Special prizes motivate Pizza Hut employees
These are some of the prizes given to well-performing employees at Pizza Hut Korea.
By Chung Hyun-chae
Pizza Hut Korea Managing Director Lee Seung-il reckoned that the most crucial factor that determines a company’s success is a good corporate culture.
“The reason I came to Pizza Hut Korea was also because of its culture,” Lee said, recalling the moment he received the proposal from a headhunter.
“At first, I was not willing to take the chance because I was satisfied with my work at another company at the time, but after I visited Pizza Hut’s main office in Texas and met the people there, I decided to devote myself to this company. I was completely mesmerized by its culture,” he said.
A good company culture, he said, means an environment where employees work happily.
Most notable is Pizza Hut’s encouraging culture, created by David Novak, chairman and CEO of Yum Brands, operator of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and WingStreet, and the world’s largest fast food restaurant company in terms of number of stores.
“Pizza Hut is mainly operated by store or restaurant owners, not by the head office. And the majority of people working at the stores are part-timers. This is why Pizza Hut thinks of the part-timers first and tries to create a culture to encourage them,” Lee said.
Pizza Hut calls part-timers “teammates.” It encourages and honors teammates by awarding them prizes that symbolize something that’s important to the managing director. Lee presents a rugby ball to employees who achieved good results from a challenge. “A rugby ball bounces off the ground into multiple directions. My wish is that employees behave unexpectedly like this rugby ball. Innovative thinking comes from facing a challenge,” Lee said.
Besides the rugby ball, Pizza Hut gives teammates other meaningful prizes, including a mouth-shaped toy with feet called “Walk the Talk,” created by Novak. Lee himself has received the “Walk the Talk” from the CEO and feels honored.
Pizza Hut believes complimenting teammates by giving them special prizes makes their jobs worthwhile.
“I know that teammates, mostly in their teens, first come to Pizza Hut in order to earn pocket money. As you know, the hourly rate is low. The money is not enough to motivate them to work happily and feel that it’s worthwhile. There should be something more than money. This is the company culture,” Lee explained.
To emphasize that each restaurant or store is important, Lee has been working with store employees since he was appointed as the managing director.
Lee regularly works at the restaurants and call centers, even wearing the same uniform as the employees’.
“I know that I cannot be of a great assistance even though I wash the dishes and deliver pizzas. What I want to tell the employees by doing this is that the restaurant or store is the most important place, with the head office simply supporting them,” Lee said, adding that he believes there is no better way than working at stores himself to learn what employees and customers want and need.