SHANGHAI, USA – Yum China Holdings, Inc. announced that the Top Employers Institute has certified the Company as a Top Employer China for the fourth consecutive year, with Yum China the only restaurant company named among the top 20 employers. In 2021, as the challenges of COVID-19 continued, Yum China adhered firmly to its “People First” philosophy, further upgrading employee benefits and striving to support sustainable career development for over 400,000 employees.
“We are proud to be named as a Top Employer China for the fourth consecutive year, a recognition of our continuous efforts to create an industry leading sustainable workplace,” said Joey Wat, CEO of Yum China. “We are very grateful to our employees for the diligence and resilience they have shown in their day-to-day work. We aim to build a workplace where employees can thrive, while protecting them and supporting their careers in times of uncertainty.”
Despite the challenges brought by the resurgences of COVID-19 outbreaks in 2021, the company continued to place top priority on the health and safety of employees and further upgraded employee benefits. This included upgrading medical insurance coverage for its approximately 10,000 Restaurant General Managers (“RGMs”) and upgrading its “Family Care Fund” plan for the restaurant management team (RMT) and restaurant service team leaders, helping eligible employees and their families mitigate the financial risks brought by critical illness. To further protect the health and safety of employees and customers, Yum China encourages and rewards employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19. As of the end of December 2021, over 90% of all Yum China employees were fully vaccinated.
“People is one of the three pillars of Yum China’s sustainability strategy. The Company is committed to accelerating employee growth guided by our principle of Fair, Care and Pride,” said Aiken Yuen, Chief People Officer of Yum China. “This includes building employability, creating a diverse and inclusive working environment, providing competitive benefits, empowering employees through digitalization and prioritizing occupational health and safety. We believe that this is essential for companies and employees to jointly achieve long-term success.”
As the leading restaurant company in China, Yum China serves hundreds of millions of customers each year. As of the end of September 2021, Yum China had 11,415 restaurants and over 400,000 employees in over 1,600 cities across the country. In recent years, Yum China recruits about 10,000 fresh graduates a year as restaurant management trainees. Through a comprehensive and systematic training system, a new restaurant management trainee may become a restaurant manager in as short as 18 months.
Promoting gender equality and supporting people with disabilities are key parts of Yum China’s on-going efforts to foster a professional, inclusive, and non-discriminatory working environment for employees. In 2021, Yum China was named to the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI) for the third consecutive year, the only company from Mainland China to be included. Meanwhile, Yum China’s “Angel Restaurants” model provides gainful employment opportunities for people with disabilities. In 2021, Yum China further expanded its YUMC College program, to offer continuous education opportunities to employees with disabilities.
“Reflecting on the demanding year that has, like the year before it, impacted organizations across the world, Yum China has continued to show that it prioritizes maintaining excellent people practices in the workplace. They continue to meet the challenges of the changing world of work while working tirelessly to make a positive impact on the lives of their workforce,” said David Plink, CEO of Top Employers Institute.
The Top Employers Institute program certifies organizations based on the participation and results of their HR Best Practices Survey. The survey covers six HR domains consisting of 20 topics including People Strategy, Work Environment, Talent Acquisition, Learning, Well-being and Diversity & Inclusion and more.
