traininganddevelopment

MTRs Executive
Continuous Learning
Programme
The MTR faces various business challenges and
economic uncertainties including a changing
competitive environment, rising expectations on
corporate responsibility, and a fast-growing global
economy. In this article, the MTR shares the structure
that keeps the companys executive training on track.

he MTR Corporation (MTR),

with a staff size of around 14,000,
currently operates nine main
commuter lines, providing transportation
services to an average of 4 million
passengers every weekday. After the
merger of the MTR and the KowloonCanton Railway Corporation in December
2007, more pressing needs were observed
in staff development and continuous
improvement in order for the company to
grow and move forward. As such, leaders
at the MTR have to refine their skills, and
understand the community concerns from
a broader perspective. A structured and

comprehensive executive development

programme, which sets a right direction
for the leaders development and aligns
with the corporate strategy and business
objectives, has become more vital for
company success.
In partnership with line management,
the Management Training and
Development Department of MTRs
Human Resources and Administration
(HR&A) Division has developed a
time-efficient and demand-driven
programmethe Executive Continuous
Learning Programme (ECLP), targeting its
executive managers and senior managers.

Overview of ECLP

William Chan, MTRs Human Resources

Director, says, One of the missions of
the HR&A Division is to bring to all
staff a sense of pride through nurturing
a continuous learning and improvement
culture. Continuous learning is an
important element of an executives
career. Chan adds, The ECLP has
established a platform for ongoing
continuous learning by our senior staff. It
has to align with corporate strategies and
business objectives. Neither of these are
simple requirements.
To do this, the company has adopted

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traininganddevelopment

a comprehensive learning approach in

its training structure. Each part of the
training is designed with a different
setting and relies on a different format.
Chan explains, We realised that effective
learning takes place with a blended
learning approach that provides flexibility
in place and time, allowing our executives
to learn at their own time and in a place of
their choice.
The ECLP is built around a
competency model with four focuses:

Professional and Commercial Focus

Leadership and Management Focus
Personal Qualities Focus
People Focus

Programme objectives

As mentioned, the ECLP supports

the continuous learning of executive
managers and senior managers. Although
many of these staff have either completed
or are in the process of completing their
individual development programmes that
include an Accelerated Development
Programme and Executive Associates, as
staff in leadership positions, they need to
continue to:
1. learn and keep abreast of the latest
business best practices and economic
developments, in order to manage in a
competitive business environment and
better contribute to the communities
we serve;
2. further equip themselves with
personal competencies and functional
business skills critical to the effective
management of the organisation; and
3. gain broader perspective through being
exposed to contemporary practices
faced by leaders of renowned private
and public service organisations.

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Programme
contents

Divisional
champions
To create and
enhance the culture
of continuous
learning, a positive
top-down push
would be necessary
to spread the
programme across
the organisation.
To best do
this, divisional
champions at
executive managers
level were
appointed. Their
roles are:

William Chan (centre), Human Resources Director, MTR; William Leung (right), Head
of Operations Strategic Business Management, MTR and Chester Tsang (left), Senior
Manager Management Training and Development, MTR are glad to see that MTRs
dedication to human capital development is being recognised by winning overseas
and local HR and training awards

to be a role
model for
continuous
learning
to co-host workshops and seminars
to share by contributing reports on
learning events at the ECLP intranet
platform

Workshops and seminars

Workshops/seminars have been
organised to keep managers abreast of
current social, economic and political
issues. Business schools or local policy
research institutions also organise topical
seminars from time to time. Some recent
workshops/seminars include:
Change Management and Strategic
Thinking: Coupling Organisational
Development with Personal
Development
Corporate Governance in Worldwide

Enterprises
Dynamic Leadership in the 21st
Century
Community Partnership
Chester Tsang heads MTRs
Management Training and Development
Department, overseeing the formulation
of the overall training and development
strategies. He says, Inviting renowned
professors from reputable local and
overseas universities as well as field
practitioners from leading companies/
organisations in different business sectors,
including CEOs and Managing Directors,
to lead workshops and seminars is the best
way to keep our managers up on the latest
management theories and business trends.
These events focus on very specific issues
and centre on case studies from the real

traininganddevelopment

We therefore turned to a variety of online

sources to help our people fit training
into their busy schedules, which was a
major part of helping create a culture of
continuous learning.
The MTR has designed a web-based
internal platform at which business cases
and articles relevant to the competency
focuses are made available. Also available
at the platform are interactive exercises,
on-line business management knowledge
base, video and audio books summaries as
well as the more traditional readings and
summary of leading business articles and
case studies. This provides a more modern
and efficient learning experience for the
managers. For example, the Executive
Video Room provides case studies and
inspirational profiles on leading Asian
enterprises and their senior executives.
The Business School Tube delivers
lectures, speeches and news on special

Professional &
Commercial
Focus

events from business schools around the

world.
Learning reinforcement
The MTR believes that learning is a
journey, and leaders must be able to grow
in order to cope with the explosive pace
of business change. To help sustain their
learning momentum, resource guides
have been published regularly. The webbased Further Learning Cabinet allows
managers to access summaries of events
and workshops. Another major feature
is the ECLP Digest, which collects
the latest research studies, business
cases, and management theory from
renowned organisations and universities
then provides them in both printed and
digital forms. With these regular learning
reinforcement materials, managers are
encouraged to see training as an integral
part of their working lives and form their

Vision-Mission-Values/
Corporate Strategies

Leadership &
Management
Focus

Personal
Qualities
Focus

Learning Reinforcement
Guide

Self Awareness and

Diagnosis

E-Learning

Community
Engagement

Session by MTR Executives)

Business Objectives
Professor-a-day (Sharing

Study Trip

Benchmarking /
Company Visit

ECL webInteractive
e-learning platform
Another major concern
is to help staff members
continue their training
outside of events. Doris
Mao, Career Development
Manager of MTR,
explains, We recognised
the need to provide a
hassle-free platform for the
ECLP members to learn at
their own pace and time.

Seminar / Workshop

Professor-a-day
A learning scheme providing a platform
for MTR management colleagues to be the
Honourable Professors
The ECLP Framework
who share insights in
contemporary business
management practices with
ECLP members and foster
a culture To Learn, To
Share, To Excel in the
corporation.

Peers Discussion
Forum

world. Since participants can discuss

and share their experiences, it makes the
best format for taking abstract concepts
and relating them to our actual business
needs.
Responses from other MTR
departments have been very positive. As
Head of Operations Strategic Business
Management for MTR, William Leung
develops corporate efficiency and
productivity strategies and orchestrates
implementation of management initiatives
for the Operations Division. Speaking
about the programme, Leung says, The
ECLP is an effective platform to stimulate
leaders with inspirations and cutting edge
ideas through passionate sharing and
profound discussions.

People Focus

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traininganddevelopment
Executive Excellence
Consortium

n innovative and dramatic

programme, the Executive

Excellence Consortium (EEC) was

built on the ECLP to bring executives
from different companies and
organisations together to share

own cultures of continuous learning.

Results and benefits of the ECLP
Chester Tsang says, We have different
ways of evaluating the effectiveness of our
training, depending on the level of training
effectiveness we are looking at. Our
methods include surveying participants
immediate responses to classes, posttraining learning assessments, focus group
discussions, interviews with participants
and their managers, as well as reviewing
organisational performance indicators.
To ensure the ECLP meets training
objectives and creates value for the
participants and the company, the MTR
measured the effectiveness of the ECLP
at different dimensions, and found the
following results:
ECLP courses have received an
average satisfaction rating of 90 per
cent
The ECLP has made significant
contributions to MTRs two key staff
engagement initiatives: Corporate
Vision-Mission-Values and Work
Improvement Team.
The ECLP ensures new values, new
behaviour and new culture take root in
MTR. According to the Staff Attitude
Survey conducted in recent years,
more than 70 per cent staff lived out
MTRs Value Creation strategy in
their day-to-day work.
In 2010, the Work Improvement
Teams projects achieved a doubledigit percentage in return-oninvestment, through enhancing
equipment reliability, improving

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customer services, streamlining work

processes and raising safety standards.

their unique business management

philosophies and modes of
operation.

William Leung says, The ECLP

has definitely helped me to engage my
team more, and particularly bring more
creativity and innovation. This learning
platform also facilitates my managers to
reach a new horizon.

Formed in 2010, the EEC aims

to enhance leadership quality
and execution abilities of senior
managers by providing them with
a platform to benchmark and learn
from other leading businesses
in Hong Kong, both from their

Conclusion

For a company facing a future full of

challenge and opportunity, a well-built
and integrated training programme can be
an anchor for future growth.
Tsang says, With the concerted
efforts and commitments of the
corporation in training and development,
we are honoured to have received
recognitions from local and overseas
professional associations in training and
development, including awards from the
Hong Kong Management Association,
and the BEST Award of the American
Society for Training and Development,
which has ranked MTR first in Asia and
second worldwide, to name just a few.
These acclaims recognise MTRs
Staff Training and Development strategy.
We firmly believe in the passion in
advocating an environment of continuous
learning, providing eye-opening
opportunities and fostering a sharing and
coaching culture, Tsang concludes.

success stories and failures. The EEC

members include Citibank, Hong
Kong Disneyland Resort, Hospital
Authority (Hong Kong West Cluster
& New Territories East Cluster), MTR,
Pfizer and Towngas.
The environment in which
Towngas is operating has been
changing so fast that we all need
to keep our fingers on the pulse of
what is happening. We are quite
confident in the kind of learning and
development we provide related to
engineering and the gas business.
But it is essential for our managers
that, as they climb the career ladder,
they look at things from the outside
in, says Margaret Cheng, Head
Corporate Human Resources for
Towngas.
The HR Heads of the six
founding companies and
organisations realised they could
harness the expertise across a wide
spectrum to meet the evolving
needs of their executives, and the

Human Resources would like to thank

MTR for sharing their training insights
and giving a glimpse of their advanced
training programme.

result was the EEC, a programme

designed to create a common space
for companies without conflicting
interests to benchmark, swap

traininganddevelopment
models, and above all forge relationships.
Cheng points out, The spirit of
collaboration extends through learning

a remarkable learning experience for all

platform to network and learn from leading

participants.

field practitioners.

The backbone of the EEC are quarterly

activities as well. It was a very thought-

events, which each member organisation

Go Green by Towngas

provoking exercise to see how other

takes a turn organising with an eye towards

In Q4 2010, the second EEC meeting on Go

leading companies in Hong Kong arrange

sharing one of their organisations best

Green was hosted by Towngas. James Kwan,

programmes and prepare learning for

practices. Highlights of past events are

Executive Director of Towngas shared the

their staff. It is most important to learn not

featured below.

Go Green business concept of Towngas,

only the what and the

and each of the participating

how [of a company's

companies also shared how

learning activities], but

they go green in their own

also the reasoning and

company.

consideration behind
Building an Engaging

those choices."

Culture by Pfizer

Chester Tsang of MTR

says, While theories and

The third meeting on Building

techniques can be gained

an Engaging Culture was

through other media, the

hosted by Pfizer in Q2 2011.

EEC affords a rare chance

Executives were invited to share

for benchmarking with

their best practices on how to

other, similarly-sized

build or enhance engagement

companies. Another

culture. Stephen Leung, Country

valuable aspect of the EEC

is relationship building
among our executives.
Now, when they are
facing a challenge or
want to put in place a

Inspiration demonstrated by top management teams. From right to left: Mr C K Chow, CEO,
MTR; Dr Man Chi Yin, Hospital Chief Executive of North District Hospital of New Territories
East Cluster; Mrs Margaret Cheng, HeadCorporate Human Resources, Towngas; Mr
Stephen Leung, Country Manager, Pfizer; Mr Andrew Kam, Managing Director, Hong
Kong Disneyland Resort; Dr Chau Ming Tak, Deputy Hospital Chief Executive (Corporate
Services), Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong West Cluster, Hospital Authority; and Mrs
Maisie Lam, Director, Country Human Resources, Citibank

Manager, Pfizer Corporation

Hong Kong Limited, says,
Company success depends
on excellent leadership and
perfect execution of business
strategy. Cross-company

new programme, they can

learning is an integral part of

just pick up the phone

the process.

and contact a fellow member of the EEC.

An important aspect of the EEC was

Innovation for Change by MTR

The first EEC Experience Sharing Seminar

Upcoming Consortium activities

4th EEC Leadership InsightsCaring

event facilitation, undertaken effectively

Innovation for Change was launched

by Professor Edmond Ko, Senior Advisor

and hosted by MTR in Q2 2010. Over 120

Leadership by Hong Kong Disneyland

to the Provost and Director of the Centre

senior executives and leaders attended and

Resort in June 2011

for Engineering Education Innovation of

shared the value of Share to Excel, Inspire to

the Hong Kong University of Science and

Innovate. The MTR introduced to participants

by Hospital Authority (Hong Kong West

Technology. It is good to establish this

its innovative ways to foster continuous

Cluster & New Territories East Cluster) in

learning community among the leading

learning culture in the corporation, and to

September 2011

companies, during which each company can

develop a Learning Organisation through

jump out of their common ways of thinking

a four A strategy, namely Alignment,

and problem solving models, and observe

Acquisition, Alliance and Absorption with four

explore diversified learning formats, such

how others react to a similar situation. It

LIPS focuses: Learning, Innovation, People and

as the sharing of insightful business cases,

is an innovative platform to enhance the

Sharing.

practical secondment opportunities and eye-

management standard in Hong Kong, says

William Leung of MTR says, Through

5th EEC Quality and Risk Management

To look ahead, the EEC will continue to

opening benchmarking visits. Together these

Professor Ko. Tsang added that Professor

the EEC activities, we can acquire global

further enhance the cross-company learning

Ko had been regarded as the icon for the

perspectives and local knowledge which

and cultivate a learning environment

EEC, whose excellent facilitation skills and

are essential to achieve business objectives

for leaders from different industries and

thought-provoking insights have created

successfully. It also provides us an unique

commercial sectors.

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