A ‘clucking’ good customer experience starts with an ‘ama-zinger’ team member experience
Bringing moments to life to help restaurant managers understand their role in creating great employee experiences
CLIENT:
KFC SOPAC People and Culture team
THE CHALLENGE
As part of KFC’s annual Restaurant General Manager (RGM) Conference, KFC’s People and Culture (P&C) team wanted a different take on the classic trade show stand. They were looking for an engaging experience that could help restaurant managers walk in the shoes of young people applying for and starting their first jobs at KFC, and then reflect and share ideas on what they can do to make a difference in the future. To do this, the team needed to tell a compelling story that helped participants understand why it's important to get team member onboarding right, and make sure new starters feel supported and have a positive introduction to the workplace.
KFC’s P&Cs team needed support to bring this activation space to life, from concepting the experience, developing content through to facilitation on the day. Together, we created an interactive journey for conference participants, filled with activities and insightful materials that highlighted the moments that matter in the new starters' experience.
OUR APPROACH
Doing with, not to
Alongside the P&C team, we ran research involving restaurant team members and managers to build an understanding of the onboarding experience that would be emulated in the interactive space. This involved communicating the highs and lows of the experience from the perspective of the new starter, inviting managers to walk in their shoes as they learn and share through facilitated discussions and activities.
To achieve this, we:
Understood the new starter experience by engaging in one-on-one interviews and surveys to gain a deep understanding of what truly matters to them and what support they need in crucial moments. This formed the foundation of the narrative that was brought to life in the physical space.
Simulated the onboarding experience for participants by bringing the journey and moments that matter to life throughout the activation space. We went beyond simply conveying the story and instead actively involved the managers to partake in activities that simulated the challenges of what the team member goes through. For example, we put them in the shoes of candidates, asking them to sit down for a (part of a) job interview or complete day one online training. We also provided a platform for managers to be heard and contribute to the solution with their inputs and perspectives.
“Pivoting with our needs the STCK team brought a whole lot of creativity to help us engage people differently, getting our people to pragmatically apply empathy in how they think about their new team members.”
OUTCOMES
Crafting a future that sticks
With our help, the P&C team was able to shake things up at the RGM conference, switching up the format to create an engaging experience that used a journey-led approach to talking about the workforce and championed a focus on making positive change.
With nearly 300 managers engaged through the space on the day, the team was able to deliver important messaging to the frontlines in an engaging way. What we learnt was participants showed up with genuine curiosity and eagerness to dive into discussing the experience with facilitators and helped the team gather even more insights and ideas on how they can improve recruitment and the first 90 days.
KFC will continue to build on the momentum and enthusiasm generated by this initiative as they strive to enhance the onboarding experience and equip managers with the necessary tools to support it.
