career

motivation.

- Review of key skills and aptitude.

- Gathering information on alternatives.

- Development of career plan.

- Establishing steps to progress the career plan.

Dealing with Employees with Performance Issues

The reshaping，retraining and redeployment programme is not meant to be a

mechanism for dealing with employees with performance issues.

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While retraining may help correct performance problems，line managers in

consultation with Human Resources will need to closely monitor these cases and

recommend appropriate courses of action. Human Resources can provide

guidelines on the management of under-performance for line managers’

reference.

Performance Review

Under normal circumstances, the annual performance review of any staff member

should reflect his performance of the entire year if he was already employed by

the Company at the beginning of the review period. This principle should be

followed in the transfer and redeployment process.

Before the transfer is effected，the releasing manager should conduct a

performance review of the staff member for the period under his supervision.

The relevant completed Performance Anchor/ Competency Assessment and

Development Form with review of achievement against agreed goals/targets will

be forwarded to the gaining manager.

By end March of the year, the performance reviews completed by both the

releasing and gaining managers will be considered in deciding on the overall

performance rating. The gaining manager should ensure that the staff member's

contribution and efforts made during the entire review period are fairly reflected

in the overall performance review and its rating. Efforts and progress in learning

new skills and knowledge should be taken into account in completing the

performance review.

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Terms and Conditions of Employment

Staff who are transferred to 汪 position in the same career stream will remain at

their current career step without any change in their employment terms and

conditions.

In case of cross stream transfer, the staff will be appointed horizontally to an

equivalent career step with no reduction in salary and benefits. They will follow

the salary structure of the new career stream and their progression will be

managed in the usual manner.

Communication and Feedback

The Company sees the success of the reshaping, retraining and redeployment

programme relies much on the effective communication with staff of all levels

throughout the process.

The Reshaping Task Force will assist Management in communicating the

progress of the reshaping, retraining and redeployment programme to staff on a

quarterly basis. Questions and Answers Bulletins will be published where

necessary to clarify issues and answer queries raised by staff

Line manager will manage the communication with staff in their own areas. They

will ensure their staff are sufficiently briefed from time to time on the progress of

the programme in their area. They will also answer any queries staff may have,

and address any issues and concerns perceived by staff in a responsive manner.

Appeal

Staff who wish to discuss their concerns or complain about the outcome and/or

any aspect of the reshaping，retraining and redeployment process may approach

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their line manager who is in the best position to answer any queries. Line

manager will respond within one week.

If a staff member is not satisfied with his line manager's reply, he may approach

the next higher level of management along the line of authority and, if necessary,

to Human Resources. He may also approach Human Resources through the

hotline.

Upon receipt of a complaint, Human Resources will look into the case with

respective line management in addressing the issue raised and providing a reply to

the staff member concerned.

Should the above mechanism fail to settle the case, staff may appeal to the

Reshaping Task Force through the Hotline. The Task Force will report to top

management on appeal cases.

Communications

As mentioned by Linus Cheung, the Reshaping，Retraining and Redeployment

Programme is transparent to all and to be carried out in a caring manner.

Communication among top management，line managers and staff is hence very

important. Communication ensures that:

- all parties concerned get the right message and clear understanding of the

principles and objectives of the programme;

- concerns of relevant parties are taken into account in determining the

implementation principles，thus involvement and commitment can be

gained from them and obstacles in implementation can be minimized;

- trust and support from line managers and staff can be built;

- uncertainties and fears can be relieved.

Since the announcement of the programme on March 10 1995， various

communications channels have been employed to provide information about the

programme to staff，collect inputs and feedback from line managers and staff,

provide information of career opportunities to staff，clarify staffs and line

managers' concerns, win support from relevant parties，report the progress, etc.

Briefing Sessions to All Staff

After attending the briefing session held by Linus Cheung, all line managers were

requested to brief all staff under their areas on the Reshaping, Retraining and

Redeployment Programme within 3 working days. To ensure that all people get

the same message, a set of standard presentation materials was prepared for line

managers. Line managers were requested to do the briefing themselves as far as

possible. They are also requested to complete a response form for each briefing

session, summarizing the main comments，concerns and feedback collected from

staff To relieve uncertainties and fears of staff，line managers also gave their

staff indication of business/manpower plans for the area.

Tea Gatherings

Thousands of staff attended Tea Gatherings hosted by Linus Cheung and other

members of the Management Board which were held soon after Linus's briefing

session. In the Tea Gatherings, staff had direct dialogue with top management.

Top management told staff the objectives and details of the programme while

staff voiced out their fears，concerns and provided suggestions. Through these

occasions，credibility of the programme was enhanced while staffs fears and

uncertainties were much relieved. Support and trust were also built.

Regular Questions and Answers Bulletins

Questions and Answers Bulletins, summarizing progress of the programme,

concerns of various parties and clarifications from management，were issued

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regularly to all staff. Through the Bulletins, staff could get more information

about the programmes while management could reinforce the message and clarify

its position.

• Reshaping，Retraining and Redeployment Communication Pack

In early May 1995，C3R' Communication Packs were distributed to all staff. The

pack contained a covering memo from Director of Human Resources, a

Highlights of the Implementation Guide and a Macro Manpower Plan - 1995/96.

The Highlights of the Implementation Guide summarized the Implementation

Guide which were distributed to all line managers and Joint Staff Council

Representatives. The Macro Manpower Plan 1995/96 described the overall

manpower picture as of end of April 1995 and highlighted the major shortfall/

surplus areas identified from the manpower analysis, the projected net surplus/

manpower requirements and the career streams being affected.

• Focus Groups For Line Managers

In order to ensure that views and concerns of line managers were incorporated

into the determination of detailed implementation guideline and support from line

managers was gained, a series of focus group sessions for line managers were

held. During the focus group sessions, line managers were first briefed on the

draft of the Implementation Guide. They were then asked to raise their concerns

and foreseeable issues regarding the implementation process. The sessions were

fruitful and the Implementation Guide was revised based on inputs from line

managers, staff representatives and staff members.

• Road Shows on Career Opportunities

Road Shows on career opportunities in major shortfall areas，like Mobile

Business and Interactive Multimedia Services，were held. Over a thousand of

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staff，mainly from surplus areas, have attended the Road Shows. In the Road

Shows，senior managers briefed staff on the function, the working environment

as well as the job nature and skills requirements of the available career

opportunities. With such information, staff could consider whether the jobs were

suitable for them and if so, proactively prepare themselves for the transfer to

these areas.

Video

Since the announcement of the programme by Linus Cheung，two videos have

been produced. The first video was broadcasted to all staff in staff canteens in

April, soon after the announcement. This video aimed at reinforcing the

message，explaining the background and objectives of the programme, enhancing

credibility of the programme, building up confidence of staff as well as seeking

support from both line managers and staff. In the video，Linus Cheung and,

Deputy Chief Executive, briefed the background of programme, the rationale and

the policy to be adopted. Once again, the principle of £no compulsory

redundancy' was emphasized.

The second video was broadcasted in early July during the implementation phase

of the programme. The main theme of the second video was different from the

first one. The major purposes of this video were to maintain the momentum of

the programme, to highlight issues experienced by both line managers and staff in

the implementation phase and to cite some cases of staff who were transferred

during the programme. In the video, Director of Human Resources, Mobile

Director，and Managing Director, Corporate Development and Operations

described the progress of the programme, highlighted the concerns of both line

managers and staff，explained to line managers how they could perceive the

programme as an opportunity to improve their business performance and

encouraged staff to support the programme. Three of the staff who were

voluntarily transferred to another fonction and were undergoing tailor-made skills

training programmes were interviewed. They shared their feelings，what they

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gained from programme and how they perceived the Reshaping, Retraining and

Redeployment Programme offered them opportunities to broaden their skills and

experience as well as to develop their careers.

Before the company-wide broadcasting，Joint Staff Council representatives, top

management members and interested staff members were invited to a preview

session in which they could discuss their concerns with and provide their

feedback and comments to Reshaping Task Force members. Such opportunities

for direct communication could enhance mutual understanding and help improve

the implementation process.

• Formal and Informal Meetings with Joint Staff Council Representatives

The success of the Reshaping, Retraining and Redeployment Programme rested

much on the support from staff members. As Joint Staff Council is the formal

communication channel between management and staff, and the Joint Staff

Council Representatives are influential to staff members, it was necessary to

ensure that support to the Reshaping，Retraining and Redeployment Programme

was gained from them. Therefore, a series of formal and informal meetings were

held to collect their feedback and to keep them informed of the progress.

• Hotline and Hotfax

As it is stressed that a caring and professional approach should be adopted during

the whole process, channels for staff members to raise their concerns were very

important. A number of hotlines and hotfax addressing to Human Resources，

Reshaping Task Force and Training & Development were set up.

6.8. Employees? and Line Managers' Concerns

Since the announcement on March 10，1995，line mangers and employees have

aired their concerns about different policy and implementation issues through

different channels throughout the process. These range from impacts on

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individual to impacts on business performance. Most of the concerns were

addressed and taken into account in drawing up the redeployment policy and

Implementation Guide.

Employees，Concerns

- Appeal Mechanism

- Employees were much concerned about whether they would be

treated fairly in the process. It was necessary to have an

independent party responsible for handling appeal cases.

- Joint Staff Council Representatives would like to participate in the

appeal process and be members of the appeal panel

- Performance Review

一 Employees viewed that when they first moved to a new area, their

performance and contribution would probably be affected.

Besides，they might be discriminated by the line managers and be

given a poor performance rating. It would be fair and objective to

take into account their performance in the previous function

before transfer. Otherwise, their pay increase would be adversely

affected.

- Selection Criteria for Redeployment

- Older employees with lower qualifications and be less retrainable

might be discriminated against in the selection for redeployment,

- Selection criteria for redeployment should be fair and objective，

not based on 'personal preference，of line managers concerned.

- Those who were being viewed as ‘poor performers' by line

managers might first be identified to be got rid of.

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Pay & Benefits After Redeployment

- When staff transferred to another career stream, the salary range

might be lower than their current one. Their salary might be

frozen and the future salary increase might be restricted.

- Working hours might be longer than the current one. Therefore,

the salary would be relatively lower as compared with the past.

- Staff who currently joined incentive scheme might experience

significant reduction in take home pay if they transferred to a new

post where there was no incentive scheme or they might take a

long time to improve their skills so as to achieve the performance

targets.

Retraining

- Employees were very much concerned about whether the

Company would provide sufficient retraining programmes and the

new supervisors would provide coaching so that they could be

able to acquire the new skills and perform well.

- As most of the affected employees possessed skills specific to

their existing function, they believed that it was not easy to apply

for transfer to other functions successfully. They hence suggested

that the Company should provide general skills training before

transfer, like customer service, selling techniques and

administrative skills so that the chance for successful transfer

might be greater.

Progress of the Programme

- In order to maintain the transparency of the programme，the

Company should regularly update employees on the latest

progress and development. Such information should include the

117

latest manpower level, turnover statistics and the manpower

targets of different areas.

Application for Transfer

- Employees were afraid that their supervisors would ‘block，their

applications for transfer.

- Those younger employees with higher qualifications and more

transferable skills might have a greater chance of successful

transfer to high growth business areas. These staff would

probably not come from major surplus areas.

Promotion Prospects

- As the surplus areas were shrinking, the promotion prospects for

remaining staff would be adversely affected.

- For employees already in shortfall areas, their promotion

prospects might be diluted by the influx of redeployed employees.

While for the redeployed staff，they perceived that there would be

little chance for promotion as their performance might not be as

well as the existing employees.

Voluntary/ Compulsory Redundancy

- Employees，especially those from major surplus areas，were much

concerned about whether the voluntary/compulsory redundancy

lists had been compiled and how employees were selected.

- If it was decided to offer voluntary/ compulsory redundancy，the

Company should inform affected employees the timing and

package well in advance.

118

- Increased Workload

一 In surplus areas, workload of remaining staff would be increased

greatly as the manpower level was reduced by redeployment of

employees out. Employees felt that it was unfair to them as there

would be no compensation for increase in workload.

- Trial Period

- Transferred staff should be given trial period so that they could

assess whether the new job was suitable to them and their

supervisor could assess their performance. If it was found that

there was a mismatch, opportunity to revert to original function

should be offered.

Line Managers' Concerns

- Performance Management

- As it was likely that poor performers would remain in surplus

areas, it would be increasingly difficult to manage their

performance.

- Line managers in gaining areas might find difficulties in managing

performance of new comers and existing employees who might

share additional workload with new comers.

- Achievement of Targets with Reduced Manpower

- Line managers from surplus areas experienced difficulties in

achieving ever increasing business targets with reduced

manpower. However，the progress of productivity improvement

programmes was usually out of their control.

119

Employees Transferred Out from Neutral Areas/ Shortfall Areas

"“ Line managers in neutral areas and shortfall areas perceived that

their business performance would be adversely affected when the

experienced high performers voluntarily transferred out to high

growth areas and recmitment was frozen. Line managers viewed

that the shortfall situation would be worsen and more difficult to

manage.

6.9. Progress and Projection bv End March 1996

Since the announcement on March 10，1995，actions have been taken to

encourage staff from surplus areas to apply for transfer to shortfall areas.

Besides, external recmitment and replacement for leavers were under tight

control Vacant positions could be filled only when it was essential to business

operations. All vacant positions were advertised internally. External recruitment

could be proceeded only when it was proved that there was no suitable internal

candidates who possess the required skills and approval from members of top

management team was obtained. It was to ensure that existing staff were given

priority in available career opportunities.

6.9.1. Progress UP to End June 1995

As at 30 June 1995，the total headcount was around 15500 and around 800

above the target headcount of 14,700 for end of this financial year. A total of

480 employees left the Company while 150 joined during April to June.

Since April，a total of 560 positions have been advertised, most of which were in

major shortfall areas，like Mobile Business, ISA, Sales and Marketing. A total

of 1430 applications were received and 180 appointments were made. Only 710

applications were from surplus staff while 90 offers were made to them.

120

6.9.2. Projection of Status by End March 1996

Surplus A :11-50

m t f t f

51-100

101-20C

201-300

Exhibit 13 Projected Distribution of Surplus/Shortfall at General/Supporting level as at 31/3/96

Assuming that turnover maintains at the current rate and there will be no external

recruitment，the projected headcount for the following 3 quarters in this financial

year will be below the Business Plan figures. However，if the current external

intake rate of about 50 per month is maintained, the projected headcount for the

third and fourth quarters will be above the Business Plan figures. Therefore，

tight control on external recruitment is essential to ensure that the headcount

target can be achieved.

Although the headcount target can be achieved if external recmitment is tightly

control，it cannot be achieved on the qualitative side, i.e.，skills mismatch

problems will occur. Based on the assumptions as stated above，there will be

serious skills mismatch problems at General/Supporting level while shortfall will

occur in all career streams at Professional/Managerial level.

As illustrated in Exhibit 13，the projected surplus and shortfall at

General/Supporting level in Engineering stream largely balance each other out.

There will be great shortfall in Customer Service stream while a great surplus will

occur in Technical Customer Service stream.

Projected Shortfall/Surplus as at 31/3/96 Assuming Current Turnover Rate

Customer Service Engineering

Administration Miscellaneous

Supplies Finance

Mormation Technology Sales

Customer Service (Tech)

，all

•

M

§

§

121

Extent of shortfall at Professional/Managerial level is even worse. The greatest

shortfall problem will appear in Market/Product Management stream. Expansion

at Professional/Managerial level contributed to 30% of the total shortfall.

6.10. Issues Identified

The following issues are identified during the implementation stage of the

Programme:

• Line Managers' Ownership in the Programme

Many line managers still view that the Reshaping Task Force owns the

Programme and it is the Task Force's responsibility to ensure that all the surplus

staff are redeployed and manpower requirements in growing areas are fulfilled.

However, Reshaping Task Force actually plays a supporting role to facilitate line

managers to achieve their manpower targets. Line managers should be

responsible for encouraging surplus staff to apply for vacancies in growing areas，

developing retraining and redeployment plans for the staff and monitoring the

progress of the Programme in their areas.

• Progress of Productivity Improvement Projects

As much of the manpower saved in surplus areas is resulting from productivity

improvement，progress of productivity improvement projects has great impacts on

the progress of the Programme. Currently, many of these projects are not given

priority in development. Top management should gear up the progress of these

projects.

• Resistance of Surplus Staff to Transfer Out

At present，many surplus staff are still not willing to apply for transfer out to other

areas. Some of them are resistant to change, some of them are not confident to

122

acquire new skills and change to another career stream, some of them are not used

to transfer to other areas without promotion, while some of them just wait and

see. If voluntary measures cannot achieve the manpower target, more guided

approach or voluntary redundancy may be required.

6,11. Summary

On March 10，1995，Linus Cheung, the Chief Executive of the Company,

announced that in facing the tough challenges and opportunities to invest in new

business areas，the Company needed to reduce the overall number of jobs in

existing areas and create new jobs by investment in new business areas.

Manpower level would be reduced by 1,300 to 14,700 by March 1996 and a

further 1,200 by March 1998. It was stressed that the Company had no plan for

compulsory redundancies. Manpower targets would be achieved by not replacing

every person who left the Company, by retraining and redeploying staff，and by

voluntary measures.

The whole reshaping, retraining and redeployment process starts with the

development of the macro manpower plan. It is drawn up based on the target

headcount figures in business plans，as well as wastage and headcount projection.

By comparing projected staff strength as at end of financial year with the target

figures, surplus or shortfall by function and grade can be found. Actions will be

taken to mobilize staff to transfer from surplus to shortfall areas. Initially, staff in

surplus areas are encouraged to apply for career opportunities in shortfall areas.

If the number of voluntary transfers is insufficient to reduce surplus or shortfall in

a particular area，more guided approach of redeployment is required. Surplus

areas managers need to develop retraining and redeployment plans in consultation

with gaining areas managers, Human Resources and Training & Development.

Retraining will be organized for redeployed staff based on individual needs.

A Reshaping Task Force comprising senior managers from major affected areas

and a senior manager from Human Resources was formed. It provides company

123

wide coordination, advice and support to establish a framework within which line

managers, supported by Human Resources and Training & Development, can

progressively manage their manpower resources to achieve targets. It regularly

monitors and reports on progress, adjusts plans and programmes as necessary, in

due course identifies whether any areas should open up voluntary redundancy

programme, and ensures that staff are well informed of the latest development.

Based on the endorsed redeployment strategy and policy，the Task Force has

formulated the Implementation Guide in May 1995. It aims to assist managers

and supervisors in managing the reshaping，retraining and redeployment process.

It covers principles and procedures in implementing the exercise，the

responsibilities of various parties in the process, as well as the support the

Company provides to these parties.

The whole Reshaping, Retraining and Redeployment Programme is transparent to

all. Communication among top management, line managers and staff was

emphasized in the whole process. Various communications channels have been

employed to provide information about the programme to staff，collect inputs and

feedback from line managers and staff，provide information about career

opportunities to staff，clarify s taffs and line managers' concerns, win support

from relevant parties，and report progress. These communication channels include

briefing sessions, tea gatherings, regular questions and answers bulletins,

communication pack，focus groups for line managers, road shows on career

opportunities, video，formal and informal meetings with Joint Staff Council

representatives, as well as hotline and hotfax.

Through various communication channels，line managers have aired their concerns

about different policy and implementation issues. Most of these concerns were

addressed and taken into account in drawing up the redeployment policy and

Implementation Guide.

124

Employees' concerns were mainly about appeal mechanism, fairness of

performance review, selection criteria for redeployment, pay and benefits after

redeployment，retraining programme，progress of the programme, application

procedures for transfer，promotion prospects, details of voluntary/ compulsory

redundancy, trial period allowed after transfer and increased workload of

remaining staff after transfer out of staff in surplus areas. While line managers'

concerns were mainly about performance management of staff，achievement of

targets with reduced manpower, and business performance being affected by

transfer out of employees from neutral/ shortfall areas.

Since announcement on March 10，1995，actions have been taken to encourage

staff from surplus areas to apply for transfer to other areas. Besides，external

recruitment and replacement for leavers were under tight control. Headcount has

been reduced to about 15500. Assuming that turnover maintains at the current

rate and there will be no external recmitment, the projected headcount for the

following 3 quarters of this financial year will be below the Business Plan figures.

However，if the current external intake rate of about 50 per month is maintained,

the projected headcount for the third and fourth quarters will be above the

Business Plan figures. Regarding the qualitative side, there will be skill mismatch

problems at General/Supporting level while shortfall will occur in all career

streams at Professional/ Managerial level at the end of this financial year.

A number of practical issues are identified in the implementation of the Reshaping,

Retraining and Redeployment Programme. These include poor sense of line

managers' ownership in the Programme，resistance of surplus staff to transfer out

to growing/ neutral areas，as well as impacts of progress of productivity

improvement projects on progress of the Programme.

125

CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSION

Changes in competitive environment have led Hongkong Telecom to review its

business strategies, its sources of competitive advantage and role of human

resources management in contributing to achievement of company strategies.

Externally, the Company is facing the expiiy of franchise and opening up of

telecommunications market which lead to intensifying competition, price is being

controlled by agreements with Government on IDD tariffs reduction and price

increase capping on local services, increasing customer demand which leads to

emphasis on customer service and quality, and limited growth opportunities in

existing business areas but increasing growth opportunities in the region and new

business areas.

Internally，the utility, hierarchical, bureaucratic and traditional culture has

negative impact on future development, the existing competency/ capabilities of

employees may not be able to meet the future requirements，and convergence of

existing 3 group companies requires the review of the existing human resources

practices.

To address these challenges, the Company has launched the “Meeting the

Challenge" initiative in May 1992. Company's strengths, weaknesses，strategies

and objectives were critically reviewed and areas where the Company should

excel in and beat competition in the long term，i.e. competitive advantages, are

identified. “People” was identified as one of the competitive advantages. A

"People" Team was then formed to look into various human resources

management issues and see how human resources management can contribute to

future success of the Company. It was necessary to realign human resources

practices and business strategies.

Restructuring of Human Resources function, introduction of New Career

Progression Plan and Reshaping，Retraining and Redeployment Programme were

identified as key human resources initiatives to be addressed.

126

Human Resources function has long been playing its traditional administrative and

supportive role in providing human resources services to line managers and

employees. Human Resources professionals usually possess little knowledge of

business needs of clients and deal with human resources issues from narrow

perspective of human resources profession. On the other hand, line managers

focus too much on business issues and bottom-line control, paying too little

attention to people-related issues.

To facilitate the achieving and sustaining of competitive advantage, it is necessary

to integrate human resources processes and business strategies by repositioning

Human Resources as business partners and by creating shared awareness of line

managers and Human Resources professionals.

Currently, too much emphasis is placed on development of technical skills in

traditional business areas and too little on marketing, sales，customer services, and

new business areas. The existing competencies and capabilities of staff may not be

able to meet the future requirements, especially when the Company enters into a

new era of competition and expands into new business areas. Besides, the existing

system is too much internally focused. Introduction of New Career Progression

Plan can address this issue by:

- establishing an upward linkage to organization's mission and business

strategies.

- forging a stronger link between performance, skills and contribution, and

reward so that desirable behaviour and competencies can be sustained.

- increasing emphasize on external competition.

- delivering new strategic capabilities required in undertaking new business

direction through clearly defined competencies and behaviours

requirements for different career steps and tailor-made training and

development programs to address individual needs.

127

When the Company expands into new business areas like interactive multimedia

service，cordless access services and personal communication services, and with

improvements in productivity in existing business areas，there will be changes in

staffing requirements in terms of headcount and capabilities currently held by the

work force. It is necessary to ‘reshape’ the existing workforce by mobilizing staff

from existing business areas which will be in surplus to new business areas.

Introduction of the Reshaping，Retraining and Redeployment Programme is to

address this.

This can be summarized as follows in Exhibit 14. In introducing and

implementing the 3 initiatives as described in the case studies，the Company has

made good moves and demonstrated that theories of strategic human resources

management are put into practice.

Align Human Resources Practices and Business Strategies

Many writers，including Lado & Wilson (1994)，Hiltrop (1993) and Schuler

(1992)，have mentioned the importance of aligning human resources practices and

business strategies in building and sustaining organizational capabilities.

In "Meeting the Challenge" initiative, the Company has reviewed its strengths,

weaknesses，strategies and objectives. “People” is identified as a source of

competitive advantage. The three initiatives were introduced to enhance the

synergy between business and human resources strategies. With the human

resources systems reciprocally integrated with their strategic suprasystems,

effectiveness in development and exploitation of organizational competencies can

be enhanced.

128

Environmental Chanses • Expiry of franchise for local voice service

in July 95 and hence intensifying competition. • Growth opportunities in the region and new

business areas. “Limited growth opportunities in existing business areas.

• IDD tariffs reduction and pricing control on local voice service.

• Increasing customer demand.

Telecom

Internal Pressures Utility culture Hierarchical, bureaucratic and traditional Efficiency and productivity problems. Competency /capability of existing employees. Convergence of existing 3 group companies (HK Telecom, HK Telecom CSL and Computasia)

Launched the “Meeting the Challenge" initiative in May 1992: -Focus resources on four key areas which are critical to future success

- Market Position - Customer Service - People - Quality Image

-Four Task Force comprising of top management and senior managers were formed to look into the issues and identify specific actions to be taken.

"People" is regarded as one of the four factors which are critical to future success of the Company

'People Team' look into various HRM issues and see how these contribute to fiiture success.of the Company.

Realign HR practices and business strategies

New HR mission: T o ensure that HK Telecom has the human resources and organizational capability to achieve its business objectives.

Restructuiing of HR function and repositioning of HR as strategic partner, service provider and consultant for line managers.

Alignment of career progression programme -Harmonized among 3 group companies. -Develop individual and organizational capability to support future strategies -Different career structure for different career streams. -Continuous assessment -Focus on skills， performance, contribution and business needs -Collaboration between HR and line managers

Downsizing -Introduction, of Reshaping, Retraining and Redeployment programme. -Aim to reduce 1300 headcount by 3/96 and a flirther 1200 by 3/98， mainly through normal turnover and redeployment. -A special Task Force comprising of HR rep and senior managers from major affected areas was formed to plan， implement and monitor progress of the programme.

Exhibit 14: Linkage Between Business Strategy and Human Resources Management in Hongkong Telecom.

129

As Director of Human Resources became a member of the Management Board，

business strategy would no longer be created in isolation and handed down to

Human Resources professionals for implementation. Alignment between strategic

intent and human resources can be built on a shared awareness of long-term

strategic intent.

Reposition Human Resources as Business Partners

Under the new structure of Human Resources function, Human Resources is

positioned as business partners of line managers. Human Resources activities

could be better geared to strategy and goals of the organization. This is in line

with the arguments of a number of writers, including Hiltrop (1993) and Schuler

and Walker (1990) and the examples demonstrated by Northern Telecom and

AT&T.

Under the new structure, Human Resources Managers report both to Director of

Human Resources and heads of business units. They also participate in clients'

business planning and management meetings. They become corridor between

business strategy and Human Resources function. As such, Human Resources

professionals could synergize human resources plans and strategic initiative better,

develop good working knowledge of business needs and offer insights into

people-related business issues.

As the role of Human Resources is changing, the Company has redefined the skills

and competency requirements of the Human Resources professionals. Human

Resources professionals should possess good business knowledge and a broad

perspective as a business partner, and be able to apply Human Resources expertise

creatively and strategically. As a result, a series of development programmes

would be organized for Human Resources professionals.

130

Develop New Career Management System

Hongkong Telecom has demonstrated a good example of developing/ revitalizing

career management system to deliver new strategic capabilities required in

undertaking business redirection as mentioned in the article written by Steele，

Bratkovich and Rollins (1990).

As the business environment is changing，the existing individual and organizational

competencies and capabilities could no longer meet the requirements. The

Company introduced the New Career Progression Plan to the 3 group companies，

with an upward linkage to organization's business strategy.

Based on business requirements and market practices, the Company restructured

the career ladders. The skills level and core competencies for each career step are

clearly defined and distinguished from the adjacent ones to support training,

development and progression decisions.

There are downstream linkages with other human resources programs，like

reward, performance management, training and development，to ensure that the

new career management system is supported.

Under the new Career Progression Plan，progression is based on individual's

merits，skills and achievements. Line managers are allowed to develop and reward

staff under his control in a timely manner based on staffs merits，skills，

achievements and on business needs. High calibre employees with outstanding

performance/ contribution will have a faster career progression.

Besides，customized assessment form is developed for each particular career step

which stipulates the required skills/behaviours and competencies. Employee's

skills, performance and contribution are assessed continuously to identify skills

gaps for improvement, potential and readiness for progression/ development.

131

Based on the assessment, line manager together with the employee will draw up a

specific, achievable and measurable development plan.

In addition, a new performance management system is being developed to align

performance effort for achieving business objectives and to enhance performance

ability of all individuals.

Manage Downsizing

The Reshaping，Retraining and Redeployment Program is an example of

‘downsizing as reorientation' as described by Freeman (1994). It is a proactive

adaptation to realign the organization with changing environment. The Company

has adopted many downsizing tactics discussed in Freeman's article.

Regarding workforce reduction techniques, the Company chose to avoid across-

the-board cuts but to reduce workforce mainly by attrition and to mobilize the

staff to other areas in need through retraining and redeployment. This could

control who stays and who leaves, and preserve needed skills and knowledge.

Besides，undesirable consequence, such as turmoils, conflict, lowered morale, job

insecurity and 'survivor guilt' can be avoided.

To reduce rumours, ambiguity and uncertainty, communication and symbolic

management are highly emphasized in the process. As mentioned by Linus

Cheung，the Reshaping，Retraining and Redeployment Programme is transparent

to all. A number of communications channels have been employed to provide

substantive information about the programme and the anticipated changes, create

sharing meanings, collect inputs and feedback from line managers and staff，clarify

s taffs and line managers' concerns, provide meaning and reframing for members

and create shared meanings.

Reshaping，Retraining and Redeployment Programme also demonstrates that there

is a direct linkage between business planning and human resources planning as

132

described by Bechet and Walker (1993). The drawing up of the macro manpower

plan is based on the target headcount figures in business plans which are submitted

by functional managers. The target headcount figures are set as part of the

Company's long-term business plans，taking into account business projections,

investment plans in new business areas as well as productivity improvement

programmes.

As the three initiatives were just implemented, there are some issues to be

addressed and lessons to be learnt from experience，theories and success stories of

other Companies.

Emphasize Line Management's Role in Human Resources Management

In all the three cases mentioned before，line management's role in human

resources management needs to be emphasized.

As the role of Human Resources is transforming to being business partner of line

management，line management needs to share its business and human resources

related business issues with Human Resources. At the same time，line

management needs to view that the management of human resources in their areas

is the shared responsibility between Human Resources and themselves.

Line management also plays an important role in managing, administering,

controlling and monitoring the Career Progression Plan. Firstly, success of the

Career Progression Plan hinges much on consistency and fairness in making

progression decisions. Line management is in the best position to ensure the

consistency and fairness. Secondly, line management plays an important role in

managing people's career and performance. Jointly with staff concerned，skills

gap can be identified，and training and development plans that meet individual and

business needs can be developed. With proper performance management,

performance requirements translated from business requirements can be effectively

communicated to staff and individuals' contribution can be better measured

133

against the business needs. These ensure the availability of individual and

organizational capabilities required to achieve Company's strategies，as well as the

effectiveness of utilization of human resources. Thirdly, line management is in the

best position to understand and provide inputs on changes in human resources

requirements resulting from business and environmental changes. Line

management needs to proactively provide inputs related to assessment criteria,

career structures，skills requirements and staff mix to Human Resources so that

the Career Progression Plan can be reviewed.

Finally, line management's ownership is critical to the success of Reshaping,

Retraining and Redeployment Programme. They have to understand that the

ownership in achieving the headcount target rests on themselves, not the

Reshaping Task Force. They have to be committed to the achievement of

headcount target by monitoring expansion of headcount at

Professional/Managerial level, proactively promoting career opportunities to

surplus staff, addressing skills mismatch issues by identifying appropriate training

programmes for staff together with Training & Development.

Enhance Capabilities of Human Resources Professionals and Build up Trust

and Rapport with Line Managers

Human Resources has long played a controlling and administrative rather than a

value-adding，supporting and consultancy role to line management. To enhance

the linkage between business strategies and human resources management, the

capabilities of Human Resources professionals should be enhanced. On the one

hand, Human Resources professionals need to be open-minded, be alert to

changes in business environment and possess good knowledge about business

needs and hence human resources needs of clients, and to apply the human

resources expertise creatively and proactively. On the other hand, line managers

should share with Human Resources professionals strategic business issues and

allow them to participate in their business planning process. However, it may take

134

a long time to build up trust and rapport between Human Resources professionals

and line management.

Strike a Balance Between Business Units' and Company's Interests

As Human Resources Services Teams work closely with line management and be

responsible to Business Unit, they may tend to achieve Business Unit's interests at

the expense of the Company's. Besides，there may be political pressure between

Human Resources Services Teams (client business units' perspectives) and

Corporate Human Resources Teams (company-wide perspectives) under the

existing structure. Overall coordination and control are critical. Job rotations for

Human Resources Professionals among different Services Teams and Corporate

Human Resources Teams may broaden their perspectives.

Establish Monitoring, Control and Maintenance Mechanisms for the Career

Progression Plan

The new Career Progression Plan has been implemented for some time. However,

without proper monitoring, control and maintenance mechanisms, the Plan will

deteriorate and the objectives cannot be achieved.

Proper monitoring system can curtail inappropriate application of progression

criteria and ensure consistency over time and across organizational units. Control

mechanisms ensure that costs，productivity and skill mix targets can be achieved.

As there may be changes in business environment and business needs over time，

the previously determined career structures，salary structures, skills requirements

for different career steps as well as the assessment criteria may no longer be

applicable. This may in turn affect the selection, promotion, training and

development practices/ programmes. Therefore，a proper maintenance mechanism

is required to ensure that the relevant elements can be realigned.

135

Forge Stronger Linkage Between Career Progression Plan, Performance

Management System and Reward System

Effectiveness of the new Career Progression Plan depends much on whether a

strong link with performance management system and reward system exists.

Without a strong link with performance management system，performance data

cannot be obtained to support individual career development and progression

decisions. Without a strong link with reward system，desirable behaviours，

contributions, competencies and capabilities cannot be reinforced. Good

performers cannot be properly motivated，rewarded and retained.

Develop Target Staff Distribution Templates

There are no target staff distribution templates upon introduction of the Career

Progression Plan and Reshaping，Retraining and Redeployment Programme, Thus

it cannot be assured that the distributions of staff across career streams and career

steps reflect the anticipated business and organizational needs，both in the near-

and long-term. Though there are plans for manpower in the Business Plans，the

numbers are only described in broad categories, i.e. Professional/Managerial or

General/Supporting, not specific career steps. Without target staff distribution

templates， effective sourcing, training, development and redeployment

programmes cannot be developed and delivered. In addition, as business needs

change over time，the Company needs to review the target staff distribution

templates regularly, monitor the (gap，between target and actual distribution and

take appropriate actions as necessary.

Mobilize Staff to Fill Position in Shortfall Areas

As discussed in Chapter 6，there will be problem of skills mismatch at

General/Supporting level. The greatest shortfall would occur in Customer Service

stream，mainly due to high turnover and the greatest surplus in Technical

Customer Service stream，mainly due to improvement in productivity. If

136

insufficient number of staff transfer to shortfall areas，business performance will be

at stake. Since the process of voluntary transfer is unsatisfactory, the Company

needs to take a more guided/ directed approach in moving staff. The Company

should more proactively promote career opportunities in shortfall areas. Also, line

managers should more proactively identify suitable career opportunities for

surplus staff，and arrange retraining and specific skills training for them. Besides，

the Company can enhance the general skills level of surplus staff by organizing

generic skills training, like sales, customer service, administrative and language

skills training, for them.

Monitor Growth at Professional/Managerial Level

About 30% of projected shortfall at Professional/ Managerial level is due to

expansion at Professional/ Managerial level. Such expansion is often at the

expense of reduction at General/Supporting level. Besides, the rapid expansion

may cause bottleneck problem because there are insufficient internally trained staff

with the required skills and knowledge to fill the posts. If such growth is not due

to business needs but just a grade drift issue, there will be a serious problem of

shortfall and unjustifiable sharp rise in staff costs even when there is a net

reduction in headcount. Cost effectiveness cannot be achieved.

Look Beyond 95/96

Currently，there is only a detailed manpower plan, including the projected

manpower requirements and shortfalls/ surpluses for the year 1995/96. N o plan

exists for the coming 4 to 5 years. It is impossible t o plan in advance the

utilization of manpower resources in the years to come. Those who are now

declared surplus may be in great shortage in future. To ensure the future business

performance is not adversely affected and the people required can be trained in

advance，it is necessary to have manpower targets for the coming 4-5 years‘

137

As mentioned above，there are still many obstacles to be removed and issues to be

addressed in managing，implementing and controlling the three initiatives. The success of

the three initiatives hinges on the joint collaboration of the Company，the line

management, Human Resources and the staff members. Only time can tell the success or

failure of the three initiatives.

138

Appendix 1

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Appendix 3

Performance Anchor Forms and

Competency Assessment & Development Forms

For Customer Service (CFO) Stream

‘等Hongkong Telecom 香 港 笛 訊

PERFORMANCE ANCHOR FORM : CUSTOMER SERVICE STREAM CUSTOMER FRONT OFFICE : C l & C2

Staff name : S/N:

Branch/Area/Location ;

Cost Centre Code :

Level of Achievement: Tick 0 the appropriate box

N: Not Applicable U: Unable/Unwilling to meet the requirements L: Learning to/Occasionally meet the requirements A: Adequately/Generally meet the requirements F: Fully meeting customer requirements to

positively influence their perceptions

PART I

Review Period : _ _ 戲 誦 腦 B 画 腿 S H I mm I I I ；：：：：；; A；；：：;；; ：；："：.：：；：：：：

； . . ... • . 腿 腿 S

1 uses voice/eye contact/body language to show interest and positive response to customers

2 face to face: shows attention to dress and grooming to meet company standard

3 consistently handles tests/calls/customers with speed/promptly

*4 consistently greets customer and gives clear identity

*5 consistently chooses polite phrases

*6 consistently asks and answers questions clearly

*7 offers alternative solutions to meet customer."' expectations

8 keeps customers informed of what s/he is doing while customer is waiting

9 shows attention to the call/casc/customer by not doing non-job related things

10 escalates call/case to supervisor when subjccL/qucstion is beyond his/her job knowledge

*11 consistently answers customers* questions with in the scope of the job

12 meets customers' transactional requirements using English

13 meets customer's transactional requirements using Putonghua

SYSTEM ILWDLING BEHAVIOURS- , : • . ；：：

：：

：：

：:：：

：：

：：

：；

： Illl： 擺 : ¾ _ R

i follows prc-set work procedures

2 completes a normal transaction

3 generally meets standard of performance in number of calls/cases handled

*4 tries hcr/himsdf to trouble-shoot system problems on-the-spot

5 demonstrates that s/hc is familiar with the system to be able to focus 100% on the customer

KNOWLEDGE OF THE BUSINESS 職豫：. : :

哪 ::沿敏.;:; ::務缀?

:'

通糧: 叙 藤

纖致：： ：碎：：：沾：.

1 demonstrates product/servicc knowledge in the job function

*2 has enough knowledge to offer alternative solutions where opportunily exists

i p T E A M MEMBERSHIP BEHAVIOURS (meeting needs of internal customers) _ 凝 :: 纖發：：

誉 _ V::S:十於. ••.：：•：•：：：•；； •

i attends consistently

*2 willing to offer assistance to colleagues in job related matters

*3 readily agrees to lake up spcckl assignments

M influcnccs team colleagues positively

raises questions, makes suggestions to supervisor to improve customer saiisfaclion

* = diilcrcnnating behaviours (16 Dcccmbcr SW/homc/F»il」&2.a:0)

Hongkong Telecom 香 港 笛 訊

PERFORMANCE ANCHOR FORM : CUSTOMER SERVICE STREAIM CUSTOMER FRONT OFFICE : C3 & C4

Staff name : S/N:

Branch/Area/Location:

Cost Centre Code :

of Achievement: Tick 0 the appropriate box

Not Applicable Unable/Unwilling to meet the requirements Learning to/Occasionally meet the requirements Adequately/Generally meet the requirements Fully meeting customer requirements to positively influence their perceptions

• 1 111 ::::::么:::::::,.

*>；：：：>：：>：：：； •

f 鶴 | i | P . R E M A R K S

1 uses voice/eye contact/body language lo show interest and positive response to customers

2 face to face: shows ariention to dress and grooming to meet company standard

*3 consistently chooses polite phrases

4 grasps opportunity 10 upsell products during oiher iransactions

5 uses selling skills 10 secure orders most of ihe time

consistenily handles unhappy customers skillfully

7 manages customers' needs and feelings using English

8 manages customers' needs and feelings usin芸 Putonghua

*9 gets ihin^s done to meet customer needs by influencing internal colkagucs

10 asks questions, checks and clarifies to ensure understanding of complex requests

*11 consistently offers altcmanve solutions lo meet customer expecialions

FART I

Review Period :

. : ¾ 上s《.:: SYSTEKt HANDLING BEHAVldURS !

follows pre-set work procedures in required systems

completes a normal transaction in required systems # 3

generally meets standard o f performance In number of calls/cases handled

tries her/himself to troubli-shoot system problems on-the-spot

demonslraies that s/he is familiar with systems to be a b k to focus 100 % on ihe customer

：丨隱_議麗 ：：：；：六：猶..

• 纖 ::響赞

• ‘ •

纖 驗

；>>>； ：'；•；；

•纖-

海：毅.

can liaise with oihcr parts o f ihe business to get solulions for the customer

has enough knowledge to offer altcmatlvo solutions where opportunity arises

3 can recognize opportunity to sell ccrtam products and has ihe product knowledge necessary to sell

11»

*2 *3

T E A M M E M B E R S H I P DEIIAVIOURS (meeting needs of iniemnl customers) • .

attends conslstcndy

helps colleagues to achieve team resulis through coaching/cQunselling

readily takes up and welcomes special assigmncnls

influences learn colleagues posUivcly

supervises jumor members of the team on tn asststing/admg basis

makes recommendations and suggestion for Improving systcms/proccdurcs/equipment opcraiton

raises questions, makes suggestions lo supervisor to Improve customer saiisfaclion

dirfcrcmiating behaviours . . sysicm nanrw?, Plcaw put ktier a, b etc. m «ppropnaie box (16 Dcc«mhcr

N: U: L: A: F:

“ ：Hongkong Telecom 香 港 笛 訊

PERFORMANCE ANCHOR FORM : CUSTOMER SERVICE STREAM CUSTOMER FRONT OFFICE : C5

H I 騰o臓譲腦腿彻腦 •• . N：； i :::::::::::::::::::: mm ： ::::::::::::::::::::

額灘i ::::::::::::::::::: /Xv-'vl'.'X*

I I I ：'磁—S:.

i uses voice to sound interested and positive when responding to calls and throughout the conversation

2 consistently chooses polite phrases when defiling with customers

3 consistently handles unhappy customers skillfully

4 consistently handles complaints skillfully

5 consistently offers alternative solutions to meet customer expectations

6 manages customers' needs and feelings using English

7 manages customer transactions using Putonghua

S gets things done to meet customer needs by influencing internal colleagues

9 asks questions, checks and clarifies to ensure understanding of complex requests

10 consistently takes follow-up action to satisfy customer comp]aints/ne«d for action

Level of Achievement: Tick 0 the appropriate box

N: Not Applicable U: Unable/Unwilling to meet the requirements L: Learning to/Occasionally meet the requirements A: Adequately/Generally meet the requirements F: Fully meeting customer requirements to

positively influence their perceptions

l i i CUSTOMXRHANDONG B E H A V I O R mm __ ___ mm mm Ill-uses voice to sound interested and positive when responding to calls and throughout the conversation

consistently chooses polite phrases when defiling with customers

consistently handles unhappy customers skillfully

consistently handles complaints skillfully

consistently offers alternative solutions to meet customer expectations

manages customers' needs and feelings using English

manages customer transactions using Putonghua

gets things done to meet customer needs by influencing internal colleagues

asks questions, checks and clarifies to ensure understanding of complex requests

10 consistently takes follow-up action to satisfy customer comp]aints/ne«d for action

SYSTEM HANDLING BEHA^OXIRS ；：.；：：；；；：：；；：；：；--： 綱 £::: •丨纖激: X ‘

•

1 coaches staff in required systems # a b c d e

2 coaches staff in completing normal transactions in required systems b c d &

3 analyses traffic patterns and reacts appropriately 8

4 arranges staffing levels including O/T to suit traffic pattern

5 tries her/himself to trouble-shoot system problems on-the-spot

：:c:.;:. 讓猶抑圆3 凝纖;:: _! •1

_ _ ：懇纖：：

1 can He i s& with other parts of the business to get solutions for the customer

2 has enough knowledge to offer alternative solutions for customers where opportunity &rises

3 uses knowledge of company policies and procedures to help unit do the job effectively

義! ,•.-.v.-. ： 纖 ,

.游藤：.: ::總符：:

繼絲: 螺纖

思：凝：:..:

纏

i directs team members effectively to get the job done

2 helps colleagufes to achieve team results through coaching/counselling and leadership by example

3 looks for and welcomes special assignments

4 influences tefim colleagues positively

5 conducts staff appr£is&ls using the current system effectively

6 makes recommendations and suggestions for improving systems/procedures/e^uipment operation

7 demonslmtes a sense of customer care by making suggestions to improve customer satisfaction

换 =¾ s y s t e m n a m e . P l e & s e p u t lexter a , b e t c . i n appropr ia te b o x ( 1 6 D e c e m b e r 9 4 / h o r o e / p i j f l _ 5 . C F O )

PA^T I (Cont，d)

Comments/Recommendation:

P A K T n TRAINTNTG & DEVELOPMENT NEEDS:

Please tick as appropriate. ( ) J o b knowledge ( ) C u s t o m e r handling skills

Details:

( ) I n t e n t i o n to satisfy customers ()Interpersonal skills & contribution

Next Review Date Assessee's Signature Date

Assessor's Name Signature Date

Endorsed by Signature Date I

PART H I ONLY APPLTCABLE FOR ANNUAL REVTEW

Review Period :

Review of Overall Performance Comments (e.g. special comments on performance in particular work areas, overall performance and development under the review period)

A 一 Far exceeds normal requirements of the job. B - Performance consistently better than is normally expected. C - Performance meets the normal requirements of the job. D - Performance needs some improvement to meet the normal requirements of the job. May include those who lack

experience at their current job level. E - Generally fails to meet the normal requirements of the job. Unacceptable performance.

Referring to the above rating scale and giving consideration to Levels of Achievement in Part I throughout the year, please select the grade (A - E) most appropriate for the assessee, reflecting his/her overall performance.

OVERALL RATING

Assessor's name:

Assessee，s comments (if any)

Signature:

Signature:

Date:

Date:

Comments by Countersigning Officer:

Name: Signature: Date;

(16 Dcccmbcr 94/homcypaf/pafla_5.CPO)

“、Hongkong Telecom 香港笛訊

COMPETENCY ASSESSMENT & DEVELOPMENT F O R M

Customer Front Office

Assesses Name: Career step/position baing assessed against:

Period "under review:— Assessor's Name:

Lev&l of Competency

N: Not Applicable U : UDable/unwilling to meet requirements L: Leaniing to/Occasionally meet requirements A: Adfequatdy/Generally meet requirements F： Fully meet the requirements

广i • •.广t . / . . • Genene: Gomp 啦 nc 騎 L A F Evidence (e.g. Examples, Facts, Behaviour observed)

Development Activity

Required?

1. Team Membership

2. Leadership

3. Results - orientation

4. Customer Concern

5. Personal Drive

6. Innovation

7. Communication

8. Planning and Control

9. Decision Maldng

。 * - • T •广...名： Stream-related P r o — C o m p e t e 舰 」

10. Delivery of Customer Service

11. Increasing Sales

Additional Comments

Development Plan

Agreed by Assessee :

Date :

Next Review Date :

Agreed by Assessor :

Date: ：

Endorsed By :

Date: _ _ _ _ _

Cl 6 Dectmber 94/home/pafyCOMBAS 1 .CFO)

.Hongkong Telecom 番 港 芘 訊

GENERIC COMPETENCIES DESCRIPTION : PROFESSIONAJL/MANAGER

Note : 1) Development level to be defined by each stream as appropriate • 2 ) Indicators for higher levels also include all items at l o w e r levels

Team Membership

Development Level

Description Indicators

Contributes to team work a. Share information and ideas with others in his team b. Maintain good relationships with people in other areas ¢. Listen to the ideas of others in team and build on their ideas d. Adapt behaviour to the needs of the team but without being submissive、

Enables teams to create results through co-operation internally and across functions

e. Create results as a team member f. Motivate members to contribute on team goals

Enables teams to create results through co-operation internally and across functions

g. Able to recruit suitable team members for projects, where necessary from across functions

h. Create results as a team leader i. Maximize the advantages of team effort and motivate all the members to

contribute on team goals j . Able to ensure the make up of the team has sufficient expertise/experience

for the task in hand

2. Leadership Development

Level Description Indicators

Creates results by setting a good iBOdel. Develops self

a. Demonstrate a positive attitude by a ’can do, approach to tasks b. Encourage and stimulates others to make best use of their abilities c. Can forecast future requirements of own role against business needs d. Able to review own progress with appropriate corrective action i f

necessary

Sets a good model for staff developments Helps team members to perform at their best

e. Willingly assumes leadership role to get things done f. Create team spirit and individual interest in getting work done well g. Understand the strengths and w&aknesses of his/her staff and conducts

coaching and development activities accordingly

Sets a good model for staff developments Helps team members to perform at their best

h. Create systems and atmosphere for effective teamwork and quality culture i . Develop in others the ability, willingness and desire to work towards a

common objective j. Manage performance of others by setting a. good example

3. Results - orientation

Developmeiit Level

Description Indicators

Is result - minded and achieves task objectives

a. Agree targets for self/staff and achieve b. Understand requirements and complete work

Ensures the best use of resources to create quality results

c* Set targets for staff and monitor to ensure results d. Optimise resources to achieve best results e. Change work methods and procedures to achieve better and timely results f. Formulate action plans to achieve targets and objectives

Sets the direction of the team to create quality results

g. Identify and create opportunities for new initiatives to achieve results h. Negotiate budget and other resources for achieving agreed objectives

GENERIC COMPEIENCIES DESCRIPTION •• PROFESSIONAL/MANAGER

4. . Customer Concern

Development Level

Description Indicators

-

Maintains a customer focused approach with customers they have contact with

a. Demonstrate an understanding of customer/supplier process, whether internal or ext&mal

b. Meet with customers to discuss their needs c . Keep in close contact with customers to check on how well their needs are

being met -

Maintains a customer focused approach with customers they have contact with

d. Use company procedures flexibly to satisfy customers e. Introduce products/services/ways of working to address customer

needs/feedback

-

Maintains a customer focused approach with customers they have contact with

f . Build and maintain strong relationship with, internal/external customers g . Set standards of customer service, for self and team

5, Personal Drive

Development Level

Description ‘ Indicators

Maintains a positive attitude towards work challenges

a. Show enthusiasm and drive to g&t things done b. Develop self to meet the competence demand of different and changing

situation c. Maintain commitment and effort in spite of setbacks or problems

Develops self and others to ensure ability to successfully take

• on challenges

d. Look for challenging work e. Use initiative to make improvements and enforce results

,Uses influence and persuasion to ..get the best out of others

f . Take personal responsibility for making things happen /* g. Try to influence rather than passively accept events V"“ h. Take ownership of initiatives to achieve results |

6, Innovation

Development Level

Description Indicators

Seeks new methods to create improved worldjig practices

a. Personally try new or faster ways to handHng problems b. Actively seek from others new and more efficient ways of taclding

problems c. Critically examine existing methods in order to improve them

Stimulates team to develop initiatives to meet services needs externally and internally

d. Review work practices and procedures regularly to explore new ways to achieve objectives

e. Stimulate team to generate innovative and creative ideas

Stimulates team to develop initiatives to meet services needs externally and internally

f. Review overall system and introduce new concepts/practices to achieve goals smd/or before better results

g. Generate and implement innovative and creative ideas

.Hongkong Telecom 香 港 《 訊

GENERIC COMPETENCIES DESCRIPTION s PROFESSIONAL/MANAGER

7, Commumication

Development Level

Description Indicators

Communicates clearly and effectively within a limited range

a. Present information and opinion effectively in both oral and written forms Communicate and obtain feedback from customers and suppliers (internal and external)

Communicates clearly and effectively with a broad range of contacts

b. Hold meetings effectively c. Set up and run effective communication system for his/her team

Communicates persuasively at all levels, internally and externally

d. Initiate dialogue with senior management comfortably e. Establish personal network outside own area, to search for relevant

information to fulfil customer needs

8- Planning and Control

Development Level

Description Indicators

,

Ensures work is done on time and effectively

a. Plan and schedule work efft&ctively for self and staff if applicable b. Monitor and control costs and expenses c. Achieve pknned deadlines for self and team if applicable

,

Tracks and monitors performance and rcfocuses energies where appropriate

d. Establish progress monitoring techniques against identified control points e. Modiiy objectives to ensure they are both realistic and challenging f. Identify potential problems and make contingency plan to take account of

these

, Plans with future strategic needs in mind

g. Take account of future trends/needs and potential changes in planning h. Oversee and ensure expenditure of all cost centres are within budget

-i. . Can plan and manage resources, including staffing and succession planning

9. Decision Making

Development Level

Description Indicators

Takes responsibility for own decisions

a. Willing to rnalcc all decisions within sphere of responsibility and authority b. Accept delegated decision makiiig responsibility

Makes decisions for self and team

c. Evaluate proposed changes for benefits and disadvantages d. Make decisions to enable team to move forward on a project/task

Maies strategic decisions e. Recommend and make use of a variety of perspectives when maldng sense of a situation

f. Make a decision in uncertain situations or based on restricted infoiroadon

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GENERIC COMPETENCIES DESCRIPTION •• PROFESSIONAL/MANAGER

10. Delivery of Customer Service

Development Level

Descriptioii Indicators

Delivers quality customer service that satisfies customers

a. Able to project positive image by demonstrating a caring attitude in every encounters with the public

b. Tactfully exercise flexibility on a case- by case basis to resolve customer problems which results in customer satisfaction and company goodwill

Acquires job related knowledge ..to offer best solutions

c . Possess in-depth knowledge of the procedures and multi-service delivery processes to offer solutions to customers that exceed their expectation

d. Possess good understanding of the organization and operating systems and able to resolve customer complaints using cross system/functional knowledge

Observant to changing and increasing customer expectation

Alert to increasing customer expectation and make recommendation for improvement to constantly satisfy customers

f . Review and accurately forecast the trend of service demand and make good judgement to reallocate resources to satisfy public demand

g . Observant to the market practice and malce good adjustment to improve service-quality level to satisfy and retain customers, and enlarge customer base

11. Increasing Sales

Development Level

Description Indicators

Increases selling effectiveness a. Possess thorough product knowledge of the company and able to identify customer needs and promote/sell the right product to customers that satisfies them

b. Grasp eveiy opportunity to sell and result in happy buying c. Able to give advice on the possible and practical applications of our

products to satisfy customers in their own situation d. Observant and predictive to changing customer needs and malce

recommencktioii on product development to satisfy future market requirements

Sets strategy and plan to increase market share and product penetration

e. Formulate sales plan, guidelines and tactics as derived from sales strategy for implementatioii to increase sales successM rate

f . Set sales policy and strategy to enlarge our market share and product penetration for increasing revenue contribution

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