McDonald’s restaurants might be one of the most popular places for people to eat and drink but they aren’t any different from any other workplace. And just like any other workplace, having a supportive and effective manager is important in keeping things flowing smoothly. A crew working in one of McDonald’s locations says that the kind of manager at any location determines how the entire store will perform. The manager affects employee morale and productivity and all these factors generally affect store performance. In order to get a better understanding of how McDonald’s can improve its performance, we asked a number of current and former employees what they thought management should know.
We have compiled the full list of responses and here is a summary for you:
Focus on Training
Four current McDonald’s employees told us that they would appreciate it if management started to give employee training more priority moving forward. Employee orientation is just not enough. There’s need for hands-on training on the day-to-day activities on each store. The employees also argued that instead of having a broad orientation program for all employees, the training should be customized for each store. This is because each store is different and it’s naive to expect that one general training manual will work across all of them.
Listen to Employee Preferences
Employees also want management to start listening to their preferences. One employee from Massachusetts told us that management should be more flexible, especially when it comes to scheduling and listen to what employees prefer. He argued that the only way to keep the business alive is to take care of the workers. Another crew from Georgia was in fact very categorical saying that they felt management didn’t consider time constraints when scheduling employees. Other employees also demanded more consistency when assigning certain tasks like clean up duty.
Be Nice to Your Team
One crew said that even though they understood management is also a job that comes with its own set of frustrations, those frustrations shouldn’t be taken out on employees who are just trying to do their job. One employee urged management to hold off shouting at employees. He added that employees should be treated like human beings and not numbers. The workers said that just because they were subordinate to you as a manager doesn’t mean you should disrespect them in any way. If you want to inspire people, always be nice to them.
Support People Who Work Hard
Finally, employees at McDonald’s want management to take note of the guys who work the hardest and support them. One employee who works at a store in Pennsylvania said that working for McDonald’s is hard and not many people actually know this. Putting in a shift requires a lot of effort and as such, managers should be able to identify and appreciate this kind of effort. In some cases, one employee told us that the harder you work the more workload you get. This is not how it should be he argued.
Well, if management at McDonald’s is listening, these are the most important things employees want to tell you.
