(d) Customer Services

The Management and Customer Services Division of the Land Registry is dedicated to the planning and coordinating of customer services to meet the growing aspirations on service quality. We make use of various channels to liaise and communicate with our customers for promoting and improving our services.

(i) Liaison with Customers

Land Registry Joint Standing Committee

The Land Registry Joint Standing Committee, comprising the Land Registrar, her senior management team and representatives of the Law Society of Hong Kong, meets regularly to discuss and exchange views on land registration matters, the Land Registry’s services provided to the legal practitioners and implementation of title registration system. External membership of the committee is at Annex II (a).

Customer Liaison Groups

The Land Registry maintains regular liaison with customers through two Customer Liaison Groups (private and public sectors) to facilitate customers’ understanding of the department’s latest policies, services and procedures, and to exchange views on operational and service delivery issues in response to customers’ feedback.

The private sector group comprises representatives from the legal community, professional bodies and trade associations while the public sector group comprises representatives from Government departments and public bodies. External membership of the private sector and the public sector groups is at Annexes II (b) and (c).

Visitors

The Land Registry maintains close relationship with its local, Mainland and overseas counterparts. In 2010/11, we received five delegations comprising 179 visitors from Hong Kong, Mainland China and Belgium. During the visits, we introduced our services and operations, shared experiences with our counterparts and tried to benefit from the best practices in other jurisdictions.

“Meets the Clients” Sessions

Five “Meet the Clients Sessions”, with a total of 64 participants from solicitors firms were held in September and October 2010 to enhance customers’ knowledge and understanding of the common reasons for stopped deeds and to brief them on the use of the e-Memorial Form. The sessions were well received by the participants and had provided an effective platform for sharing of experience and views.

(ii) Communication Channels

Land Registry Circular Memoranda

In 2010/11, we issued two Land Registry Circular Memoranda to update stakeholders of our new initiatives and launch of improved services.

Land Registry News

Two issues of the Land Registry News in electronic format were released in 2010/11 with update of our events, improvement initiatives and service enhancements.

Information Leaflets

Two information leaflets were updated during the year to introduce the Land Registry’s full range of services.

Press Releases

The Land Registry issues press releases to announce its latest service updates and the regular statistics of land registration and land search to keep the public abreast of the Land Registry’s services and the property market conditions.

Customer Service Hotline

Our Customer Service Hotline equipped with an interactive voice response system offers a wide range of information through the recorded messages and manned operator service. Through collaboration with the Efficiency Unit’s 1823 Call Centre, we enhanced the operator enquiry service to 24 hours a day in August 2010.

Land Registry’s Website

During the year, there were over four million visits (72% in the Chinese language and 28% in the English language) to the Land Registry’s website, representing an increase of 19% when compared with 2009/10.

IRIS Website

To facilitate communication with the users of the IRIS Online Services, broadcast messages are posted on the IRIS website to notify users of any service changes or enhancements in a timely manner.

(iii) Awards

HKMA Best Annual Reports Awards 2010

The Land Registry Trading Fund Annual Report 2008/09 received an Honourable Mention in the Best Annual Reports Awards 2010 organised by the Hong Kong Management Association. The award is a recognition of our achievement and a motivation for our continual pursuit of quality annual report production.

The Ombudsman’s Award 2010

Miss MAK Kit-hing, Hayley (Land Registration Officer) was awarded the Ombudsman’s Awards 2010 for Officers of Public Organisations. The award is a recognition of our staff’s effort in building up a high standard of customer service and fostering a positive service culture in the Land Registry.