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Staff happy with life in the Force
Staff are satisfied with the Force's overall performance and experience a high degree of job satisfaction a study has found.
The Force commissioned the Staff Opinion Survey in the second half of 1999 which also found that staff values were very much in line with those of the Force, staff were satisfied with pay and benefits and had a high level of willingness to accept change in the Police.
The survey was conducted by Hong Kong University to ensure impartiality, confidentiality and independence, and the results will provide data against which future assessments and comparisons can be made.
It aimed to gauge staff views on the Force's performance, both as a law-enforcement agency and as an employer. Some 10% of staff were randomly selected to participate, with 3,975 questionnaires returned representing an excellent response rate of 98.4%.
Apart from the high degree of satisfaction, other key findings included calls for improvements to areas such as performance appraisals, opportunities for staff to use their initiative, internal communications and levels of commitment.
However, it also found staff showed high levels of commitment to standing against corruption, attending to those in need, monitoring the changing needs of society and avoiding personal indebtedness.
While staff indicated a high level of willingness to accept change, over half of respondents also indicated that too much was changing too fast.
Communication in the Force was a major area of concern with the majority believing it to be 'top down' only and limited due to rank consciousness.
Commissioner of Police Eddie Hui Ki-on said that while the results were generally very favourable, the survey was conducted to identify areas for improvement.
He said a number of areas for concern among staff were identified and research was now being conducted to properly identify the reasons for these, so the right action could be taken to bring about improvements.
"We will use these findings as a basis to monitor and measure our performance as a police force and as an employer," Mr Hui said. "They will also help us identify opportunities and challenges in our quest to continuously improve our services to the community, and to enhance our communication with staff."