Colonel Sanders’ famous recipe may be locked in a Kentucky safe, but when it comes to recruitment, communication is the key, according to KFC’s HR manager for UK and Ireland.

Speaking about how KFC had moved from a paper-based recruitment system to an online process, Sarah Beauerle told the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) conference in Manchester that lack of communication with candidates “had come up time and time again”.

“Candidates weren’t getting enough communication from KFC,” she said.

Beauerle said that at one stage in the transformation process that began in 2007, candidates only received one email, telling them their application had been received. 

However, following research into the candidate experience, Beauerle said candidates can now receive four or five emails keeping them updated. “We have had a lot of really good feedback that candidates enjoy knowing where they are in the process,” said Beauerle.

An email is now sent to candidates:

• as soon as they apply

• within seven days, telling them where they are in the process

• after seven days if a restaurant manager hasn’t called the candidate in for an interview, telling them their application is now being shared with other branches

• if there are no vacancies

KFC now receives 350,000 applications a year for its 800 UK restaurants.