URA: Embedding purpose and discipline in people strategy
- HKIHRM
- Jul 7
- 4 min read
The Grand Award of the Year shares how it embeds purpose and discipline in people strategy.
The Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management (HKIHRM) HR Ecellence Awards 2025/26 once again brought the profession together — not only to celebrate achievement, but also to enable awardees to share the thinking and practices behind their success.
In a fast-changing world of work shaped by technological disruption, shifting workforce expectations and demographic change, the Awards provided a timely platform for leading employers to reflect on how their people strategies are evolving in response to new realities.
To explore these insights in greater depth, the HR Journal interviewed two key awardees — the Urban Renewal Authorit y (URA), which received the Grand Award of the Year; and CLP Power, one of the Excellent Employers of the Year.
The HR Excellence Awards have been a flagship initiative of the Institute since the 2012 launch. The Awards, widely regarded as “The Oscars of the HR Profession”, set benchmarks of professionalism and excellence, recognising organisations and individuals that use forward-thinking HR practices and people-centric strategies to accomplish exceptional
business outcomes.
Building on this solid foundation, the 2025/26 Awards reached a milestone, achieving an unprecedented level of submissions and participation from corporations, NGOs, and SMEs.
More than 220 awards were conferred, underscoring extensive cross-sector engagement and reaffirming the Awards’ standing as a leading platform for recognising HR
excellence at scale. The Awards Presentation Ceremony and Gala Dinner, held at the Ocean Park Marriott Hotel on 19 March 2026, was one of the 9 satellite events of the HKSAR Government ’s Global Talent Summit Week, and honoured outstanding achievements in people management.
The ceremony was officiated by Mr Cheuk Wing-hing, GBS, JP, Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration, who attended as the Guest of Honour.
URA: BENCHMARKING WITH PURPOSE
URA received eight awards this year, demonstrating strong performance across HR digitalisation, learning and development, innovation and youth talent attraction. As an organisation centred on people and communities, the Authority saw the Awards as an opportunity to examine whether its internal people practices were genuinely aligned with the long-term social impact it seeks to create in Hong Kong.
URA Human Resources Director Patricia Yeung believed a key value of the awards was as a benchmark which organisations could use to rate their HR practices for their own purposes, among peers across the HR industry and for employer branding, improving their attractiveness to potential staff.
Ms Yeung described the objective as simple but intentional — to learn with humility, to improve with intent, and to ensure HR continues to support both employees and the public mission the Authority serves.
“For a statutory body like URA , we may not always be the most visible choice in the talent market, particularly among younger talent. Recognition like this helps signal that we are serious about evolving, and that we offer an environment where people can grow, contribute and be part of something with purpose.”
DISCIPLINE, REFLECTION AND SHARED LEARNING
When explaining why and how URA applied for the award, Ms Yeung said: “We wanted to better understand where we stand, and where we need to stretch further.” Preparing for the award led the URA’s HR team to reflect on their goals, procedures and priorities, which was a very useful exercise.
The adjudication stage also introduced constructive challenge. Questions from the panel prompted deeper examination of outcomes, sustainability and scalability, encouraging the team to articulate more clearly how individual initiatives connect to URA’s longerterm organisational priorities rather than func tioning as standalone programmes. “When the HKIHRM released the results online, there was another moment that stayed with me,” she said.“Some of my team members who are usually quiet and reserved were really thrilled when they learned we had received the Grand Award of the Year. I could hear the excitement from across the office, and a few teammates came over, clearly unable to hide their excitement, and said, ‘we did it together!’ It was a very simple moment, but very heartfelt and memorable.”
RAISING STANDARDS FOR THE PROFESSION
Ms Yeung noted that what impressed her most was the Awards’ emphasis on recognising HR not merely for implementing sound practices, but for generating tangible and meaningful impact.
“Whether it is through building stronger talent pipelines, supporting organisational change, or fostering more inclusive and resilient workplaces, the emphasis is on outcomes that go beyond internal processes.”
The Awards brought a level of discipline and credibility to the profession, she said, encouraging organisations to be clear about what they are trying to achieve through their people strategies, and to demonstrate that these efforts are sustainable and aligned with longer term needs.
“That is particularly important in today’s environment, where change is constant and expectations from the workforce and society are both rising.”
Looking ahead, URA sees the Awards continuing to play an important role in shaping the direction of the HR profession.
“With the growing adoption of technology, including AI, and the rise of a more integrated human-bot workforce, HR has an opportunity to rethink how work is organised, how decisions are made, and how we engage people in ways that are more relevant and effective. At the same time, it is important that we maintain a clear human focus, ensuring that technology is used to augment human judgement and enhance employee experience, rather than replace it,” Ms Yeung said.
As URA continues its urban renewal mission, its approach to people management sends a clear message: when HR is anchored in purpose, excellence becomes not an end point, but a continuing journey.
