Case Study: McDonalds

Ive been using McDonalds as an introductory case study for many years as it provides a beautifully simple example of a clear, distinctive and effective EVP. the global Employee Value Proposition introduced by McDonalds restaurants in 2009, reads as follows: FAMILY/FRIENDS: I work in an enjoyable, energizing atmosphere where everyone feels part of a team. FLEXIBILITY: I have a challenging, varied job that has the flexibility to fit into my lifestyle. FuTuRE: I have the opportunity to grow and progress by learning personal and work skills that will last me a lifetime, whatever I choose to do there are a number of key features that make this a great example.

1. Clarity: the best EVPs are concise and easy to understand. most contain somewhere between three and five key themes or pillars. While some EVPs are written in the form of management guides, the most confident take the form of explicit employee promises, as clear and relevant to the front-line as the hr leadership team. It should also be noted that EVP statements do not always need to be capped with a single headline proposition or tagline. the EVP provides a number of key ingredients that can, if necessary, be played out differently over time and from place to place depending on the specific needs of different audiences and circumstances. (see chapter 13 for more examples of how this works in practice).

2. Credibility: In my first book on employer brand management I wrote: there appears to be a huge gulf between the happy, smiley, family orientation of the external brand personality and the tired, mcJob drudgery of its front-line employees. I was wrong. I bought the prevailing employer brand prejudice of the time, without checking the facts. Id read Douglas Couplands novel Generation X (1991), which had served to popularize the term mcJob, with the damning definition: a low pay, low prestige, low dignity, low benefit, no-future job in the service sector.7 I was also aware that, in 2003, Merriam-Webster had added the word to their dictionary defining mcJob in similar terms as a low paying job that requires little skill and provides little opportunity for advancement. What I hadnt seen were McDonalds employee survey results.

In early 2006, I met with David fairhurst, who had just taken up the role of hr director at McDonalds in the UK. Id writ- ten favourably about the employer brand work hed carried out in his previous role at Tesco, and he was keen to correct my error in misrepresenting the positive picture hed found at his new employer. the employee survey results he shared with me couldnt be clearer. based on a high response rate among all full-time and part-time employees, 71% had agreed they were fairly paid (significantly higher than the global benchmark for this question),87% agreed that their work schedule fitted their needs, 91% agreed they were treated with respect and 93% claimed they had learnt skills useful for the future. this positive internal perception of McDonalds was not limited to the UK. Prior to defining the global EVP, McDonalds collected responses from nearly 5000 restaurants in 13 countries about what they love most and least about working at McDonalds. Again, I had the opportunity to look through the open responses to these questions, and the three predominant positive themes were friendship/family feel, flexible working conditions and good opportunities for learning and professional development (future). What makes the McDonalds EVP an excellent example is that it credibly reflects the primary benefits that employees recognize in their work experience.

3. Commitment: the third reason the McDonalds EVP represents such an effective best practice illustration is that it has served to drive focused action within the organization to reinforce and build on these employer brand promises. examples from the UK include McDonalds highly innovative friends and family contract, and the apprenticeship in hospitality programme. the friends and family contract allowed employees from the same family or friends working in the same restaurant to share and cover each others shifts, with no prior notice required, to best suit their personal arrangements. the flexibility of this scheme was especially beneficial to women and students. the apprenticeship in hospitality programme offered employees access to a full range of nationally recognized qualifications, including important foundation qualifications in english and maths that a number of employees had failed to achieve at school.

Four years on from launching this apprenticeship scheme, McDonalds in the UK has around 5000 people studying for this qualification at any given time and remains clearly committed to promoting the future careers of its employees, either within the company or elsewhere, through providing them with transferable skills and qualifications. In my most recent discussions with David fairhurst now chief People officer for McDonalds Europe he informed me that 31 of McDonalds 38 European markets now offer nationally recognized qualifications. the investment we make in delivering value to our People through these qualifications, he told me, is returned many times over through enhanced commitment, performance and retention.

4. Courage: In addition to demonstrating a tangible commitment to fulfil its employer brand promises, McDonalds also demonstrated courage in communicating its employer brand externally. following the launch of its new EVP, McDonalds in the UK decided to confront the mcJob perception head-on, with a new recruitment campaign carrying the tagline not bad for a mcJob. When I interviewed Robert Peasnell, the managing director at barkers, their recruitment agency of the time, he told me that when they first pitched the idea It was like someone had let off a stink bomb in the room. mcJob was not a term that the leadership team liked to hear. the idea that we might legitimize this term in our own advertising first struck the team as ridiculous. however, as the barkers team pointed out, disruptive creative ideas often appear dangerous at first. It may backfire, but it may, and should, grab peoples attention and help to address the evident gap between reality and misrepresentation. the leadership team had the courage to take the gamble and it worked. the campaign resulted in a significant improvement in the companys application : vacancy ratio (improving from 4:1 to 14:1). furthermore, the campaign generated significant press, radio and television coverage (with around 50 million opportunities to see), high- lighting the many positives McDonalds offers as an employer.

As the Financial Times concluded as a result of its own investigations: McDonalds is a heavy lifter in the service sector, recruiting young people for their qualities rather than their qualifications, and providing them with valuable skills to boost their position in the labour market. Mcdonalds commitment to building their employer brand with a clear EVP, consistent communication and activities designed to add greater value to their employment experience, have paid off handsomely in terms of recognition. In the European 2013 great Place to Work study they ranked 14th overall among multinational companies, and achieved a top 10 positioning in no fewer than 9 individual country league tables (for their respective company size), including a top 5 positioning in 6 (the UK, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and Finland)

Q1 Discuss the McDonalds Employer Value Proposition (EVP) as per the case.

Q2

How McDonalds has increased his Employer branding using EVP. Take the evidence from the case.