Employer branding at McDonald's: Redefining McJobs



Employer branding at McDonald's: Redefining McJobs

Introduction

McDonalds is one of the world's leading restaurants in the food chain sector. The case deals with the hiring venture that took place in western Ireland in the beginning of year 2009. When McDonalds had put up their advertisement banner of “Now Hiring”, it collected them over 500 applications. They accumulated a variety of applications form bankers, teachers, architects and accountants. According to analysts, it was a sign of troubling time when the people got mentally ready to accept recession as a fact. Although the company's initiative was appreciated at the same time, McDonalds communicated their internal employer branding. It has also been observed that the inaccurate meaning of the word “Mc Jobs” was finished and it was also determined that the perceived meaning of Mc Jobs was actually demeaning for the thousands of people who worked in the service sector (Love, 2008). An initiative was made by Mc Donald's to reinforce and familiarize the brand image including promotions, advertising campaigns, projection of the opinions of employees and creation of career sites. It was also observed in March, 2007 that the United Kingdom arm of McDonald launched a petition to get the dictionary meaning of Mc Jobs changed. The public and employees were invited by Mc Donald's to join the campaign which rested on the concept that the definition of McJobs would be a job that is rewarding, stimulating and offers skills for lifetime which was the actual reality of the service sector. In addition to the campaign in the United Kingdom, these campaigns were also initiated in the United States. This initiative was helpful in changing the definition of McJobs and McDonalds further strategized on the basis of employee satisfaction for strengthening their employer brand image.

Discussion

It has been observed that there are a number of strategic operations and activities that were evolved by the McDonalds to bring out positive changes within the organization. The image that was considered of the word McJobs was changed by McDonalds with a number of significant steps that were aimed at bringing positive changes in the organization and also creating a positive image of McJobs. The most significant actions taken by McDonalds are discussed as follows.

Homing In On Operations

It has been studied that the operations of McDonalds have always been a key to the success of the organization. It is stated by the managers of McDonalds that the learning and development function of this organization would continue to adapt, anticipate and react quickly to the needs of the customers of the restaurant (Kroc, 1987). It is the aim of the management of McDonalds to bring in people who understand the business nature of McDonalds and also teach others to adapt to the challenges of the business. The leaders hired join the department of development, design and administrative group that is the foundation of the organization. This operation of McDonalds also poses a significant challenge which is that one third of the training team rotates, ...