For Real Ones - Why KFC's EVP is its 'secret recipe' for employee engagement

KFC’s fried chicken, made with the Colonel’s signature secret recipe of 11 herbs & spices, is the definition of iconic. We don’t even need to say the words, because you know them already. It’s ______ ______’ ___.

However, while we’re all familiar with the restaurant chain’s legendary brand slogan and customer value proposition (CVP), KFC’s employee value proposition (EVP) is less well known – but equally as compelling.

Sam Westwood, People Experience Director, KFC UK&I, tells HR Grapevine that ‘For Real Ones’ – KFC’s EVP – isn’t a mere “branding exercise,” and is instead a “cultural commitment” that empowers staff to be their authentic selves, take pride in their potential careers, and make meaningful community connections.

In an exclusive interview with HR Grapevine, Westwood lifts the lid on KFC’s remarkable investment in bringing its EVP to life, from the ‘Hatch’ youth employability programme to the ‘Colonel’s Cook Off’ recognition programme – and how it has helped KFC become a place where people genuinely love to work.

What is KFC’s employer value proposition?

The EVP, which we call ‘For Real Ones,’ is a reflection of who we are as an employer. It's built around the idea of being unapologetically ourselves, bold, authentic and energetic.. Because if people can show up and be themselves, that’s where the real magic happens. People feel safe and can perform at their best. We have a phrase we use a lot: ‘Heart-led and high-performing.’

If you can pour your heart and yourself into what you do, high performance comes as a result. We created our EVP to better connect with the evolving expectations of our workforce, especially being one of Britain's biggest youth employers, because we know the expectations of Gen Z and younger generations are constantly shifting. They value transparency, purpose, and personal growth, so we wanted to make sure we resonated that within our EVP and our teams.

Real Ones has three key pillars: Authenticity, Potential, and Community. We want people to be able to build real careers with us and grow through their experiences here. And community is both within the business, developing connections and a family feel, and beyond the business, being a good neighbour in the communities in which we operate. It’s not just a branding exercise. It really is a cultural commitment to the way we build our teams and design our people programmes.

On ‘Potential,’ how do you invest in upskilling and career development?

KFC is one of Britain's biggest youth employers. 65% of our team members are under the age of 25, and we recognise that we’re lots of people's first jobs. It’s a commitment we take seriously. We have various programmes oriented toward spotting potential in everyone who comes through the door and developing it. How can we support them and mould them, helping them realise that whether they joined us for a summer job or Christmas job, or if they want to build a career with us, the opportunities are there.

Hatch is our youth employability programme aimed towards young people who are not in education, employment or training. Through the programme, originally developed in partnership with UK Youth, we’ve supported more than 1,000 young people into employment. It offers pre-employment training, things like CV workshops and interview masterclasses. Then we offer people a four-week paid work experience placement with us and a guaranteed interview at the end of it.  It helps us give back to the communities we’re operating in, and it’s a win-win as we’re able to hire great talent through that process.