Changes and reforms in the welfare industry have posed new demands on service quality, stressing on user-focused, outcome-driven and cost-effective services. With a strong mission to strive for service excellence, we have introduced a new core business, namely "Professional Development and Quality Assurance Core Business". This new arm of the business will help drive our central policy initiatives to facilitate the management of quality service and the development of quality staff. Its major functions involve developing a system for quality assurance and a continuous professional improvement of staff's quality; enabling service units to provide professional, cost-effective and user-focused services that best meet the service users' needs; and enhancing our service units professionalism in service performance, which in turn will affirm our service users' expectation for a higher degree of service quality.

Importance of Professional Development

To achieve quality excellence, it is necessary to put a strong emphasis on the importance of creating a culture in which "concern for quality" is an integral part of service delivery. This means there are ownerships of responsibility for quality of services at all levels within the agency and staff involvement in the pursuit of clear and explicit quality objectives. The new core business' role in professional development is particularly important in quality assurance as it lays a solid foundation for all activities related to quality service. We recognize that our staff members are valuable assets of the agency and that they are one of the determining factors contributing to our service quality. It is, therefore, crucial to assist them to develop a new mindset on quality assurance and to acquire effective approaches and skills gearing to professionalism and competency in their work performance. By providing an on-going support and advice to our service units through consultation, supervision, professional training and alike, it helps to promote an attitude of motivation to improve our service performance as well as to achieve a high standard of service quality, which in turn directly benefit our service users.

Commitment to Quality Assurance

A quality assurance system will be developed to ensure that the differing interests and aspirations of service providers and users are met. The system addresses not only to facts and figures, but also the process, values, attitude, emotional feedbacks and users' experiences while receiving their services. We believe the process of quality assurance not only brings about "Customer Delight" going beyond their level of satisfaction, but also induces "Added Value" of our services. While the process attempts to ensure the accountability and quality of service, it may possibly facilitate creativity and innovation in maximizing the resources among service units to meet the service users' emerging needs through well-developed strategic plan.

Commitment to quality assurance involves embracing the continuous nature of quality improvement process. Critical factors that facilitate a continuous improvement of services include: recognize the importance of attaining a high standard of quality in all areas of practice by all levels of staff; commitment from leadership; accountability throughout the agency; involvement of users' participation; effective planning with evaluations and adjustments; develop and implement improvement plan; and reward best practice and good efforts. We hope we are able to pioneer and disseminate the best service quality in Hong Kong; thus, contributing directly to the promotion of a quality culture in the field.