I believe visually impaired can also be good receptionists and hearing impaired
should be given more opportunities in cooking and preparing items here.
Regards
"If you believe that there is a God, a God that made your
body, and yet you think that you can do anything with
that body that's dirty, then the fault lies with the manufacturer."
--Lenny Bruce
(Rajesh Asudani)
Assistant General Manager,
Reserve Bank of India
Nagpur
09420397185
O: 0712 2806676
Res: 0712 2591349
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Kotian, H P
Sent: Friday, July 02, 2010 9:29 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [AI] FW: Work with KFC captured in Business Standard
From: Anubhuti Mittal [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: 02 July 2010 07:18
Subject: Work with KFC captured in Business Standard
http://wap.business-standard.com/storypage.php?id=0&autono=400018
Letting actions speak
Manisha Pande/Business Standard/New Delhi - Jul 02,2010 00:20 AM
Yum! Restaurants as part of its CSR initiative has six KFC stores across the
country that hire people with hearing -and-speech impairment.
At first instance, the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) outlet at Vasant Kunj Fun
Mall in New Delhi is like any other of the fast food chain's outlets, with the
conspicuous image of Colonel Sanders welcoming you. But when you head to the
counter to place the order, you might be startled by the attendant greeting you
in sign language and pointing towards a badge pinned to his shirt, which reads
"point out your order.&"
The boy will then present you with a copy of the menu card to do so. Once you
have placed your order, he confirms it by pointing at the menu card again and
signs at you to look at the billing machine's screen for the cost of your meal.
Welcome to KFC's specially-abled store.
As part of its CSR initiative in India, Yum! Restaurants had opened the first
such KFC outlet in Kolkata in 2008. The company now has six specially-abled
stores ; three in Kolkata and one each in New Delhi, Hyderabad and Chennai,
where hearing- and speech-impaired people account for about more than 50 per
cent of the total staff.
The world's largest fast food company plans to take that number to 70 per cent
across the six stores, along with opening a seventh one in Bangalore.
"While we wanted to employ people with hearing and speech disabilities, we also
wanted to get them to mainstream and give them a chance at everything, from
cooking in the kitchen to taking orders,&" says Binoo Wadhwa, director, HR,
Yum! Restaurants India.
Yum! collaborated with Anubhuti HR Consultants ; which works at finding
employment for the specially-abled group, among others ; for hiring and
assisting the training period for the entire staff.
"During the training period we had a translator who explained everything that
was being taught in sign language simultaneously. We also organised sign
language classes for the managers and the rest of the staff to ensure effective
in-house communication,&" says Anubhuti M Bhattacharya, founder of Anubhuti HR
Consultants.
The staff also carries a notepad and pen at all times to communicate with one
another. Small changes like adding a red blinker near the counter help, too.
"There has to be constant communication between the cash counter, supply base
(where the burgers and other meals are prepared) and the kitchen. For instance,
if there is an order for a burger with extra cheese, ordinarily, the person at
the cash counter can shout out the order. Since that's not a possibility in
this case, we have installed a red bulb, which can be switched on every time
there is a need for communication,&" explains Seshagiri Rao, resident general
manager (RGM) of the KFC outlet in Hyderabad, where 70 per cent of the staff is
specially abled.
Such stores maybe a lot quieter, but definitely not less efficient. "The
attention level of the differently-abled is phenomenal and they don't give up
challenges easily. We have had no attrition. And they smile a lot more,&" says
Deepak Ravindran, RGM at Delhi's KFC outlet.
The management, though, makes it a point to always have someone overlooking the
operations at the counter so that everything goes smoothly. Managers across all
stores however claim that there has never been a complaint from any of the
customers.
"It's really a case of visual versus verbal,&" explains Wadhwa. Going to a
specially-abled store is just the same as eating at a KFC restaurant in a
foreign country where you might not know the language, she adds.
While other chains like Cafe Coffee Day too hire specially-abled staff as part
of their CSR initiatives, most companies do not know how to go about hiring
people with handicaps.
"We need to understand that there are a set of criteria that suit a particular
job profile which need to be fulfilled, even by a disabled person. For example,
someone working at KFC should be okay with handling non-vegetarian food,
standing for long hours and needs to have the general aptitude to be in the
hospitality business. So, even for a disabled person the mangement must follow
a rigorous selection procedure and not just hire anyone because they are
disabled,&" explains Bhattacharya.
Even though companies show willingness to hire specially-abled people, there
are still pre-conceived notions that have to be battled. "People associate any
kind of disability with a learning disorder. Companies often conclude that
these people cannot operate computers and will be slow learners,&" says
Bhattacharya.
She argues that people with disabilities, if trained properly ,are as good as
anyone else and can be an asset to the organisation. "Companies need not feel
they are being charitable by employing the specially-abled,&" says Bhattacharya.
--
Regards
Anubhuti
+91-9811607754
www.anubhuti.biz<http://www.anubhuti.biz>
--
Regards
Anubhuti
+91-9811607754
www.anubhuti.biz<http://www.anubhuti.biz>
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