Page 25 - Sphere No.30 (Dec 2011)

Whether they dine in one of many on-site staff
canteens, visit a local eatery or bring a tasty home-cooked meal
to heat up in the office kitchen, Hutchison employees around
the world approach their meal breaks with cultural flair, usually
making use of the opportunity to enjoy the companionship
of colleagues.
When Sphere sent a questionnaire around Hutchison's
global network asking employees what they like to eat at work
and cook at home, they responded enthusiastically. So, if you
are feeling hungry but your next meal break is still hours away,
you may want to read the following few pages later…
Canteen cuisine
For thousands of the Group’s employees, the question “What’s
for lunch?” is answered every day by the menu boards of staff
canteens. The largest are to be found, for the most part, at
Hutchison-owned ports, which operate round the clock, 365
days a year, and are generally located a considerable distance
from downtown eating areas.
“It is a huge challenge to accommodate all of our diners
during rush hours,” said Saadia Fahad, Corporate Affairs
Executive and Human Resources Associate at Karachi
International Container Terminals (KICT), in Pakistan. KICT’s
staff canteen serves a daily average of 250 diners. “We not only
want to help our diners make it through the line quickly, but
also to provide them with high-quality, friendly service at all
times.” The challenge is even bigger at Yantian International
Container Terminals in southern China, where the staff
canteen serves an average of 3,000 diners a day.
Most canteens in the Hutchison Group are staffed by in-
house caterers, though in some locations, meals are provided
by outside vendors. Menus are determined primarily by which
foods are in season and likely to appeal to local palates. Diners’
favourites are also taken into consideration. It is one of the
reasons employees choose to patronise staff canteens, even
when there are external options nearby.
For instance, operators of the staff canteen at Hongkong
International Terminals (HIT), which feeds a daily average of
600 to 800 people, said that although nearly all their diners
are Chinese, about a third of the menu is devoted to different
Western cuisines, “because that’s what a number of our diners
have indicated they prefer”. HIT’s canteen is also known for
weekly menu themes that often feature Western foods, such as
its recent Italian Spaghetti Week.
At Hutchison Korea Terminals (HKT), an employee-
organised Canteen Operation Committee meets once a month
to evaluate canteen operations and discuss suggestions from
individual diners for improvement. In addition, employee
satisfaction surveys are conducted twice a year to obtain
feedback from all diners.
Enjoy your meal!
Smaklig måltid!
Buon
appetito!
Smakelijk eten! Eet Smakelijk!
Guten Appetit! Mahlzeit!
En Guete!
請慢用！
食飯！