Employee Turnover at McDonald's

This article discusses the issue of employee turnover at McDonald's, focusing on the causes, impact, and recommended solutions. It highlights the introduction of new technologies without adequate training as a major factor contributing to high turnover rates. The article suggests mandatory training for employees, equipping them with stress management skills, and ensuring appropriate compensation for additional job responsibilities as potential solutions.

Running head: EMPLOYEE TURNOVER AT MC DONALDS 1
EMPLOYEE TURNOVER AT MC DONALDS
Student’s Name
Name of School

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Introduction
With the increasing competition in the fast food industry, organizations have been forced
to adopt more efficient practices to enhance their operations, attract and retain best talents in the
market (Klassen et al., 2019). An organization like McDonald’s has in the recent years
introduced multiple changes in its operations to remain competitive in the fast foods industry.
Among the changes made by the fast food eatery is the introduction of new technologies.
However, these technological changes have had a negative impact on their workforces who are
sometimes forced to work more, without additional training or compensation. Employee turnover
at Mc Donald’s is a serious issue that needs urgent resolution.
Information about McDonald's
Brief History
McDonald’s is an American fast food restaurant established in 1948 by Richard
McDonald and Maurice. The global fast food restaurant is headquartered in San Bernardino,
California. The global leading Restaurant chain currently has over 36000 restaurants distributed
in over 120 countries (Rosenberg, 2019).
Mission
The mission of the restaurant is “to be customer's favorite place and way to eat and
drink”. Through this mission, the company portrays the importance it attaches to its customers. It
also sets forth the company as a major influencer of the customer's purchase decisions (Meyer,
2019).
Vision

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The vision of the company is “to move with velocity to drive profitable growth and
become an even better McDonald’s serving more customers delicious food each day around the
world.” Through its new vision, the company aims at increasing its number of customer globally
through various delicious foods. It also aims at improving its speed of growth and becoming
even better than it is (Meyer, 2019).
Values
Some of the company's values include prioritizing customer's experience, observing
ethics in its operations, growing the profitability of the business; improve its business operations
continuously according to customers' needs, commitment to its people and belief in the
restaurant's system (McDonald’s,2019).
Size of the Company
McDonald's is currently the topmost global fast food restaurant. It has an estimated
number of 3600 restaurants found in over 120 countries across the globe. McDonald’s serves
over 70 million customers daily (Rosenberg, 2019).
The composition of the Company
McDonald's is ranked among the most significant global employers. The company's
workforce includes both direct employees and franchise employees. The number of franchise
employees and those working at the fast-food chain is estimated at 1.9 million (Cain,2018).
Identification of the employee turnover problem
The identification of the problem was achieved through a Google search for recent events and
news about the company. Through an evaluation of various sources, it was possible to establish
challenges ailing the company and which among these challenges are more pertinent. The
challenge of employee turnover was chosen based on some factors. Generally, the issue of

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employee turnover is in the fast food industry is a major concern for many firms in the United
States. Recent statistics show that the rate of employee turnover in the country is at about 150%
annually. Not only is the percentage high, but it is also the highest that has ever been recorded
since 1995 (Turnover at fast-food restaurants, 2019). Secondly, employee turnover is one of the
most serious issues that an organization can face. Not only does it deprive an organization some
of its best talents, but it can also affect the reputation of the organization in the eyes of its
customers. Finally, high employee turnover is a costly affair. With a high number of employees
leaving an organization, the organization is likely to spend much money on recruiting and
training its new staff. Being a global market leader in the fast food industry, this problem,
therefore, needs to be resolved for the company to maintain its competitiveness.
Background of the issue
The crisis that has been facing the food industry can be attributed to different factors. The
most prominent among these factors is, however, the introduction of new technologies. For
example, an organization like McDonald's has introduced many technological devices to enhance
its operations.T he introduction of these technologies can be viewed from two perspectives. First,
the introduction of the devices has driven up stock prices for the business. However, for
employees; this has been the reason for increased rates of employee turnover (Premack, 2018).
The necessary training did not follow the introduction of the new devices. It is important that the
introduction of new technology be followed by appropriate training to facilitate a successful
transition for the employees. However, for McDonald's employees, the introduction of the new
devices was frustrating. This was because of the devices constant breakdown employee’s lack of
skills to handle those machines (Premack, 2018). On the same note, with the new devices came
additional responsibilities that were not followed by an additional compensation. Due to the

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increased pressure and the resulting work stress, many employees working for the organization
have had to quit their jobs.
Recommended change management process
The resolution of the problem ailing the organization can be achieved through the
incorporation of some measures. These strategies need to be adhered to on a continuous process
to facilitate smooth transitions in future.
Mandatory training for new technology
As observed in the analysis, the root course of the problem at the organization is the lack
of adequate skills to handle new technologies introduced into the organization. Training
employees will equip them, with the necessary skills needed for handling the new devices hence
removing the need for employees to leave the organization (Newman, Thanacoody & Hui, 2011).
This training needs to be rolled out for all employees with the organization and be made part of
the induction process for new employees.
Equipping employees with stress management skills
It is also evident that the employees are not well equipped to deal with work stress. They
therefore also need to be equipped with the necessary skills to manage high levels of stress
(Avey, Luthans & Jensen, 2009). This training can be done for all employees in intervals of three
months. It will significantly help the employees to deal with current and future work stressors
instead of quitting their jobs.
Salary Increment
The organization should also ensure that pay increment accompanies any additional job
responsibilities to improve the satisfaction levels and reduce turnover rates for their employees.
If employees are paid appropriate salaries for their input into the organization, they will have no

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reason to leave the organization (Kappel, 2017). However, the additional effort needed to
complete their new roles will have to be quantified, to facilitate appropriate compensation.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the employee turnover issue at McDonald's is a serious issue that needs to
be addressed. The increasing rates of employee turnover are attributed to the recent introduction
of new technologies and the subsequent lack of training to enable the employees to deal with the
new technologies. To successfully resolve this challenge, therefore, there is a need to institute
mandatory training for all employees including those freshly joining the organization.
Additionally, equipping employees with stress management skills will leave employees well
prepared to handle work-related stress. Finally, the problem can also be resolved through
appropriate compensation mechanisms where additional job rsresponsibilities are included.

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References
Avey, J. B., Luthans, F., & Jensen, S. M. (2009). Psychological capital: A positive resource for
combating employee stress and turnover. Human resource management, 48(5), 677-693.
Cain, Á. (2018). McDonald's drive-thrus are 'not suitable for horses' — and 11 other insider facts
about McDonald's that employees know and most customers don't. Retrieved from
https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-jobs-insider-facts-2018-4?IR=T
Kappel, M. (2017). 5 Ways To Reduce Employee Turnover. Retrieved from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikekappel/2017/08/09/5-ways-to-reduce-employee-
turnover/#3627fb1e5001
Klassen, K. M., Borleis, E. S., Brennan, L., Reid, M., McCaffrey, T. A., & Lim, M. S. (2018).
What people “like”: analysis of social media strategies used by food industry brands,
lifestyle brands, and health promotion organizations on Facebook and Instagram. Journal
of medical Internet research, 20(6).
McDonald's. (2019). McDonald's Mission and Corporate Values:: McDonald's. Retrieved from
https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/mcd/our_company-old/mission_and_values.html
Meyer, P. (2019). McDonald’s Mission Statement & Vision Statement (An Analysis) - Panmore
Institute. Retrieved from http://panmore.com/mcdonalds-vision-statement-mission-
statement-analysis
Newman, A., Thanacoody, R., & Hui, W. (2011). The impact of employee perceptions of
training on organizational commitment and turnover intentions: a study of multinationals
in the Chinese service sector. The International Journal of Human Resource
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Premack, R. (2018). The fast food industry is facing a growing crisis. Retrieved from
https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-taco-bell-fast-food-turnover-technology-
2018-4?IR=T
Rosenberg, M. (2019). How Many McDonald's Restaurants Operate Worldwide?. Retrieved
from https://www.thoughtco.com/number-of-mcdonalds-restaurants-worldwide-1435174
Turnover at fast-food restaurants. (2019). Turnover at fast-food restaurants is the highest in more
than two decades — Quartz. Retrieved from https://index.qz.com/1230235/turnover-at-
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