Newsletter No. 444

8 444 • 4.10.2014 口談實錄 Viva Voce ’ 本刊由香港中文大學資訊處出版，每月出版兩期。截稿日期及稿例載於 www.iso.cuhk.edu.hk/chinese/newsletter/ 。 The CUHK Newsletter is published by the Information Services Office, CUHK, on a fortnightly basis. Submission guidelines and deadlines can be found at www.iso.cuhk.edu.hk/english/newsletter/ . 可以談一下你在高等院校工作的經驗嗎？ 我畢業後加入理工大學工作，先在學系處理學生事務、學務、 財政預算等，四年後轉到中央秘書處，開始接觸人事管理，其 後加入中文大學人事處，一眨眼便十八年了。當中曾任職不同 崗位，負責教學人員和非教學人員的招聘等，也協助推動過多 個政策及計劃，例如教學人員的職系及審議制度。 升任人事處處長一年了，習慣了沒有？ 各個人事工作範疇的現行運作我都了解的，最不習慣的反而是 自我介紹為人事處處長，我總是告訴別人我是人事處的同事 便算了。我還要學習的是角色的改變，以往做好自己範圍的工 作便可，現在，我得考慮該找哪位同事、或者該怎樣組合團隊 來負責某項工作才合適。我也有責任讓同事明白大學管理層 的想法及宏觀地考慮如何配合大學整體發展方向。 人事處剛在9月舉行集思會，效果是否理想？ 集思會有三十多位行政職級的同事參加，主題是Dancing with Business。共舞需要起碼兩個人配合，也就是說希望我 們不單自視為一個按指派完成案頭工作的服務單位，而是了解 大學的使命和進程，不同學院的發展方向，自發配合。集思會 是個很好的開始，讓大家溝通了解。分組討論時同事也提出了 一些短期和長期工作發展的建議，我們將會討論這些建議的 可行性。 常有批評說政府資助院校的人事制度欠缺彈性，追不上時 代需要，你同意嗎？ 大學人事管理與小規模機構大有不同，中文大學現有七千兩 百多位員工，另有接近二千兼職員工，我們要盡量透過制度維 持穩定性和公平，所以很多事情都有明文規定，有格式可循， 不能罔顧制度，輕言彈性。其實大學也不斷在改變，包括增加 入職薪酬的彈性，引進考績制度，把加薪與績效掛鈎。 對加入院校工作的年輕人有何忠告？ 今時今日，很多工作都着重溝通和表達，年輕行政人員首要掌 握好中英語文能力，不單是用文字記述，也要注重鋪排，揣摩 對方或第三者會如何理解，以最適合的語調詞彙表達。我剛 畢業在學系工作的那四年，上司是一位很有學養的英國學者， 單看舊檔案裏的報告和信件，琢磨他如何陳述理據、開頭作 結，已有學不完的地方。我甚至把生字抄寫下來學習，那本子 到現在還保存着呢。 其次是不怕苦。經驗尚淺的行政人員負責的往往是大項目裏 的小環節，沉悶、重複性強。別抗拒，盡量學習，除了做好自己 負責的部分，也從合作夥伴及服務對象的角度思考，理解對方 需要，學習如何配合，並加深對工作的認識。 你是業餘合唱團成員和戲劇表演者，為甚麽喜歡這兩種 活動？ 這些大學時代發展下來的興趣，已變成習慣，也塑造我的性 格。以唱歌為例，雖然五音整全，但要把自己變成一件樂器般 發聲，讀譜視唱，都需要不斷苦練。習慣了，在其他事上，我也 不怕下苦功。唱歌的頭十年是學唱，再進一個層次，其實是學 聽。我在合唱團裏唱女低音，多不是唱主旋律，而是要聆聽人 家怎樣唱，襯托配合，達致和諧。我喜歡和諧的聲音，我的日 常工作也包括怎樣促進人們和諧共事。 話劇和唱歌都是與人溝通的藝術，我不單要思索怎樣講某一 句臺詞，還要明白這個角色為甚麽要這樣說，會有甚麽效果。 在工作上，我同樣要令別人明白我所說的，要了解說話對象的 想法或訴求，從而作出有效的溝通。戲劇伴我成長，也幫我了 解身邊的人和事。 Please tell us about your work experience in the higher education sector. I joined the Hong Kong Polytechnic University after graduation as an executive officer in an academic department. My duties included student affairs, academic affairs and budgeting. Four years later I transferred to the central secretariat and began to deal with personnel matters. I then joined the Personnel Office of the Chinese University. Time flies, 18 years have passed. I have taken up different posts and been responsible for the recruitment of academic and non-academic staff, and helped implement a number of policies and schemes, e.g., the academic personnel structure and review mechanism. It’s been one year since you were promoted to the post of Director of Personnel. Have you got used to it? I have adequate understanding of how different areas of personnel management operate. What I feel most uneasy with turns out to be introducing myself as Director of Personnel. As a result, I always tell people that I am ‘a colleague from the Personnel Office’. I need to learn how to discharge my duties in my new role. In the past, I only had to attend to my respective areas and do well. Now, I need to consider how to deploy the most suitable candidate or create the best team for the job. It’s also my responsibility to help my colleagues understand the views of the University administration, and adopt a macro perspective to work in line with the overall direction of the University. How did the Personnel Office retreat in September go? More than 30 colleagues of executive grade participated in the retreat themed ‘Dancing with Business’. It takes two to tango. I hope that we won’t see ourselves only as a service department which completes the job as assigned, but as an integral part in the University’s structure which proactively responds to the University’s mission and agenda, or even to the development objectives of different Faculties. The retreat has made a very good start for internal communication and understanding. We will explore the feasibility of various suggestions for short- and long-term development as proposed during group discussions. Personnel policies of government-funded institutions have been criticized for being outdated and inflexible. What do you think? Personnel management in a university differs much from an organization of a smaller scale. Here at CUHK we have some 7,200 full-time plus close to 2,000 part-time staff members. That calls for a set of well-defined policies and guidelines to maintain stability and equality. There are standard practices to follow, and requirements to fulfill. To exercise flexibility without restraints is not allowed. That said, the University is bringing in changes, allowing more flexibility in offering 人事處處長 利順琼女士 Ms. Lee Shun-king Corinna Director of Personnel entrance salaries, and implementing a performance-based pay increase system. What advice do you have for fresh graduates who join a higher education institution? Communication and presentation are the keys to success in practically all career fields nowadays. Above all, young executives must master both the Chinese and English language well. You need to pay attention to the development of ideas, and choose the most appropriate tone and wordings for expression after considering the interpretation of the direct recipient(s) or the third party. My first boss was a very learned Englishman. I learnt a lot simply by reading the old files of reports and letters written by him. There was so much knowledge in how he presented his justifications, how he began and concluded his arguments. I even copied the vocabulary from his writing to a notebook for further learning, which I still keep now. I also urge young executives to have perseverance. As a junior member of the team without much experience, you will be doing mundane work that often constitutes only a small part of a big project. Don’t reject it. Make the best of it. Besides doing your part well, put yourself in the shoes of your co- workers or your service clients, try to understand and cope with their needs. In doing so, you will know your trade much better. You are an amateur chorus singer and drama actress. Why do you like choral singing and drama? I got acquainted with choir and drama since college days. After all these years, they have become my habits, or to be exact, they have shaped me into what I am now. I am capable of singing in tune, but it takes constant practice to turn oneself into a vocal instrument, to read the scores and sing by sight. Having got used to it, I can also apply such industriousness and persistence to other things. I spent 10 years learning how to sing in a choir, and then I discovered in order to sing better, what I actually needed to learn was to listen. I’m an alto, and the melody in a choral work is rarely sung by the altos. In fact, altos need to listen to the other parts, to back them up or to echo, in order to achieve harmony. I love harmony. It is also part of my job to facilitate harmony in the workplace. Drama, like singing, is an art of communication. When I utter a line on stage, I need to figure out how to deliver it, why the character says so, and what he/she wants to achieve. The same applies to work. In order to make myself understood, I have to understand the thinking and needs of my audience, and adopt the most effective mode of communication. Drama makes me grow, and helps me understand the people and happenings around me. 請掃描QR碼閱讀全文版 Scan the QR code for the full version 觀看錄像，請掃描QR碼或瀏覽以下網址： To watch the video, please scan the QR code or visit: www.iso.cuhk.edu.hk/video/?nsl444-corinna-lee