The challenge
Yum! is a Fortune 500 corporation, operating the brands Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut worldwide. It is one of the world’s largest quick service restaurant companies, with more than 45,000 restaurants in over 135 countries.
Yum! has a proud culture of caring for the wellbeing of its people and a deep commitment to investing in its future leaders. Bridge was invited to partner Yum! in creating a developmental journey that would energise Yum!’s high-potential talent and inspire a new generation of leaders to make a positive impact where they work, live and play.
Our solution
Based on Yum!’s requirements, we created a bespoke global programme that would develop skills such as personal resourcefulness, winning hearts and minds, commercial savvy, building high performing teams and coping with change.
We designed a six month development journey that included two workshops which were complemented by a number of one-to-one coaching sessions for every participant to help embed their learning. The programme revolved around Bridge’s ‘Me/Us/It’ philosophy: the most successful leaders are those who are able to balance looking after their own wellbeing (me), inspire and take people with them (us) and be commercially savvy in growing their business (it).
In the first workshop we immersed the group in practices and tools designed to enhance their emotional intelligence. One participant commented that it was “immensely rewarding to have the ability to take a step back from work and get asked very probing questions about myself and my behaviours as a leader. These questions and all this experience have helped me identify the leader I want to be and has given me ways to get there.”
The workshop culminated in a powerful piece of experiential learning that took participants out of their comfort zone and had them working with a group of people from the local community to coach and inspire them towards their own development. All the learnings from the workshop became immediately applicable and the participants had the opportunity to practise and hone their skills.
The second workshop took place several months later in order for participants to have time to embed and practise what they had learnt. The participants were supported by one-to-one coaching sessions between workshops as an additional resource to guide them on their journey and in their daily practice.
The second workshop involved a custom-designed business simulation in which participants worked in teams to run a Yum! business, whilst contending with a number of challenges and curveballs that were thrown their way. The curveballs and challenges were based on real-life situations and were brought even more to life with the involvement of professional business role-players. Bridge’s facilitators were on hand throughout the workshop to observe, support and provide detailed constructive feedback. This was a chance for the group to test themselves, experiment with different practices and be vulnerable while in a safe environment.
What was the impact?
The impact the programme has had on participants and on the business has been phenomenal. Ed Evans, HR Director at KFC UK & Ireland comments: “I can honestly say it has been one of the biggest success stories of our organisation.” He adds that it has given him “an understanding of the different skills needed to deliver our business successfully” and goes on to say that “perhaps the best impact it has had, both personally and for others, has been the shared sense of community it has fostered with colleagues that I can now rely on for advice and support at any time.”
Similarly, Neil Piper, Chief People Officer at KFC UK & Ireland, comments “we couldn’t be happier with Leadership Accel and the impact it is having on our teams and business.”
The programme is now in its sixth year. It has been rolled out across the globe and has received external recognition, winning both the Brandon Hall Excellence In Learning Silver award and Bronze at the CLO awards.
