With a father who was in the armed forces, Mr Salkeld led a nomadic childhood, living in many different places before going to study Medieval History at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom (UK). How did he come to work in Hong Kong? He recalled a cold and rainy evening in November 1979. Walking down a lane past the Classics Faculty building he saw lights on and a poster on the door advertising a talk about careers in the Hong Kong Government. “My parents had visited Hong Kong in the early 1960s and had often talked about it, so it piqued my interest,” he said, “although I think my main reason for going in was that it was good to get out of the rain and cold”.

Following on from that unexpected encounter, Mr Salkeld travelled to London in 1980 for a recruitment interview in the Hong Kong civil service. Initially he was told that there would be no offer, but later in the year he was notified of a job offer provided he could start immediately. He recalled, “I immediately said ‘Yes’ and haven’t looked back since.”

Mr Salkeld (right) took part in a radio phone-in programme in 2017, speaking up for the value of public service.

Arriving in Hong Kong in 1980, Mr Salkeld’s first task was to attend a full-time Cantonese training course for four months. He was then posted as an Administrative Officer (AO) in the North Region of the then New Territories Services Department, where he worked for 18 months. Mr Salkeld’s next posting was in the former Social Services Branch, working on labour and industrial safety legislation, as well as the General Holidays Ordinance. He explained, “That was an interesting project because there was a thorough review of the public holidays legislation. Back then, statutory holidays under the Employment Ordinance were fewer than public holidays, meaning that blue-collar workers had far less assured holidays than others.” The process of legislative work was relatively fast in those days, hence Mr Salkeld and his colleagues could prepare the legislation and put it in front of the Legislative Council for decision quickly.

Revisiting some of his most memorable experiences in the civil service, Mr Salkeld talked about his work in the office of the last Governor of Hong Kong, “I was the District Officer of the Islands District in 1992 and received Mr Chris Patten when he visited the District. A few months later, he invited me to work as his Deputy Private Secretary.”

Mr Salkeld introduced ideas and programmes for innovation in public services when he served as the Head of Efficiency Unit.

Mr Salkeld (third row, second left) with the Youth Portal team of Efficiency Unit.

From that moment, Mr Salkeld began to think about Hong Kong in a different way. He explained, “Hong Kong is a very interesting place but I did not feel strongly a part of it before. Being involved in the preparation for the return of Hong Kong to China and witnessing the changes from a colonial system to the “One Country, Two Systems” made me decide I really want to stay here.”

As the former Head of the Efficiency Unit, Mr Salkeld found this position came with its own set of challenges. He explained, “After 1997, Hong Kong has faced some unique challenges. In an increasingly digital world, the Government has to think of changes in public services through innovation so that public services remain relevant and effective in meeting the needs of our changing city. This necessitates continuous enhancement of the Government’s internal management functions with a view to improving overall productivity and service quality in the public sector. It is also essential that the Government should maintain an ethos of serving the community.”

Mr Salkeld was not able to single out a ‘favourite’ department or bureau during his tenure. He said, “All my postings have been enjoyable. I’ve always tried to make the best of every posting. My philosophy is, ‘How can I act in a way that will help other people?’. In this way, you can make any job rewarding for yourself and for other people.”

Mr Salkeld (left) attended his last Public Sector Reform Conference in 2017.

Highlighting a position that really stretched and grew him, Mr Salkeld noted his time as Deputy Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands (Environment) from March 1998 to May 2001. He explained, “This posting really stretched me to think about the role of Government in creating a better environment for everyone in Hong Kong. It brought to the forefront how to translate aspirations into practical steps. In this, you have to work with different people with different agendas and you have to understand the limited power of reason and the importance of finding stories that speak to emotions and values to bring people on board. This has helped shape my thinking and actions ever since.”

Describing what the most important aspects of being a civil servant are, Mr Salkeld said, “It’s attending to other people rather than yourself. We live in communities, not isolated by ourselves. The lesson I’ve learned is not to fall into the trap of doing things the way they’ve always been done, but to look outside and keep listening as well as engaging with others.”

Mr Salkeld didn’t think there was anything special about being the final expatriate AO in the civil service — marking the end of 155 years of service by expatriate AOs in Hong Kong. He noted, “I became the last expatriate AO simply by virtue of being born at the time I was, nothing more.”

Mr Salkeld welcomed a new member to the family after leaving the service.

Mr Salkeld (centre) participated in the Run Our City event in 2015.

Mr Salkeld was quick to point out that he didn’t really like the word “retirement” and all the connotations that go with it. He felt he hadn’t really retired, but was just entering a new phase of his active life. He explained, “I see retirement as a weird term as I am simply continuing my life in a different form. I’m still engaged with lots of different things.”

After leaving the civil service in 2017, Mr Salkeld has had more time to refocus on his academic research. He has a keen interest in history and, drawing on reflections from his own experience in public service, how institutions have created, managed and used knowledge to shape policy and influence decisions at key moments of history.

Mr Salkeld sees both Hong Kong and the UK as his home. He now spends around six months in each place annually and confessed, “Everyone, as they get older, has to think about responsibilities towards their children and their parents. And, with family members in both places, I share my time between the two locations.”

As one of his homes, Mr Salkeld obviously remains very engaged with Hong Kong. He said, “I still keep in touch with those I previously worked with on social innovation projects and hope to play a role in assisting with Hong Kong’s social system in various ways. I’ve been talking to different people and looking at how we can cope with the huge distortions that social media sometimes introduces into different people’s perceptions of events, and I’ve been examining ways to create more space for dialogue amongst people with different views.”

Looking forward, Mr Salkeld is concerned with the fact that well into the 21^st Century governments and communities are still using practices developed in the 19^th Century to cope with the complexities of the environmental crisis and the transformations in behaviour, thought and social connections driven by education, medical advances and, above all, by the world wide web.

In terms of post-retirement advice for all soon-to-retire civil servants, Mr Salkeld advises, “Don’t just think about what is behind you, think about the things you are going to do. Many plans don’t come to fruition, but you need to have plans that you can try to follow and adapt as things change. Also, keep engaged with family and friends, and continue to make new friends.”

In closing, a final piece of advice from Mr Salkeld was, “Be a support to those around you instead of harking back to the past, then you can get a great deal of joy and satisfaction from everything that you do.”