McDonald’s owners offer tuition and child care to attract hamburger fins

Work has become one of the biggest challenges in the post-pandemic rebound in the U.S. economy, especially in service-intensive businesses that depend on large numbers of workers to prepare meals or make beds.

Restaurants had some of the biggest layoffs last year as Covid-19 caused closures and restrictions, and the industry is now struggling to bring workers back and find new ones. Employment in restaurants and bars remains 1.3 million workers lower than since the pandemic began to spread in the United States, while other sectors have almost returned to full employment.

Many restaurant workers left the industry last year for other jobs, and the industry currently has one of the highest rates of employees quitting. The rate of U.S. restaurant and hospitality workers leaving their jobs hit a two-decade high in April and stayed there in May, according to the Labor Department.

McDonald’s, one of the largest private employers in the United States with around 800,000 people working in chain restaurants, is closely watched by others in the industry for its compensation moves. McDonald’s said in May it would increase starting wages at its company-owned restaurants to $ 11 to $ 17 an hour and said it would continue to assess wages to be competitive.

Last year, McDonald’s franchisees began evaluating the compensation and benefits that operators currently offer workers to determine what may need improvement. The owners asked current employees at McDonald’s restaurants about what they would like to see in terms of compensation. More than 5,000 McDonald’s employees and executives attended, according to the presentation.

Franchisees found that McDonald’s employees prioritized a range of possible additional benefits, from increased pay to greater flexibility in the workplace. After discussions throughout the year, franchisee executives agreed last month to help boost training, workplace flexibility, wages and benefits in all markets. Individual restaurants are now embracing the employee program, like a Denver operator spending more than $ 1 million on pay raises, according to McDonald’s.

McDonald’s owners said in an internal presentation reviewed by the Wall Street Journal that they need to demonstrate their commitment to employees. The program for new employees, according to the presentation, aims to “fundamentally change what it means to work in a McDonald’s restaurant”.

McDonald’s efforts to soften its rhetoric of frying cooks and drive-thru operators are part of the restaurant industry’s larger battle for workers in a labor-strapped economy.

A recent survey of around 20 chain operators by Compass Restaurant Consulting and Research found that receiving unemployment benefits was the main reason restaurants have lost workers since the start of the pandemic. . Closely following is what workers have described as a disenchantment with the restaurant industry. Feeling unsafe while working in a public-facing job during the pandemic ranked third, according to the survey.

A number of catering companies are trying to figure out what it will take to attract workers. Mexican Grill Chipotle Inc.

conducted a week-long market wage survey before announcing last month that it would raise the starting wage to an average of $ 15 an hour, the channel’s executives said. Shake Shack Inc.

Executives have said they have increased hourly wages at more than half of their American restaurants this year and frequently review compensation to keep it competitive.

This summer, McDonald’s franchisees will begin to study how their wages compare to other employers in their markets in order to make it more competitive. A group of franchisees are also expected to start offering employees child and senior care services this summer, and owners will decide whether or not to expand by the end of the year.

David Costa, restaurant owner and head of the National Franchisee Leadership Alliance of franchisees, said owners hope the incentives will help McDonald’s and its operators compete in today’s job market.

Write to Heather Haddon at [email protected]