Embracing Talent
Winner Natércia Pintor, a McDonald’s employee from Lisbon, Portugal, brought 13,000 people to their feet at the 2007 “Voice of McDonald’s” finals in Orlando, Florida. Her powerhouse rendition of the Dreamgirls anthem, “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” won her the competition.
At the front counter – Engaged and committed employees
High turnover rates are a challenge for any company in the foodservice industry, including McDonald’s. We understand how important it is to attract and retain the very best in our restaurants. Our Restaurant People Strategy is designed to offer a compelling employment value proposition by providing unique benefits, training and opportunities that meet the needs of today’s workers.
This will help us drive higher levels of employee commitment in the countries where we operate, which, in turn, will continuously improve employee retention rates. We believe progress on these fronts has improved - and will continue to improve- customer satisfaction and will positively impact our business results.
Benefits for today’s workforce
When we think about the term “benefits” at McDonald’s, we think very broadly. It’s not just about wages, and it can vary from market to market. So while benefits for employees around the world are based on our Global Total Compensation Framework, there is some variability in the types of benefits offered from market to market. There have been some especially successful benefits innovations at the local market level since 2006.
Saving for the future – McDonald’s Profit Sharing and Savings Plan – McDonald’s USA
McDonald's has one retirement plan that applies to all employees, including officers, staff and U.S. restaurant workers. Employees are offered the opportunity to invest in their future in the McDonald's Profit Sharing and Savings Plan, a 401(k) plan. The company matches the first 1% an employee contributes with a 3 to 1 match. The next 4% of employee contributions are matched dollar for dollar. So, an employee contribution at 5% will lead to a company match of 7%. McDonald's may also make a discretionary match of up to 4% for all employees participating in the 401(k), based on company performance. In 2006 and 2007, the discretionary match was 4%, meaning that an employee who contributed 5% received 11% from the company.
McDonald’s realizes that 401(k) plans may be the only retirement vehicle for many employees, so we have taken specific measures to ensure that eligible restaurant managers and staff are enrolled in the program. Through a combination of automatic enrollment and targeted communications, we have been able to achieve an average participation rate of 93% of the eligible restaurant managers and staff employees across all ethnic groups.
Recent improvements to the plan include the addition of three new investment funds, bringing the total to ten. These funds are designed to give participants a wider array of choices by including such asset classes as commercial real estate, a small company index fund and a global fund.
Participants who have questions about which investment fund(s) to pick and/or how much to save can get advice from GuidedChoice. Participants can get advice for free. If they prefer to have GuidedChoice manage their account, this option is available for a small fee. Currently, about 23% of participants use the managed account service.
Healthcare options for McDonald’s restaurant employees
In the U.S., all staff and restaurant employees are offered a choice of company subsidized medical plans. Having a choice allows the employee to pick the plan with the right combination of premiums and coverage to fit their needs.
Not bad for a “McJob” – McDonald’s Europe
Offering workplace flexibility and mobility is another way to meet the needs of today’s workforce. This is especially true in our European markets. As a result, in September 2006, McDonald’s Europe introduced the “McPassport” program to help employees move and gain work in other McDonald’s restaurants across Europe with relative ease. Since the program was launched, more than 1,000 employees have applied for inclusion in the program.
McDonald’s UK has gone a step further by confronting the negatively charged term “McJob” head on. A proactive communications campaign designed to redefine how the public views employment in a McDonald’s restaurant, along with newly-introduced flexible hours, education and training and benefits like company cars for restaurant managers, have succeeded in reducing turnover by 20%.
Teaching life skills
Helping our employees broaden their skill set is not only the right thing to do. It’s good business. Employees with more skills provide better service. In a number of our markets, restaurant employees are offered various life skills training opportunities to help them succeed at McDonald’s and elsewhere.
In the U.S., we recognize the benefits of having bilingual restaurant managers in a diverse workforce. So we have rolled out “English under the Arches”, a program offering in-restaurant English classes for high-potential shift managers. The results have been impressive. Not only have participants shown significant improvements in their English proficiency level on standardized tests, they demonstrate their confidence and ability to interact every day with customers, as well as with crew and managers in our restaurants.
In markets like Austalia and the UK, restaurant employees are offered life skills training in other areas, such as math and career counseling.
Celebrating unique talents
It’s not all about working. Building a caring, warm community for employees is important to us. McDonald’s offers a variety of programs that franchised and company-operated restaurant employees can participate in to grow and develop, both personally and professionally.
Voice of McDonald’s singing competition - 2008 marks the second year that we hosted “Voice of McDonald’s”, the largest global singing competition of its kind. Open to McDonald’s crew members and managers in 118 countries, the contest allows crew members to showcase their singing talents and compete for a $25,000 prize. This past year, more than 3,600 talented employees from 53 countries around the world entered the contest.
McDonald’s Olympic Champion Crew - As part of our Olympic sponsorship, we honored the hard work and exceptional service of our restaurant employees by bringing our best to serve the world’s best at the Games. Nearly 1,400 top-performing crew members were chosen to experience first-hand the fun and excitement of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and to serve the world’s top athletes, coaches, officials, media and spectators at McDonald’s four Olympic restaurants.
How we’re doing – what McDonald’s employees and others are saying
Our annual employee survey is one way we measure progress. In 2006, we implemented a standardized restaurant employee satisfaction survey in all countries covered by our Global Restaurant Operations Improvement Process (GROIP), which includes approximately 94% of McDonald’s restaurants worldwide. According to 2007 survey results, 82% of restaurant crew members in our nine largest markets would recommend working at McDonald’s.
Recognition from credible third-party experts is another way to gauge our performance. McDonald’s is proud to be the recipient of workplace excellence recognitions in many of our markets. Over the past several years, McDonald’s has been recognized as a Great Place to Work by the Great Place to Work Institute in over thirty countries where we operate.