Burgers, fries and an education in what makes service industry workers stay or go
As operator of 19 McDonald’s restaurants in Western Pennsylvania, Meghan Sweeney knows a thing or two about Big Macs and Egg McMuffins — not to mention untold pounds of thin, crispy fries.
But these days, she’s also versed in navigating an increasingly complicated labor market where front-line workers suddenly are in short supply. Keeping her eateries humming requires understanding what attracts workers and, if hired, entices them to stay.
Like other corporations, McDonald’s and the franchisees who hold down operations in their particular regions such as Ms. Sweeney and her father, Paul, have had to become more sensitive to what employees value — from college scholarships and paid time off to flexibility and a recognition of workplace climate.
Ms. Sweeney, 44, who lives in Cranberry, talked with the Pittsburgh PostGazette about managing a workforce that ranges from teens to retirees. This interview was edited for length and clarity.
Q. So, where are your restaurants located?
A. We have 19 restaurants, my father and I. They are in Beaver, Butler and Lawrence counties. And then we have four in Allegheny County pretty much right over the Butler County line. [In Allegheny County] they are in Coraopolis, Kennedy Township, Allison Park and Gibsonia.
Q. What’s it like right now attracting and retaining employees, and what sort of approaches including benefits are being used to entice them? the service industry and beyond, it’s been a challenge. … We’re lucky to have great restaurant crews in many locations who have worked every day to serve our customers and our community. It’s the changing landscape inside the work environment, in general.
If there’s something that is not being addressed or, you know, they don’t feel they’ll get [what they need] from the work environment, there are multiple options to be able to move on to the next work environment. And so, I think that’s happening in more places than just ours. It really makes us be introspective in what a work environment is.
So throughout Western Pennsylvania, McDonald’s locations are offering several new benefits to continue to be an employer of choice, including flexible scheduling, paid time off or vacations, free employee meals, and competitive pay on top of the tuition assistance and scholarship programs.
Q. Are the challenges things like pay, the pandemic and other issues in an industry with heavy customer interaction?
A. It is definitely all the above and not any one particular thing because, you know, what’s exciting for me may not be exciting for you. And what’s offensive to me is not offensive to maybe the person next to me.
Q. What is the starting pay? (Minimum wage in Pennsylvania is $7.25.)
A. So I would say that we are on average between $10 and $13.
Q. What kinds of employees do you employ, and how do they fit into your daily needs?
A. Our employees vary from across the board — people who maybe just need a couple hours of work or moms who need to juggle schedules with their children, or the school child who has commitments, or the retiree who just wants to get out and do more. We feel we need all of them.
There’s the teenage person who might not need a lot of benefits but wants to get that extra money and the work experience, some of the skills of leadership, and so they’re not focused on maybe, “Are we giving health benefits and 401(k)” as “Can you work around my work schedule? And my sports schedule? Maybe my church schedule?”
Q. Are young employees, those in their teens, the ones most interested in educational benefits?
A. Not necessarily. Yes, for the scholarship, but we also provide high school diplomas. So if you didn’t end up finishing high school for some reason, we offer being able to finish your high school diploma, and it’s not a GED, it’s a diploma. It is a full high school curriculum. It’s guided and in time, so they have so many months to get through all of the courses. It’s actually very rewarding. A lot of people really enjoy having that.
In addition to the Archway program with the college tuition [assistance], we are offering a local scholarship. The first one we’ll be awarding next month in December. It’ll be a $2,500 scholarship each quarter, based on commitment to schoolwork and community.
Q. If you do experience a staff shortage, how would customers see that?
A. They see a little longer wait time. We want to be available when the customer wants us. The goal is still to do it with a smile on our face, and have everything [in their order] fresh and hot and accurate for them.
Q. What are the different motivations among your workers, and how do you take that into account?
A. There’s a difference between somebody who wants to get their hands-on [experience] and really be moving, really likes that energy that comes inside of a quick moving fast-food restaurant. We tend to attract the people who really just don’t see themselves sitting behind a desk for the long term, and the other is that we have good training and ability for moving up on the ladder toward management relatively in a fastpace time frame.
So, do we see some challenges? We do. You face the normal challenges of a food industry or a retail industry — you know, the thoughts of long hours, which isn’t necessarily true — but those are the things that you face. Then you get them inside, and it’s something that makes people feel alive being able to manage several things at once while in a workday.
Q. And, of course, we have to ask about the menu — specifically, what are your biggest sellers?
A. So in Western Pennsylvania it’s Big Macs and Sausage Egg and Cheese McMuffins. And I can’t even tell you the pounds upon pounds of french fries that we sell. The Egg McMufffin will be right behind it — the one with the Canadian bacon. It’s a fan favorite.