Committed to a people-oriented culture, Hospital Authority (HA) continues to furnish a positive, supportive and caring work environment to attract, retain and motivate staff on multi-fronts. A staff engagement programme ‘We are HA Family’ was launched to promote communication, appreciation, respect and empathy at work. Seminars, sharing sessions and online games were organised for all employees to promote awareness and practice in staff engagement.
HA provides various communication channels to encourage open communication to strengthen rapport with staff of all levels. Other than staff newsletter HASLink, webcast and HA blog on the intranet, Staff Consultative Committees were established at corporate, hospital and staff group levels to enhance communication between management and staff representatives from different grades. In 2013-14, mail voting for direct election of staff representatives in all Staff Group Consultative Committees was adopted, leading to a general increase in voting rate.
At cluster and hospital levels, diversified communication initiatives are also implemented to accommodate local needs. Regular meetings or gatherings with Cluster Chief Executives (CCE) and Hospital Chief Executives (HCE) promoted face-to-face communication between frontline staff and hospital management. Other than well-established channels such as cluster newsletter, CCE or HCE blog, online letterbox, message to CCE and Staff Relations Office hotline, Staff Communication Ambassadors met with employees periodically to listen to their voices.
Internal communication was also enhanced with the revamp of HA Channel YouTube page and a new version of HA song. The SARS 10th Anniversary Photo Exhibition gained positive feedback from staff and engaged them in sharing thoughts and feelings on e-corner.
A wide spectrum of staff wellbeing initiatives were implemented to promote a balanced and healthy lifestyle. Sports events and recreational activities were organised to meet individual interests. Family members were invited to participate in various events, such as the HA Family Day and Night and the HA Chinese New Year Run, with the latter recorded a new high enrolment of over 3,600 members of staff and their families and raised HK$1.1 million for HA Charitable Foundation, benefiting patients with chronic illnesses.
To improve staff access to radiological imaging services amidst long waiting time in HA hospitals, a pilot programme providing eligible staff with access to private diagnostic imaging services on co-payment basis was approved in the year for launching in 2014-15.
Dedication and experience are greatly valued in HA. Long service awards and retirement souvenirs were presented to employees who have served for 10, 20, 30 and 40 years and on retirement. Initiatives such as bright suggestions, creativity in work improvement, merit performance and outstanding achievement of individuals and teams were recognised with prizes and awards both in HA and outside the organisation.
Teamwork is one of the core values of HA and the key driver in providing efficient medical services with high quality territory-wide. The ‘Outstanding Staff and Teams Award’ organised for 17 years commended exemplary performance of individual staff and teams and attracted total nominations of 23 staff and 34 teams in 2013-14. Six employees and seven teams won the awards, four employees and three teams were granted Merit Awards.
Outstanding Teams:
Merit Teams: