KFC owner Yum! launches data skills academy in the UK

KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell owner Yum! Brands is launching an in-house data academy in the UK as part of plans to boost the data literacy of its workforce and strengthen the restaurant business’ digital and analytical strategy.

The company, which has over 51,000 restaurants in more than 150 countries and territories, has signed a partnership with technology education company Decoded to launch the academy. Its clients include Unilever, HSBC, Nike, Burberry, Citi and Mastercard; it also runs the Marks & Spencer data academy which was launched in 2018.

Initially working with KFC, staff will be given the opportunity to gain qualifications in data analytics, learning data science techniques such as machine learning, data visualisation and programming in Python.

There are no details about how the scheme will run, how many staff it expects to upskill or whether they will be joined on courses by the senior management team, although Yum! Brands claims the move recognises the importance of data skills for its workforce and future success.

KFC UK & Ireland commercial director James Whitehorn said: “Data-led decision making is at the core of how we operate at KFC, so we are delighted to partner with Decoded to offer our people the opportunity to participate in the data academy.

“As we strengthen our digital and analytical efforts, we are excited to invest in our people, ensuring we cultivate organisational wide data capability that continues to fuel our growth.”

Decoded London managing director Nicky Kirshen added: “Data skills are some of the most in-demand skills in the workplace today. Forward-thinking companies like Yum! Brands are offering their people the opportunity to up-skill into the jobs of the future in the workplace. The future of food will be fuelled by data-driven innovation.”

Earlier this year, KFC handed its CRM and customer loyalty account for the UK and Ireland to Rapp, succeeding Iris, which had handled the business for the past four years but declined to repitch.

Rapp will now runs all activity for KFC’s delivery and click-and-collect business, as well as the brand’s loyalty scheme, The Colonel’s Club, launched in the UK in 2015 and now with an estimated 2 million members.

The UK remains KFC’s largest market in Western Europe, also beating Latin America, Canada, India and Thailand. The brand’s UK sales were up 16% during the third quarter of 2020 and 14% in the fourth quarter, which made it the best performing territory in the Yum! global portfolio.

In August, sister brand Pizza Hut boosted online personalisation across its website by implementing a digital analytics platform from Contentsquare. Extrapolating the changes already introduced, Pizza Hut anticipates an annualised sales uplift of nearly £6m from its adoption of the platform. It also has a loyalty scheme, dubbed Hut Rewards.

Meanwhile, Taco Bell is aiming to appoint its first UK creative agency by the end of this month; it currently has around 40 outlets in Britain but is looking at further expansion.