Retaining Top Talent: A Look at YUM! Restaurants International

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There was a time when it was an employee’s market. Only a few years ago, there were more jobs to go around. Then the recession hit. People were laid off, and positions were eliminated. Suddenly there were too many job candidates for a lot less jobs.

Surprisingly, this has not made it any easier to recruit top talent, especially in the legal industry. Although there are more job candidates in the pool, quality candidates are still hard to find. And, now that the economy is showing signs of recovery, employee retention has become an issue.



Many employees are turning to external recruiters to fill their open positions. However, this is not necessarily the best solution. “Recruiters have no idea what your business is like,” said Dr Isabel Hacker, Chief Legal Officer Europe FBU, YUM! Restaurants International. YUM! Restaurants, according to their website, “is the world’s largest restaurant company in terms of system restaurants.” The company’s brands include KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut.

“It’s very rare to find good recruiters because they need to have an understanding of the business,” Hacker said.

Read the Q&A with Isabel Hacker of Yum! here.

Hacker believes that while some job candidates look good on paper, it does not mean they will be a good fit for the job. The recruiter must be familiar with the business and know what the company is looking for. She recommends finding a recruiter that works best with the business and using that recruiter over and over again. “In my experience the best people are from recruiters we know,” she said.

Retaining Key Talent

With the economy improving and the job market opening up, many employees are looking to change companies. So what’s the best way to retain top talent? “I think that if you treat people well, my experience is they are loyal,” Hacker said.

Another factor to consider is compensation. “People depend on their salary,” Hacker said. According to her, it’s important to be fair with salary, starting from the hire date. Companies have to start with the right bench marking when they hire people, so that employees are treated fairly.

Measuring Performance of the Legal Team

The legal community is not immune to the issue of retention. In order to retain top talent in her legal team, Hacker remains focused on her performance appraisals. “I want to make sure [my legal team is] getting stimulated and not bored, and also see how much potential there is,” Hacker said.

Hacker also notes the importance of having the employees evaluate each other and see where their peers can improve.

Outsourcing Legal Work to External Firms vs. the Benefits of Internal In-house Counsel

A staffing problem companies face that is specific to the legal community is using internal legal counsel or outsourcing the legal work. When it comes to working with an external legal firm, Hacker is leery. “The law firms are great, but they don’t sufficiently know your business, she said. “For complicated things, local expertise is required.”

While it might sometimes be necessary to look outward for legal counsel, many legal departments will not move to outsource their legal work. “We will always have to go through lawyers.” Hacker said. “But you have to have a very thorough understanding of my business. Everyone in my team has to spend time in the restaurants to get an understanding of what is going on. An external counsel will never get that.”

Contributor:   Jessica Livingston

Jessica Livingston is the managing editor for the B2B company e-BIM, which includes the sites: www.humanresourcesiq.com, www.sixsigmaiq.com, www.customermanagementiq.com, www.defenceiq.com, www.idga.org and www.oilandgasiq.com.

Previously, Livingston worked at Weekly Reader, a division of Reader's Digest. During her tenure there, she worked as the editor for Know Your World Extra, a pop-culture magazine for remedial middle and high school students.

Livingston also writes the blog for the Human Resources IQ. Read it here at http:blogs.e-bim.com/.  

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