Implementing successful human resources strategies is never easy, particularly when a company is large and has many employees.
China State Construction International Holdings, one of the finalists in the large enterprise category of the HKIHRM/SCMP People Management Awards 2007, is responsible for 90 million sqft of reclaimed land, 11 hospitals and enough residential accommodation to house one in every 16 people in Hong Kong.
Despite the company's size and the extent of its building works since being established in 1979, it has not been immune to the challenges facing all construction companies in the region.
The management of the company realised that the way to approach these challenges was to improve the way it managed human resources. The solution was the implementation of a Site Contracting Responsibilities System (SCRS), which has been fully in place since 2001.
The system looks at all aspects of the firm's projects, from start to finish, setting precise targets on profit, accident rate and environmental impact, while closely monitoring progress and awarding bonuses, which depend on the performance of the project and of each individual. As projects can take up to three years, these bonuses are given half way through a project as well as at the end, as a way of ensuring staff are motivated.
The company paid out HK$1million in one instance. 'Yes this is an additional cost, but our profit margin has also improved [as a result of our SCRS], so the company wins, the employee wins and the client wins,' said Weymond Lam Hong-wai, deputy general manager of human resources.