Transcom Foods helping youths build career

Transcom Foods not only sells delicious food items through its KFC and Pizza Hut outlets but also nurtures workforce in a way so they can have successful careers inside or outside the company or become entrepreneurs, a senior official of the company said.

“The company provides employees with an environment and culture so they can grow and unleash their potential,” said Amit Dev Thapa, chief operating officer of the company, at a programme at Dhanmondi KFC in Dhaka.

The event was organised to show a group of young employees of the company how they can climb the career ladder within Transcom Foods.

“We are very customer-centric. They are at the heart of all of our efforts, and we continuously motivate ourselves and our people in that direction,” said Akku Chowdhury, managing director of the company.

A number of outlet managers who started their career as dishwasher or frontline workers at either KFC or Pizza Hut shared their experiences at the programme.

One of them is Jahangir Alam. He said he had little idea about the fast-growing city's culture and lifestyles when he came to Dhaka from his village home. Alam struggled initially to cope with the new environment.

“Pizza Hut has taught me how to improve personal etiquette, treat others with respect and make guests happy through service,” said Alam, who now manages six Pizza Hut outlets.

Another successful employee-turned-manager is Sheikh Zahir Ahmad. He joined KFC as a team member in 2007. Now he is operations manager of KFC.

“The company provides a clear-cut career path when someone joins,” he said.

Thapa said the customers may come to the restaurants after a rough day. “We have to welcome him through a smile and serve him with smile. This simple act can even finish his worries.”

Transcom Foods spends 40 percent of its annual revenues in ensuring compliance, according to Akku Chowdhury.

He said the company's employees put utmost importance on delivering high quality food produced in the best possible hygienic and compliant environment and served in a manner that gives families a thoroughly satisfying eating experience—whether it is in Sylhet or Cox's Bazar outlet.

The first Pizza Hut outlet was opened in 2003 and the first KFC outlet in 2006.

Transcom Foods is the franchisee of Yum! Restaurants International.

Owned by Transcom Group, the company now operates 20 KFC outlets and 16 Pizza Hut outlets, employing 1,300 people. The company plans to open 100 outlets across the country by 2020.

The company's annual turnover was more than Tk 130 crore last year and it paid Tk 22 crore in import duties, VAT, supplementary duties and income taxes.

Since its inception, Transcom Foods have so far provided jobs to 10,000 young people. Many of them have established themselves in public and private jobs, according to Kazi Md Zafrullah, deputy general manager for accounts and finance at the company.

The company's managing director said it is in the best interest of the government and the country to allow companies to create jobs for youth who make up 70 percent of the population.

“We are helping the nation by way of nurturing the students, training them and helping them become successful entrepreneurs,” he said, adding that an outlet manager manages a business worth Tk 4 crore.

Zafrullah said the 10 percent supplementary duty imposed in the new budget could dent the growth of the restaurant business. He said the government should encourage the sector instead of denting its growth.

The customers would have to pay 26.5 percent taxes in total mainly because of the existing 15 percent VAT and the new 10 percent supplementary duty, he said.