Employee Benefits and Career Growth at KFC: A Case Study

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Integrated Business Management Project
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Executive summary
The research has focused on the KFC which is a leading organization in the service industry. The
research has been implemented to identify the benefits for the employees to work in
organizations working in the service industry. This research has been implemented by the
questionnaire and interview methods to collect relevant information. It is identified by this
research that the Australian food industry and especially KFC contains the potential to provide
proper growth to employees.
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Background..................................................................................................................................4
What is the research?...................................................................................................................4
Why will you do this research?...................................................................................................4
Literature review..............................................................................................................................6
Research methodology...................................................................................................................10
Research approach.....................................................................................................................10
Data collection methods............................................................................................................10
Data sampling............................................................................................................................10
Data analysis..............................................................................................................................11
Data Collection..............................................................................................................................12
Data Analysis.................................................................................................................................16
Research Findings..........................................................................................................................35
Conclusion and Recommendations................................................................................................37
References......................................................................................................................................39
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Introduction
Background
As an employee in the food and service industry for the past four years, this question has crossed
my mind many times. I am an employee and KFC which is one of the biggest fast food chains in
the world. What I have noticed over the last few years is a divide between the workforce. There
are employees that want to use turn the job into their career and there are employees who just
work at KFC, so they can earn some money. For these employees, it is not reasonable to think
about KFC as a career. Through conducting this research, I aim to provide information to people
working in the fast food industry about the benefits of working at KFC which would help them
decide whether to choose this as a career path or not.
What is the research?
The research is about the fast food industry. More specifically about KFC. However, it can also
be helpful to other fast food chains as well such as Mc Donald’s, Pizza Hut, Dominos and
Subway etc. The research is about whether working in a fast food chain can be chosen as a career
path. What are the benefits of working in a fast food chain? I will also discuss the different
opportunities available for employees in the company. Other questions that will be answered the
research would be regarding employee perspective. Why do employees want to choose KFC as a
career path? As well as why employees do not want to choose KFC as a career path. I would also
cover the employer’s perspective on the benefits of working at KFC. This would include
Restaurant Managers, Assistant Managers, Area Managers as well as Franchisee. Questions
including the opportunities available for employees and the restaurant level as well as the
corporate level.
Why will you do this research?
This research will help people have a clearer view of the fast food industry. It will help
employees understand that working at KFC can be a lot more than just serving customers at the
counter. This purpose of this research is not to encourage employees to take on KFC as their
career path but in fact, provide them with enough information to at least consider it. One of the
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problems that I have personally faced is that there is not enough information available. There is a
broad perspective that working at KFC or any other fast food chain should be a temporary job.
Whether it is to earn some extra money or to have a job while looking for a permanent job. Many
people do not know the many different opportunities available. One of the problems faced at the
restaurant level in a fast food chain is to retain employees. There are constantly employees being
hired and trained who end up leaving the job after some time. Having a clear view of the industry
and the company could help employees expand their skill set, which would be beneficial for
them as well as the company.
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Literature review
The KFC which is also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a very popular fast food restaurant
chain based in America which is specialized in the fried chicken. After McDonald’s, KFC is the
world’s second largest chain of a restaurant with almost 20,000 locations globally in the 123
countries. Working within the KFC is really a great opportunity as being a part of so big food
restaurant chain is quite a good experience. It has been seen that working within a fast food
industry is considered to be a temporary job by the youngsters but some of the youngsters are
also considering as the career option.
According to Knai, et. al., 2015, working within a food industry is being considered as a way of
earning money in the part-time. The people are taking it not as a serious job but there are several
numbers of benefits in looking forward career in this industry. The food industry is full of the
flavours and there are numerous opportunities for the youngsters who are looking for career
opportunities and a well-paid organization along with the diversities as well as excitement. This
is one of the fantastic sectors to work if one is working with a great brand or considering being a
great brand in the near future (Knai, et. al., 2015).
According to Gibbs, et. al., 2018, Most of the people take the job in the food industry as the part-
time jobs as they think that working within a retirement is just about serving the people but it’s
not limited to that only (Gibbs, et. al., 2018). People consider that the restaurant chains like
McDonald’s and KFC are good for earning money in the part-time but it cannot be neglected that
these restaurant chains are ruling in the food industry. As per Swinburn, et. al., 2015, working
with these chains can provide an individual with a great prestige as well as growth in the future.
On the other hand, it is also argued that the people think that it is not a great job to do and there
cannot be further growth as it is all about serving the customers a good food nothing else. But
working in the food industry is not like that as there are so many other opportunities to groom as
a professional while working with the food industry and secure the good future (Swinburn, et.
al., 2015).
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There are several numbers of routes in order to enter into the food industry as there are also the
academic paths through the courses of the engineering universities as well as the “Hands On”
approaches which are offered by the apprenticeship which provide the chances to earning while
learning. There are several other graduate programs run by the companies in order to develop the
individuals to work within such industry. There are many exciting career prospects in the
industry of food as well as drinks. The food industry is developing and growing and the
requirement of the employees within the organizations is also increasing. They are providing
great perks as well as the benefits to their employees and proper job security.
As per Chilo, et. al., 2016, There is lack of the job securities generally in the food restaurant
chains as people also do not take these jobs seriously but there can be made a great future by
being associated with a great brand of fast food such as KFC as well as McDonald’s. The food
industry is considered as the largest manufacturing sector and there is a requirement of the steady
pipeline of the employees. They must be taking forward the world-leading innovation in order to
support such food brands (Chilo, et. al., 2016).
As the food industry is growing, there is increasing the space and the vacancies for the new
talents in order to meet the increasing consumer demands of the people or consumers. According
to Nestle, 2016, a wide range of skills sets can be developed while working with the fast food
restaurant chains such as the problem-solving attitude, logical thinking, analytical approach,
communication skills as well as teamwork and leadership. These developed skills can help even
a customer services representative within a restaurant chain to the management position within
the restaurant chains. Such kind of growth has been seen so many times in the fast food and
restaurant chains. The perfect candidates having these skills groom themselves as successful
professionals in the future (Nestle, 2016).
According to Husain and Alnafaee, 2016, these restaurant chains like KFC can also be chosen as
the career preferences as there are several numbers of opportunities of growth are available in
such restaurant chains and hospitality services. The managers and assistant managers have also
given their views on working with the restaurant chains and it has been identified that they have
also grown to a great extent regarding their career opportunities as they are satisfied with their
jobs and life (Husain and Alnafaee, 2016).
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Several numbers of the employees are being hired and provided training in order to develop and
work with great concentration but due to their mentality of taking the job as temporary
employment, they leave the job and all the costs associated with the training goes in vain.
Working with a food restaurant chain can provide innovation, diversities as well as the creativity
at the time of the job. The job is this sector is quite varied as the work is not only limited to
serving the customers but there are also several numbers of job roles and responsibilities. The
schedule to work within the food industry is quite flexible. Every day for the people working
within this industry is not the same and they explore several new experiences every day.
There are several reasons for the youngsters not taking the job in the food industry seriously as
there may be several things that can cause to lack of retention within these food restaurants.
There may be situations where the employees are required to do the fights with the management
for the raises in salary.
The food industry is the fast-paced industry as it is developing with great speed with time. The
salaries and the perks provided by such industry are also good and they can be increased with
time like any other industry. There is good earning as well as a great opportunity to develop as a
professional along with great skills enhancement. The communication skills, problem-solving
skills, innovation, creativity as well as the analytical skills are being developed by the employees
while working within the food industry. It has been identified that most of the food restaurant
employees are happy as they are able to see several numbers of the diversities while working and
their job is also not at all boring. The food industry provides several numbers of opportunities
while working within them as a person working for part-time can also grow and be at the
management position.
According to Jacobs, et. al., 2016, the people working in the food restaurants develop themselves
to such extent that they can also switch themselves into any other industry with the developed
skills. There are several numbers of benefits to be provided to the employees working with great
brands like KFC. The benefits offering by KFC is just like other companies or industries such as
pension benefits, health and wellbeing schemes, family and friends perks as well as the holidays.
In the words of Mialon, et. al., 2017, the performance bonuses are provided to the employees
within the food industry as well as the voluntary benefit programs are also conducted from time
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to time. Selecting the food industry as the career option is a great opportunity for the individuals
as it is very helpful in grooming an individual an there has been provided with the great job
security to the employees working within this sector (Mialon, et. al., 2017).
The experience of the job in the food industry can be very rewarding and fruitful for an
individual as he will start learning several new things and develop several numbers of skills. The
temporary jobs are only for the part-time and for earning but when an individual is learning
while earning then it can be the best option to be chosen as the career opportunity. According to
Zindiye, 2016, The great leadership skills are also developed within the individuals due to
working within the food industry as they manage the people older than them and are also being
managed by the people of the lesser age. It is really great for young people as they can go to any
other sector also in the future if they want to switch their job profile. It has been analyzed that if
the jobs are well organized in this sector, they can create a great benefit for the employees. One
can learn to deal with the most annoying customers when they are dealing with the customers
while working within a restaurant. The increased skill set of the employees can be beneficial for
employees as well as the organizations and can create a maximum number of benefits for all of
them. The managers working within these industries have also given very positive reviews
regarding doing a job in the food industries. There is a requirement of taking the jobs seriously
from the career perspective in order to work within the food industry rather them considering as
temporary jobs (Zindiye, S., 2016).
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Research methodology
Research approach
Qualitative and quantitative both are considered in the research approach which supports to
determine the specification of the research in terms of data collection and analysis. A mixed
methodology is another concept which is used for the data collection and analysis. It contains the
features of both research approach. Qualitative research approach used to make general research
for a specific situation. Reviews and opinions are considered in this approach for providing the
outcomes of the research. Qualitative research approach provides general insights into the
specific situation and develops some theories based on the findings. Quantitative research
approach works on the numerical data which helps to implement the in-depth and specific
analysis of the situation. It helps to approve and disapprove the theories and assumptions
determined in the starting of the research. In this research mixed methodology will be used
which helps to consider both qualitative and quantitative data in the research.
Data collection methods
Questionnaires would be open-ended for us to get as much information as we can out of the
person taking the questionnaire. There would be questions for employees to help understand their
mindset. Interviews would also be conducted with managers, regional managers, franchisee etc.
This would be very valuable information as these are the people actively working for KFC and
have been for quite some time. They would be able to tell us first hand, what it is like to work for
one of the largest fast food chains in the world. This research would be conducted between 5
different KFC branches in Melbourne.
Data sampling
The sample size would be between 60 and 70 people. Other than restaurants, there would be 2
people from the KFC head office that would be part of the interviews. The sixth week of the
research would start with surveys. General Managers at each branch would request staff
members to take surveys. These surveys would include questions relating to the topic of this
research. Surveys would be completed and handed in by the end of the week. These surveys
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would not be named to maintain anonymity. These surveys would help us understand the general
mindset of employees. In the second week, I would interview people on the managerial level.
This would include interviewing assistant managers, restaurant managers, area managers and
franchisees. These interviews would aim to find personal experiences regarding working at KFC
at different levels of management. I would also interview 2 people from the KFC head office to
find out how is it working at the corporate side of the fast-food chain. After we can the
perspective of employees and managers, the next step would be a group discussion. These group
discussions would be done individually at each restaurant. This would be an interactive session
between the managers and crew. The discussion would be based around the topic of the survey.
For example Managers could outline the benefits of working at KFC in the long term. Crew
members could tell what they want from the job or what they want to do in the future. This
discussion would help employees understand the different fields they could choose within the
company if they work at KFC in the long term. Such as restaurant managers, owning a franchise,
working on the marketing side. This would be followed by a follow-up survey taken by
employees, individually at each restaurant. Just like the first survey, this would also be unnamed
to maintain anonymity. The purpose of this survey would be to determine whether the answers in
the surveys have changed now that the employees are aware of the potential opportunities
available within the company.
Data analysis
It is required to use the appropriate data analysis methods according to the research approach. In
this research, thematic and graphical analysis methods will be used for the interpretation.
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Data Collection
Questionnaire
1. Which industry is most preferable for part-time working within Australia?
a. Fashion industry
b. Food and drinks industry
c. Financial sector
d. Construction industry
e. Other
2. In your opinion, working in Australian food and drinks industry is most suitable for?
a. Part-time employment
b. Full-time employment
c. Not suitable
3. Working in food companies such as KFC is most appropriate for the people of age?
a. 18-25 years
b. 26-35 years
c. 36-42 years
d. 42 years and above
4. What do you think the rationale for opting employment within the company KFC in
Australia?
a. The exciting and interesting working environment
b. Opportunities for learning new skills
c. Good prospects for career
d. None of the above
5. Is the company KFC safe and suitable for female employees?
a. Yes
b. No
6. As per your experience, what are the average working hours in the food and drinks
industry?
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