How we bring responsible food to the front counter
McDonald’s is a global foodservice retailer with more than 31,000 local restaurants, serving 56 million people in 118 countries each day. In simpler terms, we’re a global brand of local restaurants. At the heart of our operations lies a trio of essential players: our employees, our suppliers and our franchisees (sometimes referred to as owner/operators). We refer to the close interdependency among these three players as a “the three-legged stool.” The stool forms the foundation of our business and represents our greatest strength as a company.
The Three-Legged Stool: McDonald’s Business Model
McDonald’s is committed to partnership within the System – characterized as a three-legged stool with franchisees, suppliers, and company employees making up each of the three legs:
- Franchisees – own and operate the majority of restaurants
- Suppliers – provide food and packaging and other products and services
- Company employees – support and deliver restaurant operations around the world
McDonald’s Franchisees - In pursuit of continuous customer satisfaction
Approximately 70% of McDonald’s restaurants are operated by independent franchisees. Under the conventional franchise arrangement, franchisees provide a portion of the required capital by inititially investing in the equipment, signs, seating and decor of their restaurant businesses, and by reinvesting in the business over time. The Company owns the land and the building or secures long-term leases for the restaurant sites. The remaining 30% of McDonald’s restaurants are operated under other ownership structures, depending on what best serves the needs of a particular market. For example:
- Developmental Licensee (DL) – Under this license agreement, a developmental licensee provides capital for the entire McDonald's restaurant business, including the real estate interest, and operates the business.
- Company-operated restaurants– These restaurants are owned and operated by McDonald's subsidiary companies.
Restaurant Operations Improvement Process (ROIP)
To ensure we are meeting customer expectations, we initiated the Global Restaurant Operations Improvement Process (ROIP) to continuously measure and improve restaurant performance and accountability in McDonald’s restaurants around the world. ROIP features onsite restaurant assessments that include ratings for quality, service (fast, accurate, friendly), cleanliness and treatment of employees. It also includes a focused verification of critical food safety procedures.
Under ROIP, both franchised and company-operated restaurants are subject to periodic onsite performance reviews (announced and unannounced) and coaching on areas of opportunity. We also conduct monthly mystery shops, which assess both Drive-Thru and front counter performance based on our quality, service and cleanliness standards. Results of these mystery shops are shared with the restaurants for diagnostic purposes and determine performance incentives.
All of the ROIP performance data are captured in our Global Data Warehouse and then reported by restaurant via a Performance Matrix. Everyone responsible for the performance of the restaurants has access to the information. The information is used by the System to help determine which restaurants and areas we need to focus on to help drive continuous improvement. It is also used to identify people with leadership potential. An annual employee satisfaction survey elicits valuable feedback from restaurant employees.
In the end, the ROIP is all about the customer. Our customers expect a quality experience every time they decide to visit us. By constantly working to make sure that every aspect of a visit is a good one, we will increase loyalty, confidence and customer satisfaction. Our customers have told us that the better job we do at meeting or exceeding their expectations, the more often they will visit us.