Tricon Restaurants Named Leading Quick-Service Restaurant to Work for in Asia (9/01)

Tricon Restaurants International (TRI) has been named the leading quick-service Restaurant company to work for in Asia as well as the best employer overall in Thailand. TRI is a subsidiary of Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: YUM), owner of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. TRI has nearly 10,500 restaurants outside the U.S.

The "Best Employers in Asia" Study was conducted by global management consulting firm Hewitt Associates, in conjunction with Dow Jones, the publisher of Far Eastern Economic Review and The Asian Wall Street Journal. Among the 355 organizations that participated in the survey, Tricon is the only quick-service restaurant company to be listed in the top 20 "Best Employers."

The Hewitt People Practices Inventory™ study revealed the top 10 attributes that make a company attractive to employees, including: recruiting, hiring and orientation; development and learning; work environment; rewards and recognition; health and well being; work/life programs; financial security; organizational structure and culture; and unique people practices.

"We are very pleased to be named one of the best employers in all of Asia and the leading company in Thailand for our loyalty and commitment to our people," said Hester Chew, Vice President and Managing Director, Tricon Restaurants International for Thailand, Singapore and Indochina. "Tricon has built a culture that puts people first by investing in them, by recognizing their valuable contributions and rewarding them for outstanding performance," added Chew.

According to Jo Reinhard, Managing Consultant with Hewitt, "Best Employers are doing the right things to grow and support their businesses and are more prepared for the future. They have highly engaged and committed employees and are able to attract and retain the talent they need to grow their businesses," she said.

The company has created nearly 30 recognition and motivation programs in Thailand to regularly celebrate the contributions of its employees. A key factor to the company's success in attracting and retaining employees has been its "How We Work Together" principles that have been cascaded throughout the entire organization. The principles include customer mania, belief in people, recognition, coaching and support, accountability, excellence, positive energy and teamwork.

The "Best Employers in Asia" study was conducted simultaneously in 10 countries/regions across Asia. More than 92,000 employees contributed data. The participating companies represented 26 different industries, including electronics, hospitality, finance and restaurants. TRI ranked number 7 of all 355 participating organizations.

The survey tools included an Employee Opinion Questionnaire, Hewitt's People Practices Inventory™ and a CEO questionnaire. The surveys explored areas including employee engagement, people programs and policies and business leaders' philosophies and approaches to managing people.

Tricon Restaurants International is a subsidiary of Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc. In 2000, TRI had worldwide system sales of $7.7 billion and nearly 10,500 restaurants outside the U.S. Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc., based in Louisville, KY is the world's largest restaurant company in terms of system units with over 30,000 restaurants in over 100 countries and territories. The company's brands -- KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell -- are the global leaders of the chicken, pizza and Mexican-style restaurant categories, respectively. Total worldwide system sales for the brands were over $22 billion in 2000.