CHART chooses Tricon Global's Novak for commitment award

Nation's Restaurant News, August 24, 1998 by Amy Zuber

SALT LAKE CITY -- David C. Novak, president and vice chairman of Tricon Global Restaurants, the parent company of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, received the Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers' 1998 Commitment to People Award during its 56th convention here.

Each year the organization, also known as CHART, recognizes one outstanding industry leader who is dedicated to the development of the people within his or her organization.

"One of the things that I am most honored by is that I was nominated [for the award] by the people from my own company," Novak said. "It is a pretty humbling experience to achieve this award."

Susan Steinbrecher, CHART's incoming president, said Novak was selected for his far-reaching efforts to be involved with the 500,000 employees of KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Tricon. She said Tricon's stock option program, which rewards the company's general managers, is one example of Novak's commitment to people.

At Tricon, which was spun off last year from PepsiCo, Novak said his philosophy centers around recognizing "that our restaurant general managers are our number one leaders."

Novak also has gained attention throughout the foodservice industry for pioneering several unique employee recognition programs, including the Floppy Chicken Award at KFC, the Big Cheese Award at Pizza Hut and the Royal Order of the Pepper at Taco Bell. Novak told CHART members that an unusual award like a floppy chicken often can be more motivating and make a more lasting impression than a plaque or certificate.

"People want to work in a place where they are recognized," Novak said. "We do not make recognition an accident. It is built into the system."

Wally Doolin, president and chief executive of Carlson Restaurants Worldwide and the 1997 recipient of the Commitment to People award, presented Novak with this year's honor. "His people feel his energy and devotion," Doolin said.

Several of the Tricon team members who nominated Novak for the honor, including Pat Evans, Gayle Ross and Sandi Spivey, also celebrated with their company president when he accepted the award during the banquet on the final evening of CHART's four-day conference.

Evans, a 20-year CHART member and KFC's senior director of training, said Novak has fostered a people-focused culture at Tricon -- one that is similar to the environments Novak created earlier while serving as the president of both KFC and Pizza Hut. Evans added that Novak's dedication to his staff was instrumental in KFC's turnaround four years ago.

"We needed alignment, focus and team work," Evans said of the years before Novak took over the KFC chain. "David provided all of those things. And he recognized us and made us all feel proud to be on the team."

Evans credited Novak for committing the dollars to bring all new restaurant general managers to Tricon's Louisville, Ky., headquarters -- which the company renamed as the restaurant support center -- for a week-long training program.

"They [the general managers] could really build their skills anywhere, but this program gives them a taste of our culture and heritage, and it allows them to be exposed to senior leadership so they feel like they have friends in the restaurant support center," Evans said.

Novak agreed: "I think time and money spent on people development provides a high return on investment. The bottom line is that it all happens when our customers face our employees. We are preparing our people to satisfy our customers."

Among the previous recipients of the CHART award are Doolin; Donald Smith, president and chief executive of Friendly's Ice Cream and chief executive and chairman of Perkins Family Restaurants; Joe Byrum, president of Morrison's Hospitality; Simon Cooper, president of Delta Hotel and Resorts; and Bob Jameson, president and general manager of The Worthington Hotel.

More than 180 CHART members attended the conference, which was themed "New Frontiers: The Power of People In Progress." Among the speakers were Tricon's Novak; Herman Cain, president and chief executive of the National Restaurant Association; Carla Cooper, vice president of customer marketing for Coca-Cola USA Operations; and Bill Main, a foodservice management consultant and former president of the California Restaurant Association.

During the conference CHART elected its 1999 executive committee: president-elect, Toni Kottom, who is director of training and development for Perkins Family Restaurants; vice president of education, Janet Hoffman, who is vice president of human resources for Capital Restaurants Concepts; vice president of membership, Carol Roosevelt, who is revenue growth team leader of Monical Pizza Corp.; secretary, Claudia Carr, who is director of training of Consolidated Restaurants; and treasurer, Kathleen Taylor-Gadsby, who is director of human resources for Levy Restaurants.

CHART is an educational forum for the restaurant hospitality industry. The group is dedicated to the development of the human resources professional for foodservice and lodging nationwide.