KFC restaurants in Latvia expected to provide more than 250 new jobs
A new-concept “Kentucky Fried Chicken” (KFC) restaurant has just opened at the “Akropole” shopping and entertainment centre. With the opening of the second branch of the international restaurant chain and the rapid expansion of the popular global brand in the Latvian market, the franchise’s new owners, the Estonian company “Apollo Group”, are actively seeking employees, who are carefully selected and trained in accordance with globally developed customer-service standards. At present, KFC provides jobs for approximately 130 employees in the Baltic states, but this number is planned to increase to as many as 800 within the next three years by investing in training programmes and tripling the number of restaurants.
With the introduction of the new concept, KFC is undergoing not only visual changes—the restaurants are designed in a modern style and light colours, embodying the characteristic values of a classic American diner—but is also implementing a carefully developed, world-class employee training programme. This enables the company to ensure consistently excellent service quality and offer KFC’s original recipes and the flavour combinations characteristic of the brand. As part of the programme, restaurant employees are sent abroad for paid training, where, over several months, they attend both theoretical and practical classes in Latvian and English. During this time, employees learn the restaurant’s global operating standards and take various tests related to customer service, which help determine their suitability for the selected position.
Employees at every level must complete the training programmes for the levels below them in order to pass the examinations successfully; moreover, theoretical knowledge must also be learned and demonstrated in practice. The company’s team is trained by top-class professionals from YUM Brands, the franchise partner of “Apollo Group”, and importantly, during the fully paid training trip, prospective employees also have their travel and accommodation expenses covered. On a daily basis, the KFC team also has access to an online learning platform, where they can refresh their existing knowledge and take various tests and mandatory examinations. It is planned that a new training centre will also be opened here in the Baltic region in the near future.
“Although the team at the Riga restaurants is currently fully staffed, “Apollo Group” is always open to attracting new, motivated employees, as at least 20 more KFC restaurants are planned to open in the Baltic states in the coming years. Each restaurant requires a restaurant manager, assistants, shift supervisors and front-of-house staff. We welcome both people who want to work part-time, for example while combining work with their studies, and industry professionals who want to build their careers in an international company. KFC is looking for people who are eager to learn and have the potential to grow, so we focus not on quantity or previous experience, but on quality and motivation,” says Marius Stonkus, KFC’s head in the Baltic states.
Because “Apollo Group” is part of the global YUM Brands corporation, the company also provides its employees with various additional bonuses and motivates the team to improve productivity through a very simple system: first, all employees clearly know what they need to achieve in order to advance their careers; and second, employees’ achievements are always praised and rewarded. “Apollo Group” also regularly organises team competitions and various team-building events. In addition, the company highly values customer feedback, which is why a feedback form is available on the KFC website; it helps the restaurant chain monitor and improve the quality of the services provided on a daily basis.
