Social Performance

Social responsibility extends to all stakeholders, in particular our staff, business partners, customers and the communities in which we operate.

Empowering staff
Motivated and enterprising employees are essential to our services delivery and continuous development as a sustainable business. The increased productivity and low turnover rates amongst staff and their high levels of job satisfaction, respectively 66% and 82% for 2004, confirm our status as a preferred Hong Kong employer.

Constructive communications with employees is facilitated through the JCC/SCC mechanism, the Staff General Association, the Staff Union and through regular surveys and individual performance reviews. The 2003 Staff Attitude Survey while generally satisfactory identified six corporate-wide issues in need of attention. Amongst them were morale, work stress, performance-related job security and communications. The resulting action plan, currently in its second year, addresses the core issues and implements effective remedial measures. These include:

Implementation of the "New Horizon for Leaders" programme in 2003 for 1,100 junior managers and senior supervisors with the objective to enhance their communication and leadership skills. In view of its effectiveness, the programme was rolled down to 1,400 junior supervisors in 2004.

Utilising different kinds of corporate award schemes or other means to show appreciation and recognition of staff efforts.

Setting up of staff opinion boxes to monitor progress and attitudes on a continual basis .

Training and support given to staff for facilitating development of multi-skilling.

Commissioning an external consultant to conduct a study on work/life balance in early 2005 and based on the results of the study, appropriate follow-up actions will be formulated.

Our general training policy seeks to fulfil individual career aspirations and nurture a multi-skilled workforce. We employ modern technologies and workplace tools to facilitate state of the art programmes for specific industry related skills, management development and leadership training. We support staff through financial assistance to pursue undergraduate degrees at tertiary institutions. The Corporation jointly organises certified training programmes with local universities for engineers and technicians involved in the construction and delivery of rail projects. At the management level, a programme to fast track promising candidates for senior positions ensures succession continuity. In 2004, 3,901 training programmes were conducted averaging 7.86 hours of training per employee. To achieve a balance in training the whole person, other programmes such as outdoor activities, departmental competitions and talent shows to celebrate teamwork and work relationship form a necessary component to human resources management.

Annual targets are set to measure the progress of the general programme for developing and motivating staff. Targets are set in consultation with management and the results of staff surveys and general performance indicators. With the continuous improvement in staff performance and productivity being amongst the primary goals, these targets are reviewed regularly to promote a culture of continuous learning .

The Project Partnering programme extends training beyond immediate staff to our contractors, suppliers and increasingly, new business clients. Since 2003 training has become an important element of our consultancy business in mainland China involving the managing, maintenance and operating of rail systems. By the end of 2004 some 16 training programmes were contracted by mainland China entities.

Enterprising spirit is embodied in our Knowledge Management System and the Work Improvement Team (WIT) programmes. These disciplines encourage individuals and teams to co-operate and collectively improve productivity and work practises across the organisation. The benefits have not only saved millions in operational costs annually but have transformed and enhanced functional effectiveness, environmental efficiencies, and workplace attitudes.

The proposed merger between the Corporation and the KCRC to form Hong Kong's single rail operator has triggered uncertainity and anxiety amongst staff as to future job security and employment practices. Since the announcement of this major event, we have established a dedicated newsletter and conduct communications briefings to keep employees abreast of developments. With the joint proposal on the framework now under Government review, we are preparing to address the issues in management, staff and operations that will be affected. Should the merger be approved, our goal is to work with the KCRC to smoothly integrate with the objectives to best realise synergies and provide for the community a seamless railway network.

Employment and remuneration
The Corporation's human resource practices exceed those stipulated by the Hong Kong Employment Ordinances. These laws regulate basic worker rights, workplace discrimination and minimum wage levels. The Corporation operates under a performance-based remuneration policy and offers employees numerous benefits including medical and health insurance, pension fund schemes, a company credit union, a self-learning education centre and recreational and leisure activities facilities.

When operating in communities outside of Hong Kong, we adhere to local standards and regulations as well as co-operate with business partners to encourage best employment practices. In 2004 no prosecutions were incurred by the Corporation or our contractors for breach of employment law in Hong Kong. As well, no prosecutions were incurred for projects under our control in our international operations.

Partner and suppliers
The Project Partnering programme practised with our contractors and suppliers employs training, knowledge sharing, regular management dialogue and the transfer of work technologies, supported by management systems and the monitoring mechanisms to deliver on time and within budget. This programme has been proven itself as an effective tool in recent rail projects, most notably the Tseung Kwan O line, which saved three months and some HKD 16 billion against original budget with minimal disruptions to schedule and minor breaches of environmental compliance regulations.

Expanding our business into mainland China has created new dimensions in how we approach our social responsibility for contractors and suppliers in the PRC. Refer to Stakeholder Engagement for full discussion of the issues in operating in China and other developing economies.

Customers
The stringent set of 13 Customer Service Pledges drives the quality of our rail services. Each year the service targets are reviewed and new ones set by the Head of Operations in consultation with Government's Transport Department. Performance is monitored regularly and any issues or disruptions are addressed in a timely and appropriate manner. In 2004 all targets were exceeded, although a series of incidents (Lloyd's Report) leading to headway delays affected passenger perception of our services for the year. The service targets, being critical to sustained rail patronage, serve as priority elements for the social indicators in the business risk management process.

Customer satisfaction studies are undertaken through the Service Quality Index and Fare Index. Surveys are conducted twice annually to closely monitor perception and direct remedial action where and when applicable on a timely basis. In 2004 the Service Quality Index stood at its highest value since inception of the surveys in 1996, however, some areas of perception have remained static.

Community
We envisage the MTR system to be a natural community of centres for social interaction and public enjoyment. We partner with community groups to support charity and NGO activities within our rail stations. We have offered our shopping mall facilities and staff volunteers to help stage events and activities for a wide variety of special needs and charitable causes across Hong Kong. In 2004 we opened our stations to organisations collecting funds for the tsunami victims' relief as well as contributing over HK$ 2 million in cash donations to the cause.

To enliven station atmosphere, the Art in Stations programme has a permanent display of art from large-scale wall mosaics to hanging installations to traditional paintings throughout the station system. The programme supports the local artist community by purchasing their art and provides a public venue for display of their work. In 2004 a new element to the programme was added bringing professional performances and audience participation activities into the stations. Programmes have included African drumming, Chinese opera and poetry writing contests.

We also actively participate in public events to promote personal health, civic duty, safety and other community issues. The "MTR Hong Kong Race Walking 2005" competition successfully spread the message of walking for better health. Some 800 walking enthusiasts led by well-know business and community leaders participated in one of the largest public walks in recent years.