McDonald's: Delivering value

“We are looking to hire 5,000 people next year,” says Judy Harman, managing director for McDonald’s Singapore. This statement might seem a tad confident but given the fact that the franchise currently has 115 restaurants around the island and is still planning to open more in the next few years, it seems an accurate count.

However, she admits that in the food & beverages industry, it is challenging to attract talent. “The services sector in Singapore is a very challenging one. There are many players and more are coming in. Being able to find talented, qualified people to staff our restaurants is our greatest challenge,” she says.

Attracting the ‘Mctalented’

McDonald’s Singapore boasts a diverse restaurant crew from the ages of 14 to 80 which comprises of part-timers and full-timers. Harman, who is a McDonald’s veteran of 26 years, states that she has found some fundamental qualities among McDonald’s employees. “We call it ‘ketchup in your blood’. Some of the characteristics are being people-oriented, like working with others, and being in a team environment,” she explains.

It is not surprising that a majority of its 8,500 workforce work in the restaurants. The organisation specifically looks for an employee who is people-oriented, and recruiting techniques for this type of person range from word-of-mouth hiring to career fairs.

The majority of the service employees are hired through the ‘Bring a Friend’ referral programme and since it is word-of-mouth, applicants generally already have an idea about the job, states Harman. The organisation offers cash rewards to the employee who has introduced the friend and more cash when the new hire stays for more than 90 days. For Trainee Manager positions, the organisation looks to hire graduates at career fairs at tertiary institutions such as NUS, NTU, and Temasek Polytechnic.

Globally, the McDonald’s brand has taken some criticism over recent years from several groups, chiefly health organisations. Moreover, Harman says that in some markets the reputation has not been good due to unattractive pay or insufficient career development opportunities. However, she assures the employer branding in Singapore is strong. In fact, McDonald’s Singapore has won several accolades including the Aon Hewitt Best Employer Award three times, which has helped attract talent into the organisation, even in the competitive labour market.

It helps that at the crew level, employees can choose between full-time and part-time flexible working hours that make it appealing to many. Though the attrition rate is 50% for crew and under 20% for managers, Harman points out that “most of our crew are working part-time; they are students in their first job, earn some money, and then move on to the career for which they are studying.” She candidly says that it is fine that the organisation is used as a stepping-stone for many, but it does retain some who go on to have careers in McDonald’s Singapore.

Developing ‘ketchup in the blood’

Training plays a great part in developing and retaining employees in McDonald’s Singapore and it starts on the first day of work with the help of a colleague. Harman calls it “shoulder training”. Employees at the crew level get monthly feedback from their shift or restaurant managers, and every six months they get a detailed performance review, which HR tracks to ensure that it is carried out.

As in any company, McDonald’s employees need a few years of learning and training to reach managerial level. They are offered the management development programme (MDP) that involves a total of 2,000 hours which takes four years to complete. The training is broken into four levels – trainee manager, second assistant manager, first assistant manager and restaurant manager. As an employee progresses through the training, he or she will learn various new skills such as how to put together a crew schedule and interview a crew person, explains Harman.

High-potential candidates go through the training at a quicker pace – just two years. Harman states that these individuals have a dedicated coach who gives regular feedback and a “support system to move the person through the pace, as so much is learned by doing, and it is difficult to go through it quickly.”

Employees are given the chance to further their education as well as their careers with the University Accredited Programme (UAP), under which graduates attain a diploma or a degree in hospitality. To date, 400 people have taken the Diploma in Hospitality while another 10 are going through the degree course.

There are other learning and development programmes spanning different departments, and not all of them are technical courses. The organisation will be introducing a core course, ‘Winning with Diversity and Inclusion’, next year for all employees. With an incredibly diverse workforce, it will prove to be helpful. The hour-long course will teach employees and managers about various groups of people working together and understanding each other.

Communal giving and recognition

Harman is candid when she says: “Arguably, some of the jobs are not that fun, like standing in front of the fryer the whole day, but we try to bring fun into the restaurant. People talk about ‘McFamily’ and we try to encourage the idea that the co-worker is more than just a co-worker.”

The McFamily culture is about recognising and celebrating successes and it comes in many forms – from simple acknowledgement to monetary rewards. The organisation also follows a quirky tradition of giving new hires a bottle of ketchup to indicate they are now part of the McDonald’s Singapore family.

Employees who have spent some time in the organisation might find their stories published in the McDonald’s website, under i-stories. “The stories have been a wonderful source of inspiration for people and they demonstrate that we provide opportunities for people to do things they never dreamed of,” says Harman. She highlights that these stories are more common instead of being unique, and sharing them makes them real and shows that everyone can grow in the ranks.

Besides weekly and monthly updates to all employees, Harman regularly meets up with all restaurant managers and first assistants each quarter. The NABIT (Nuts and Bolts Integration Team) half-day get-together is a time to share updates and make plans for the next quarter, but also recognises those who gave done a good job. Harman recalls that in one NABIT session, “we recognised people who made a difference in the community”. A couple of restaurants donated food to an orphanage, while employees from a few restaurants went to children’s homes and painted the walls.

Monetary schemes are also offered to acknowledge as well as encourage McDonald’s Singapore employees. There is an incentive or bonus programme for the office staff, while the restaurant staff have a quarterly incentive programme. Also, for the winner of the Service Speed Challenge there are several prizes offered to crew members, including a night’s stay at a hotel or an iPad.

Globally, McDonald’s gives out a significant amount in monetary awards. The top one per cent of employees from the entire McDonald’s organisation across the globe receive the President’s Awards as well as a cash prize of US$20,000. There is also the Ray Kroc (the founder of McDonald’s) award for the top five per cent of restaurant managers from around the globe that comes with a cash prize.

It is not always about receiving but also about giving in the McFamily culture, as the organisation is very much involved with community work. Currently, restaurant managers can choose to spend money on incentives for their crew as well as the community. Harman says that McDonald’s Singapore wants to do more and has introduced “McDonald’s Cares”. Under this programme, charity and community work can be done more regularly, and local schools and community centres can approach a McDonald’s restaurant for help. The organisation’s management has set aside funds from next year’s budget to support this. Harman concluded that with 115 restaurants in the country, they can give back to the community. “We are a big brand and we should be making a difference.”