It is encouraging that the government is addressing the near-automatic salary increment system for Hong Kong’s civil servants. Under the current regime, only 38 civil servants were denied an annual pay rise last year.
The government is proposing a forced ranking system, whereby the bottom 10 per cent do not receive an increment. This is a genuine policy departure, The Caspian Post reports via South China Morning Post.
Forced ranking, famously used by Jack Welch at General Electric, was traditionally reserved for highly individualistic, metrics-driven roles. Even then, the results were often disastrous.
Microsoft abandoned its stack ranking system in 2013, amid criticism that it suppressed innovation and encouraged employees to game the process rather than perform well. Another tech giant, Amazon, also reportedly moved away from the practice.
If private employers are abandoning this instrument, why should Hong Kong’s civil service embrace it?
The danger is acute for frontline collaborative roles. Consider doctors, nurses and firefighters. Their performance is inherently team-based and not reducible to quantifiable individual KPIs (key performance indicators).
A hospital ward staffed entirely by competent professionals would nonetheless require a supervisor to arbitrarily label 5 per cent as below standard to satisfy a mathematical quota. The inevitable result would be defensive, self-protective behaviour and a collapse of psychological safety.
Some lawmakers have rightly warned that such a system risks fostering a “bootlicking culture” as senior officers unfairly penalise junior staff. The risk is quite real if the system is to be implemented across the 170,000-strong civil service.
Perhaps the government should consider testing this system only for clearly individualistic job categories, where outputs are measurable and teamwork is secondary. Collaborative, mission-critical services should be evaluated using alternative frameworks.
There are, of course, other instruments, such as 360-degree feedback or Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scales. They have their pros and cons. However, adopting any framework represents a significant institutional shift; therefore, clarifying the ultimate objective is paramount.
Is this reform truly about improving the proactiveness and efficiency of the bureaucracy? Is it about saving costs? Or is it simply a public relations move to appease societal grievances? Unless the strategic intent is clear, forcing a private-sector curve onto a legacy public-sector engine risks trading one administrative headache for a potentially more toxic one.
Roy Ying, senior lecturer, Department of Marketing, Hang Seng University of Hong Kong
Don’t Miss the Boat to Central Asia
In early June, the Hong Kong government will lead a business delegation to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, signalling the city’s proactive economic positioning amid profound geopolitical shifts.
Central Asia, particularly Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, offers substantial new potential. These two largest economies in the region, with a combined gross domestic product exceeding US$300 billion last year, are pursuing economic diversification from natural resources towards manufacturing, logistics and fintech.
Uzbekistan, with a young population of 38 million, presents immense potential for consumption and labour. The establishment of the Astana International Financial Centre, based on common law, further enhances the region’s appeal. Hong Kong can actively connect these emerging markets with East and Southeast Asian capital and industrial supply chains.
Next, the aim of building “a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability” creates a valuable window for Hong Kong to expand its economic horizons. Hong Kong is ideally positioned to act as a buffer and connector, maintaining ties with European and North American markets while accelerating development in new regions like Central Asia. Notably, Central Asia is already a mature destination for mainland Chinese enterprises expanding overseas, and Hong Kong serves as their preferred platform for international ventures. Local businesses should seize this moment to re-evaluate strategies and leverage Hong Kong’s “superconnector” role.
Joyce Pan, Central
Hong Kong Must Take the Ebola Threat Seriously
Ebola should not sound new to us. The contagious virus disease emerged from the Ebola River in the northern Congo basin in 1976. An epidemic started in West Africa in late 2013. By early 2016, more than 10,000 had been reported dead.
Recently, the World Health Organization sounded the alert that the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is an international public health emergency. So far, more than 1,000 suspected and confirmed cases have been recorded, including more than 200 deaths.
Although our city is far from the centre of the latest outbreak, Hong Kong is an international hub in close contact with other parts of the world.
As far as we know, Ebola is transmitted through contact with blood or other body fluids. So those in the funeral industry, healthcare and aviation should be vigilant.
Having passed through the baptism of fire that was Sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome), and then the Covid-19 pandemic that caused the loss of many lives and wreaked havoc in the economy, we should have learned our lesson and must not take public health threats lightly, however remote they may seem.
Prevention is always better than cure.
Randy Lee, Ma On Shan