More work, no pay hikes: McDonald’s tech changes prompt staff turnover
CHICAGO For Dudley Dickerson, the mobile-app orders were the last straw.
McDonald’s has been updating with new technology, delivery, a revamped menu and curbside pickup. But the “Experience of the Future” has staff handling more tasks — in many cases, they say, without pay raises or adequate staffing. So Dickerson, 23, handed over his spatula for the last time.
“They added a lot of complicated things,” Dickerson said. “It makes it harder for the workers.”
Many fast-food employees hop from job to job. But with unemployment so low, turnover is becoming a problem. Workers are walking rather than dealing with new technologies and menu options. The result: Customers will wait longer. Drive-thru times at McDonald’s slowed to 239 seconds last year — more than 30 seconds slower than in 2016, according to QSR magazine. It’s also pokier than Burger King, Wendy’s and Taco Bell.
Turnover at U.S. fast-food restaurants jumped to 150 per cent — meaning a store employing 20 workers would go through 30 in one year. That figure is the highest since industry tracker People Report began collecting data in 1995.
“Quick-service restaurants are having a little more trouble with job openings and finding workers,” said Michael Harms, executive director of operations at People Report. “It’s the pace of work, the pace of technology and the lower wage rate.”
McDonald’s and its franchisees haven’t seen an increase in crew turnover over the past year, nor is there a correlation between the new initiatives and turnover, spokeswoman Terri Hickey said in an emailed statement. “Together with our owner-operators, we are investing in all necessary training to ensure successful implementation of any changes in our restau- rants,” she wrote. “Just as Experience of the Future modernizes the restaurant experience for our customers, there is also a focus on improving the work experience for restaurant employees.”
McDonald’s chief executive Steve Easterbrook has been pushing initiatives that have helped turn around comparable sales, which rose 3.6 per cent last year in the U.S. But they’ve also made it tougher to retain restaurant employees. .
Last year, McDonald’s said, it employed 235,000 people, including corporate and restaurant workers. Each of those people generated US$97,000 in revenue, compared to about US$65,000 the year before. While this could be a sign of increased efficiency, it could also be seen as stretching thin an inadequate number of employees.
In Broward County, Fla., Westley Williams said he’s moving from McDonald’s to burger joint Checkers because of mobile-app orders, new items and six new self-order kiosks.
“It’s more stressful now,” said Williams, 42, noting he didn’t get a raise for doing more work.