He said more companies were also following the 'caring company' trend, as consumers had become more forthright in their demands.

A survey commissioned in 2002 by Boston-based Cone, a strategy firm linking companies' brands and social issues, found 91 per cent of the 1,040 American adults surveyed said they would consider switching brands if they found that a company engaged in negative practices. Also, 83 per cent said they would refuse to invest in the company's stock, 80 per cent would refuse to work at that company and 68 per cent would feel less loyal to the firm if they did work there.

Mr Wan said Cafe de Coral saw its social responsibilities in three main areas: its customers, employees and shareholders. This is implied in the firm's Chinese name, dai ga lok, which means happy together - bringing happiness and showing responsibility to all parties involved.

'For the customers, we strive to provide the best quality and hygiene in our food and services, serve them healthy meals and, when possible, make some of our restaurants smoke-free. As for the employees, we have about 8,000 workers, including 3,000 part-timers. We try to give them job security, training and protection. To a certain extent, this has benefited 8,000 families.

'And for our shareholders, we're highly transparent and follow the principles of business ethics.'

Customers want similar things from restaurants such as Cafe de Coral: comfortable seating; fast delivery of food to tables or for takeaway; and a clean environment. The restaurant's staff, especially frontliners, are expected to ensure the customers get all of these.

One important aspect of the company's personnel policy is to give opportunities to all who want to do well, and among the group's workforce are elderly people, members of ethnic minorities and the disabled, in addition to many youngsters.

'As long as people have the ability, we'll hire them. Age is not a main factor; gender is not a consideration, either. In our corporate hierarchy, the numbers of men and women at management level are very close,' Mr Wan said.

Believing that responsible staff are motivated people who are happy with their jobs, the company emphasises personal development and the well-being of each worker. It has put in place initiatives such as training courses for career advancement for staff of all levels, and raising awareness of social issues and safety at work.

The company recently appointed an occupational safety ambassador to train managers and branch supervisors, who then pass on their knowledge to other staff.

Cafe de Coral also organises several charitable projects involving staff members, including blood donation drives, organ donation awareness campaigns and participation in the annual 30-hour famine. As part of its campaign of 'putting people first', the company is planning to offer life insurance policies to employees who have been working for the chain for the past 15 years, among other programmes that provide additional benefits to staff.

Employees' families are also beneficiaries of the company's initiatives. Each year, the staff can apply for sponsorship for their children from the company's T.S. Lo Educational Foundation, set up under the name of Cafe de Coral's founder, Victor Lo Tang-seong.

'If the staff are happy, they'll make customers happy, too,' Mr Wan said.

Among Hong Kong's older population, especially those with a low level of education, a job at Cafe de Coral is seen as a viable way to make a living. Mr Wan praised this large group of older people working at the restaurants.

'The nature of our restaurant work can still absorb this group of employees. They are mature, have a high EQ [emotional intelligence quotient] and can easily deal with the nitty-gritty demands of customers. They're also very smart and polite. They say jo san (good morning) to customers like they greet their neighbours, which makes the customers feel comfortable.'

Cafe de Coral provides these workers with job skills and also teaches them to maintain a good manner and appearance. 'Those frontline female staff are required to wear a bit of make-up. They're happy to put on some lipstick whenever they come to work,' Mr Wan said.

One problem facing workers who do not speak Cantonese - including staff from other Asian nations such as Indonesia and Thailand, and those who speak a different Chinese dialect - is communication.

'We'll try to communicate with them through their relatives. Some of them can work in the kitchen where they don't need to deal with customers. For those working in the dining area, we'll teach them how to get their message across to customers, such as asking for consent to collect the trays using body gestures.'

In the past, the company took on people who were slightly mentally disabled, but the experience was not successful. Mr Wan said the speed and the workload of the restaurants had put too much pressure on them.

'It's not easy to hire these people even if we want to. We once asked the Labour Department to help arrange such employees when we were short of staff, but some of those hired either did not turn up or just worked for a short time.'

Mr Wan said integrating with other staff was the main problem faced by workers from other countries or ethnic minorities. 'Other staff hold an open attitude towards them, but we don't know if they think the same about us.'

'[At Cafe de Coral] there aren't any barriers to the disadvantaged in society. The important thing is that they are willing to do the job. The Labour Department once referred a one-armed man to us for the position of lift operator. We hired him because we believed he could do the job regardless of his condition. He was happy when working at our headquarters for eight months during 2000-2001.'

Mr Wan said the company did not see the need for formal regulations on the hiring of minority workers or setting aside a certain number of positions for them, but stressed the company's door was always open to them.

Nevertheless, the company intends to further incorporate CSR into its corporate culture. Mr Wan said: 'I don't know how it will take shape in our company in future, but we're working along this line. CSR is our goal for the future, part of it is to strengthen our community services.'

He believed his staff were already doing well in the social responsibility aspect. During the peak of Sars, he recalled, the chain's restaurants and 15 hospital canteens remained open for medical staff, even though the operation was not profitable from a business point of view.

'We were worried about the staff, but they didn't stay away.'

goodwill hunting

CSR starts from caring about employees.

Responsible staff make customers happy and help build the brand's reputation.

CSR programmes for employees touch on job stability, health and safety awareness, career development, equal opportunities and benefits.

Incorporating CSR in corporate culture will become the trend as consumers demand more than just a product.

The foundation of CSR is genuine goodwill.