URA

MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS 55 pipeline supply, four management trainees were recruited during the year. At the same time, to ensure competitive remuneration is offered to attract, motivate and retain the right staff to support our mission, an enhanced salary structure at the middle management level was implemented, effective from 1 April 2018. Outlook Hong Kong’s rapidly ageing building stock remains the key challenge. Besides, the URA’s operating environment is facing the continuous flux in the financial world and the sentiment of the wider community. The URA will doubtless encounter hindrances and obstacles to be overcome in pursuing its renewal programmes in the coming years. Whilst continuing with the conventional mode of delivering the 4R initiatives, the URA will look forward to the outcomes of the two strategic studies in hand, and how the proposed changes to strategies could augment our future efforts on urban renewal. Human Resources With an operating environment that is continuously changing, the URA needs new core competencies and training to match. The necessary technology training programmes for staff at different levels have been launched based on a Training and Development Needs Survey conducted in December 2017 through questionnaires, interviews and focus groups. Looking ahead, training will focus on: building our staff members’ capacity to apply the latest technology into our work; widening their horizons and exposure via local and overseas visits; enhancing their people and leadership skills further through workshops, talks and simulation exercises, and strengthening their agility and intrapreneurship via project studies. At the organisational level, divisional reviews were carried out to support the urban renewal directions and to lead towards better alignment and organisational effectiveness. In addition, to promote a continuous improvement culture and build on a successful earlier pilot run, Work Improvement Teams (WIT) will be continued for divisions to develop, communicate and apply their innovative ideas in order to improve work procedures and to enhance efficiency. Stringent review of manpower requirements continued in 2017/18 with a headcount reduction of 1.8% despite a noticeable increase in workload on all fronts. Nevertheless, to nurture the leadership Team building training helps to build an effective and engaging team.