Yum-brand subsidiary Pizza Hut, a pizza chain with 18,000 restaurant in 100 countries, has announced plans to hire 40,000 people across the US by the end of 2021. The company does this in the face of fierce competition for workers in the food and beverage industry.

Restaurants around the globe are struggling to hire, with many forced to either temporarily or even permanently shut their doors due to lack of staff. To address this issue, many restaurant chains have taken some steps to address some of the concerns their workers and - importantly - potential job candidates have expressed. Primarily by raising wages. For example, in May of this year Chipotle announced a $15 average hourly wage across its organization, bringing the starting wage range in the company to $11-$18 per hour. McDonald's has announced it will raise all wages at its restaurants by 10% over the coming months, and multiple chains are offering referral bonuses. Health and childcare benefits, however - two of the most oft-cited needs by restaurant workers - remain largely off the table, and chains continue to struggle to hire as a result.

Pizza Hut seems to be taking a slightly different approach. With no announced wage hikes, nor medical benefits, but facing the need to hire at high-volume, they have announced a job fair with featured speakers, as well as a list of potential benefits to future team members.

The virtual career fair takes place September 29th. The speakers include: a former Top Chef participant; a motivational speaker; several Pizza Hut executives (including Chequan Lewis, Pizza Hut's Chief Equity Officer and only person of color on the executive team); a regional TA manager; and several Pizza Hut employees.

The benefits touted are:

• Life Unboxed EDU, an educational program
• A career path
• Career recognition through programs like the Pizza Hut Proud Awards

Of note, healthcare, guaranteed schedules, and childcare are not on the table.

In addition, it appears that some workers are made to write 5-star Glassdoor reviews, bringing the companies average up to 3.4. Multiple reviews on the site call out lack of benefits and low pay. None that we were able to locate referenced Life Unboxed

According to Payscale, the average hourly salary at Pizza Hut is $8.78, with managers average $11 per hour. By contrast, Chipotle's average salary is currently $11.83, and will be rising to $15 per hour, and managers make close to $20 per hour.

About That Branding

A key part of developing employer branding is understanding what matters to the employees of a company. Assuming the goal is to find similar types of people who already work for you, not asking people them where they would most likely come across your messaging is a misstep with costs that are exponential. Finding out what matters to them is - in the parlance of recruitment marketers - the Employee Value Proposition, or EVP. If a company takes the time to listen carefully to that information, they'll know not only where to place the ads, but also what would be a waste of money. In other words: find out your warehouse workers spend time on TikTok, love classical music, and hate Candy Crush? You just gained some strategic intel.

Equally importantly an EVP, done and interpreted correctly: will tell what messages resonate with them. An employer needs to know how to bait the hook, not just where the fish are jumping. Reading through GlassDoor comments, the consistent complaints about Pizza Hut are: low pay, weak-to-nonexistent benefits, lack of connection to upper management, and hours (also, as a side-note, "an odd smell").

Some Thoughts:

• Calling a job fair for an hourly role with a pizza chain a "career development conference" feels like a stretch, and has the clear chance to insult the audience.
• The EVP was either ignored, or mangled in rewrites to please too many people - the employees are looking for better wages, and benefits like a health plan.
• The chain's compensation are being left behind by the competition, and seem stuck in the 1970s.
• The featured speakers are a... failed German travel writer, and someone who was on Top Chef - how in the world are they emotionally connected to the potential employee's needs?
• The branding even looks like they're inviting everyone back to the 1970s.

Seriously, on that last bullet - simply cannot let this one go. Choosing to go with imagery and colors that evoke classic doomsday sci-fi film posters was an interesting choice for the brand. At first glance, one thinks they're seeing an ad for a reboot of Logan's Run. Or being invited to visit serve Soylent Green. Either of which seem fitting.

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