“Welcome,” says Vidya, from behind the counter of the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) outlet at QRS Mall, M.G. Road. Placing a hand over her heart, she bows slightly as she greets you with a beaming face. Pleasantly surprised, you respond in kind. She proceeds to take the order with amazing efficiency with the aid of a pictorial menu chart. Vidya reconfirms the order and about a minute later we’re ready to tuck into the restaurant’s signature crispy fried chicken. A cheerful thank you and she is off to the next customer.
Vidya is one of the 24 speech and hearing impaired people, who work at this outlet. They, in fact, make up more than half of the restaurant’s 46-strong work force; a feat that perhaps no other restaurant in the city or in Kerala, for that matter, can claim! “They were employed as part of brand owner Yum! Restaurants India’s nationwide corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative to promote equal opportunity in the workspace," says Mohammad Yasir, operations manager, Kerala.
The initiative began in a franchisee outlet in Kolkata in January 2008 and was gradually expanded to other restaurants across the country. “Currently, there are 21 such outlets in India [there are more than 260 KFCs in total, of which 12 are in Kerala]. The outlet at M.G. Road is the first and thus far the only KFC in Kerala where the initiative is in place. Incidentally, this outlet, which was started in June 2012 is among the 10 top performing KFCs in the country," he adds.
“Each trainee has to go through a 45-day-long intensive training course – 15 days more than regular recruits. During the training period they are brought up to date on all aspects of the job, from taking orders and cleaning to working in the kitchen,” says Suhas Vijay, who trains, facilitates and guides the new recruits. He’s interpreting for the recruits today.
But before they were inducted into the workforce, a few of the staff members, particularly their immediate managers were given lessons in sign language. “This not only helped remove any prejudices people may have had regarding employing people with disabilities but also helped ease the way forward for them,” adds Suhas.
The recruits themselves seem to be thriving in the busy environment. “We are very happy here. The work culture in the restaurant is very rewarding. I have faced no difficulty at all. In case I need help I have other staff members and the manager close at hand,” says Shibu P., a 21-year-old native of Kollam, who studied at the CSI Vocational High School for the Deaf, Valakom. This is his first job. He says the recruits themselves have come up with easy solutions to complicated words. “For example, instead of signing Zinger burger in full, we just sign the letter Z. Similarly, 7-Up is spelt with just a seven. The specially-created pictorial menu board also helps in the process of taking orders. If in case customers are in a hurry or have some query that we cannot help them with, the manager or other staff members are always at hand to help out,” he says.
Shambu, also 21, works in the kitchen, among the “toughest of jobs in the restaurant,” as it involves back to back cooking. “The buzzer for fried chicken goes off in exactly eight and a half minutes. I am able to judge when it's cooked because the management has installed a light that goes off when the buzzer sounds,” he explains. Shambu is one of the initiative's shining stars, a mentor plus friend-philosopher-guide to all the staff, particularly the disabled employees. “He’s very strict about following rules. He makes sure that no one enters the kitchen without the hairnet on!” says Suhas.
Quite a few of the disabled employees such as Vidya, who is a mother too, and another employee, Vineeth, who they say is a great dancer, have already earned ‘buddy badges’ – meaning they now have the certification to train other recruits, disabled or otherwise. “The disabled employees are a determined lot. The customers seem to love them too. I envisage these employees going places. Who knows one day one of them may even become the restaurant’s general manager,” says Yasir.
By 2015 Yum! hopes to have 50 stores across the country that employ people with disabilities. "The target is 1,000 employees and one restaurant general manager,” says Yasir.
Sound Choice
For the initiative, KFC has tied up with Vocational Rehabilitation Centre for Handicapped, Nalanchira, a central government organisation involved in finding employment opportunities for the disabled. They started the initiative in September 2013 with 17 youngsters, having different levels of disability. Most of these recruits have between zero and 40 per cent disability. A few of them can hear a little with the help of hearing aids and most of them can lip read Malayalam quite well.
