One of the coolest things about working at Yum! Brands is the ability to complete an STA. An STA, also known as Short Term Assignment, is the ability to work across corporate, brand and business affiliate offices. This allows employees to grow their skills, learn more about the different functions and gain further insight into business operations without the permanent commitment of a role switch. In this story series, we’ll spotlight those who have completed STA’s and how it’s grown their career.
McKenzie H., Training Coordinator on the learning and development team, came to Taco Bell about five years ago. Before this, McKenzie grew up in the “middle of nowhere” as she proclaimed, in Minnesota. She wanted to be a vet when she was younger but didn’t enjoy dissecting animals in biology class, so she set out on a different path.
McKenzie originally went to college for elementary/special education before switching careers and getting a degree in graphic design. After college, she was looking for jobs and decided to follow her brother to California. He worked for a company that managed the Service Desk for Taco Bell, so McKenzie joined the team, too!
“A little after I started on the Service Desk, my role changed... I started working with the training team to help create materials for the field teams, such as knowledge-based articles teaching folks about standard operations procedures and how to troubleshoot.”
McKenzie realized that her graphic design skills layered perfectly with crafting learning and development modules, so she put herself out there and asked someone on the current learning and development team to be her mentor. At the same time, she did a lot of LinkedIn Learning courses, making her well-prepared for a STA that she eventually got the opportunity to do!
“Working with cross-functional teams, managing multiple deadlines, critical thinking and having the patience to translate content were all skills I had learned on the Service Desk. At the same time, LinkedIn Learning, mentorship and practicing role-specific tasks was how I built my foundation. So, when the opportunity came to apply for the team, I was ready.”
While McKenzie applied all her Service Desk skills to her STAs, she also had immense passion and perseverance that helped her land her dream role. She found something she loved and stuck with it, built relationships with people in that field, and learned new techniques along the way.
“After a few months of the STA, I went back to being a full-time Service Desk member. But I continued to express interest, so I started working a couple hours a week with the learning and development team. Not long after that, I was offered another STA with the team... and this year, I ended up getting hired on full-time!”
We’re excited to see what McKenzie continues to do with her career at The Bell! Stay tuned for more stories about our exceptional talent.