Cafe de Coral, which takes sixth place in the Best Employers in Hong Kong 2003 awards, is no stranger to plaudits. The leading Chinese fast-food chain has over the past five years received awards for outstanding business performance, marketing and people management.
'I think we can claim that we are the market leader in the food and beverage industry, especially in the fast-food category,' says Cafe de Coral Group chairman Michael Chan Yue-kwong. 'With 8,000 employees, it is quite a big challenge to motivate our staff.'
The company, which began as a traditional family business 35 years ago, adopted a more visible management style after listing in Hong Kong in July 1986.
Mr Chan started a corporate culture revolution on the philosophy that profit is a by-product of 100 per cent performance.
'We have a fusion management style, with modern, Westernised methods blended in with an oriental corporate culture,' he says.
All decisions are made by collective management, with issues from strategy, pricing and marketing to staff policies resolved by consensus. On the other hand, the company uses quantitative measurements to judge staff and business performances.