Hyderabad, 28th August 2022: Reinforcing its commitment to nurture a culture of diversity, inclusion and respect, KFC India recently appointed Srikanth Jarugu as the first specially-abled Restaurant General Manager (RGM) in India. This announcement comes from the brand’s flagship program of KFC Kshamata – an effort towards ‘Feeding People’s Potential’ by bridging the gender and ability imbalance gap. In his new role as RGM, Srikanth will be heading restaurant operations & management, along with leading the team at the KFC restaurant at Central Mall in Hyderabad.
Srikanth has been with KFC since 2008 when he had joined as a Team Member. He went on to become a Senior Team Member in 2010, made Shift Manager in 2012, Assistant Restaurant Manager in 2013, and through his dedication and commitment, grew into the role of a Restaurant General Manager in 2022. He is the first specially-abled RGM for KFC, and an inspiration for his colleagues.
KFC Kshamata is a focused effort towards driving 2X Empowerment by 2024. The program takes forward the brand’s Diversity & Inclusion agenda, aiming to bridge the gender imbalance gap by increasing women workforce at their restaurants by 2X by 2024. Likewise, striding to develop an inclusive workplace, the brand is working towards doubling the footprint of Special KFCs, operated by hearing & speech impaired team members, by 2024. The bold targets of the program are supplemented with a sharp focus on training, retention and progression of these team members into key restaurant leader roles; keeping with the brand promise of ‘Feeding People’s Potential’. At present the brand operates 30+ Special KFCs powered with more than 150 specially-abled Team Members across the country. Taking the commitment beyond the ambit of its restaurants, the brand entered into a landmark partnership with the Indian Deaf Cricket Association (IDCA) to build visibility and growth for the sport of deaf cricket in the country. As ‘Principal Sponsor’ to the men, women and junior deaf cricket teams, the brand facilitates conducting tournaments, building visibility and exploring growth opportunities for speech & hearing-impaired cricketers, along with the Indian Deaf Cricket Association. As the program progresses, the brand looks to celebrate many more specially-abled RGMs as Srikanth.