Introduction
It is the Administration's on-going commitment to promote a customer-oriented approach in the delivery of public service and quality service culture in the civil service. Since 1999, CSB has launched a service-wide Customer Service Award Scheme annually to give recognition to departments and their staff for their achievements in providing quality service to their customers.
In 2005, CSB will expand the scope of the award scheme and launch it as the "Civil Service Outstanding Service Award". The objectives are:
- To promote a culture of quality service and customer-oriented approach in the civil service.
- To recognise the efforts and achievements of departments in the pursuit of service excellence.
- To motivate departments and their staff to pursue continuous improvement in the delivery of public service.
Level of Awards
The award will be given out at the departmental level and team level as follows:
Departmental Level
Entries for the "Service Enhancement Award" will be assessed under two groups. Departments with more than 1000 staff members will be placed in one group, while the rest will be placed in the other group. The adjudication process will be done in house.
The newly introduced "Partnership Award" will go to the departments that have succeeded in achieving notable service enhancement through collaboration with other department(s). The adjudication process will be done with the assistance of LegCo Members and District Council members. Departments will be invited to provide a summary of the services/projects that are accomplished through the joint efforts of the participating departments. These services/projects may cover for example: one-stop service, joint problem solving, emergency operations, environmental enhancement works, service enhancement, and enhancing communication with the public on service delivery.
Separately, the "Best Public Image Award" will go to the three departments receiving the highest number of votes from the public through a survey (Note: Bureaux/departments which have submitted entries for either the Service Enhancement Award or Partnership Award will automatically be included as contestants for the "Best Public Image Award").
Team Level
Departments may nominate a team/teams, with a team size of not fewer than three staff members, to take part in any one, or more than one, of the following five service categories:
E-Service - services to customers conducted through electronic means;
Front-line/Counter Service - services to the public delivered over the counter and through telephone hotlines (including other front-line services);
Specialised Service - services to special groups of customers. Examples include services during search and rescue operations over land and at sea, casualty evacuation, services to cargo operators at the airport and services to airlines;
Internal Service - services provided to other government officers both within or outside the department and services to other government departments which lead ultimately to better services to the public. Examples include departmental administration unit, finance office, IT support and training unit; and
Innovation/Application of Technology- application of innovative ideas/technology to streamline work processes, achieve cost-saving objectives, enhance productivity and improve service quality/standard. Examples include computerisation of billing/customer enquiry systems, streamlining of application procedures and improvement of public facilities.
Assessment Criteria
The assessment criteria for the departmental award for service enhancement and team awards are as follows:
Departmental Service Enhancement Award
|
Assessment Criteria
|
Scores
|
1. Service Enhancement
- Measures/enhancement efforts that led/will lead to better services to the public.
- HR initiatives or training activities that are specifically designed to improve service delivery.
- Evidence of improved customer satisfaction, e.g. rising level of customer satisfaction as reflected in customer opinion surveys and increase in the number of appreciation letters.
|
60 |
2. Boosting the Department's/Government's Image, Public
Relations and Publicity
- Promotional/educational efforts undertaken to achieve better communication with the public.
- Efforts made to communicate better with the media (e.g. effective mechanisms in place to enhance the flow of information and promote a better working relationship with the media).
- Services that help promote the Department's/Government's image.
|
30 |
3. Occupational Safety and Health/Environmental Protection
- Giving staff support through providing a healthy and safe working environment, promoting awareness of occupational safety and health at work, as well as implementing measures in support of environmental protection.
|
10 |
|
Total:
|
100 |
Team Awards
Team Award (E-Service)
|
Assessment Criteria
|
Scores
|
1. Reliability and Assurance
- A dependable service with minimum down time.
- The content and information is up-to-date, accurate and consistent. It is secure and inspires users' trust and confidence.
|
40 |
2. User-friendliness
- The design of the website is user-friendly. Information is found with minimum steps. The homepage is appealing and navigation is consistent.
- The content is easy to understand, and personalised service is provided to users where appropriate.
- Evidence to show that the e-service is well liked by customers (e.g. including customer feedback, hit rate and page viewing figures etc.).
|
40 |
3. Responsiveness
- Website provides information and service swiftly and smoothly. Assistance is readily available to users (e.g. email address and/or telephone number is provided for support/ suggestions).
|
20 |
| Total : |
100 |
Team Award (Front-line/Counter Service)
|
Assessment Criteria
|
Scores
|
1. Commitment to Service Excellence
- Upkeeping performance pledges and pursuing continuous improvement.
- Effective mechanisms in place to solicit customers' feedback and translate the feedback into useful improvement.
- Indicators of improved customer satisfaction (e.g. rising level of customer satisfaction as reflected in customer opinion surveys, increase in the number of appreciation letters).
- Giving staff support through providing a healthy and safe working environment, promoting awareness of occupational safety and health at work, as well as implementing measures in support of environmental protection.
|
50 |
2. Efficiency and User-friendliness
- Swift and efficient service delivery with user-friendly procedures.
- Provision of service to the convenience of customers (e.g. one-stop service, easy access to information/service and flexible working hours to meet customers' needs).
|
30 |
3. Staff Manner and Attitude
- Staff are polite, responsive and helpful (e.g. taking initiative to offer assistance and alternatives); and maintain good attitude under pressure (e.g. dealing with unsatisfied customers).
|
20 |
| Total : |
100 |
Team Award (Specialised Service)
|
Assessment Criteria
|
Scores
|
1. Commitment to Service Excellence
- Upkeeping performance pledges and pursuing continuous improvement.
- Effective mechanisms in place to solicit customers' feedback and translate the feedback into useful improvement.
- Indicators of improved customer satisfaction (e.g. rising level of customer satisfaction as reflected in customer opinion surveys and increase in the number of appreciation letters).
- Giving staff support through providing a healthy and safe working environment, promoting awareness of occupational safety and health at work, as well as implementing measures in support of environmental protection.
|
50 |
2. Efficiency and User-friendliness
- Swift and efficient service delivery with user-friendly procedures.
- Provision of service to the convenience of customers (e.g. one-stop service, easy access to information/service and flexible working hours to meet customers' needs).
|
30 |
3. Professionalism
- Adherence to professional/industry/international standards to ensure a safe/reliable/quality service.
|
20 |
| Total : |
100 |
Team Award (Internal Service)
|
Assessment Criteria
|
Scores
|
1. Commitment to Service Excellence
- Upkeeping performance pledges and pursuing continuous improvement.
- Effective mechanisms in place to solicit internal customers' feedback and translate them into useful improvement.
- Indicators of improved user's satisfaction (e.g. rising level of user's satisfaction as reflected in opinion surveys and increase in the number of appreciation letters).
- Giving staff support through providing a healthy and safe working environment, promoting awareness of occupational safety and health at work, as well as implementing measures in support of environmental protection.
|
50 |
2. Efficiency and User-friendliness
- Swift and efficient service delivery with user-friendly procedures.
- Provision of service to the convenience of internal customers (e.g. one-stop service, easy access to information/service, and flexible working hours to meet user's needs).
|
30 |
3. Staff Manner and Attitude
- Staff are polite, responsive and helpful (e.g. taking initiative to offer assistance and alternatives); and maintain good attitude under pressure (e.g. dealing with unsatisfied customers).
|
20 |
| Total : |
100 |
Team Award (Innovation/Application of Technology)
|
Assessment Criteria
|
Scores
|
1. Application of Technology/Innovative Ideas
- Application of new technology or innovative ideas to improve service delivery (such as higher productivity, better quality, shortening of processing time and adding value to the service for customers).
- Cost-effectiveness of new technology/innovative ideas.
|
60 |
2. Culture and Systems
- Fostering an innovative culture to generate and implement new ideas in the workplace (e.g. through communication of the department's values/establishing reward systems that encourage innovation).
- Consideration of customers' feedback and adoption of useful ideas.
|
40 |
| Total : |
100 |
Prizes
Each winning department/team will receive a trophy and the following prizes:
| |
Departmental level
(in the form of allocation to the departmental Staff Welfare Fund)
|
Team level
(in the form of gift coupons for all the team members)
|
|
Service
Enhancement
Award
|
Partnership
Award
(to be shared by collaborating departments)
|
Best Public
Image Award
|
For each of
the five
categories
|
| Champion |
$10,000
|
$20,000
|
Trophies will be awarded. |
$10,000
|
| First Runner-up |
$5,000
|
$10,000
|
$5,000
|
Second
Runner-up |
$3,000
|
$6,000
|
$3,000
|
Merit Award
(up to 5 awards) |
$2,000
|
--
|
$1,500
|
Adjudication Process
| (I) |
Adjudication for the Service Enhancement Award and Team Awards comprises 2 stages: |
| |
|
| |
Stage One - Initial screening |
| |
The CSB will commission an external consultant to conduct an initial screening of the entries and present the findings to an Adjudication Panel. Mystery shoppers/observation visits will be arranged, where appropriate, to assess the quality of the service provided. |
| |
|
| |
Stage Two - Final adjudication (Interview by Adjudication Panel) |
| |
Short-listed departments will nominate a colleague/a team to give a short presentation to the Adjudication Panel and answer questions on their entries. The Adjudicating Panel(s) will comprise senior directorate officers in CSB, members drawn from the LegCo Public Service Panel/District Councils, professional bodies and staff sides of the Central Consultative Councils. |
| |
|
| (II) |
Adjudication for the Partnership Award
|
| |
The submissions from departments will be collated for assessment by all LegCo Mmebers and District Council members. Each member will select the best three submissions. |
Submission of Entries
Departmental Level
Each bureau/department may submit one entry for the "Service Enhancement Award" and one or more entries for the "Partnership Award". Those who have submitted entries for either the Service Enhancement Award or Partnership Award (including collaborating bureaux/departments) will automatically be included as contestants for the "Best Public Image Award".
Team Level
There is no restriction on the number of entries from bureaux/departments. Also, each team may enrol in one or more than one service categories.
Prize Presentation Ceremony and Promotional Activities
To give robust publicity to the Award Scheme, two half-hour programmes on television, a series of radio programmes as well as a newspaper supplement will be produced for showcasing the success stories of the winning departments. To enrich the content of the award-presentation ceremony, a variety show will be held. This will be broadcast on TV as the grand finale of the 2005 Award Scheme.
Deadline for entries
All entries should be forwarded on or before 30 May 2005 to :
Civil Service Training and Development Institute
Civil Service Bureau
5/F, North Point Government Offices
333 Java Road, North Point, Hong Kong
(Attn: Miss Amy YUEN)
Timetable
|
Key activities
|
Time
|
| Deadline for making entries |
30 May 2005
|
| Adjudication |
June to August 2005
|
| Prize presentation ceremony cum variety show |
Early December 2005
|
Enquiries
Miss Amy CHEUNG (Tel: 2231 3918)
Ms Tammy TO (Tel: 2231 3969)
Ms Gina CHUI (Tel: 2231 4057)
Fax Number: 2117 0027
E-mail: tammy_ys_to@csb.gov.hk or gina_chui@csb.gov.hk
Notes
- The decisions of the Adjudication Panels will be final and binding.
- Interpretation of the rules rests with the Civil Service Bureau.
- The Civil Service Bureau reserves the right to make any changes to the arrangements of the Scheme without prior notice.
- The winning bureaux/departments should, when invited, attend interviews by the media.
- The Civil Service Outstanding Service Award Scheme does not replace departmental activities aimed at awarding staff/team(s) with outstanding performance in service provision. Bureaux/Departments are encouraged to continue to organise these activities while supporting the Scheme.
2003-04, 2002-03, 2001-02, 2000-01 & 1999-2000 Award Schemes
