Abstract

This case is about the employer branding strategies adopted by McDonald’s Corporation, one of the largest fast food chains in the world. Since the 1980s, entry-level jobs at McDonald’s had come to be associated with low-paying dead end jobs. The term ‘McJobs’ had become syno-nymous with low-prestige, low-benefit, no-future jobs in the service or retail sector particularly at fast food restaurants and retail stores. Though the term was coined to describe jobs at McDonald’s, it was later used to refer to any low-status job where little training was required and workers’ activities were strictly regulated Because of its common usage, the term appeared in the online version of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) in March 2001 and the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary (Merriam-Webster Dictionary) in 2003. The case discusses how McDonald’s systemi-cally tried to redefine the term ‘McJobs’ and improve its employer brand since the early 2000s. According to McDonald’s, this negative interpretation of McJobs was not only inaccurate but also demeaning to the thousands of people working in the service sector. As employer branding was a critical management tool for companies to attract the right talent, McDonald’s decided to try and revise the image associated with McJobs. This it did by taking various initiatives that also included advertising campaigns aimed at showcasing the benefits of working at McDonald’s and bridging the divide between people’s perceptions of the McJob and the real employment experience of people actually working for the fast-food chain. Experts felt that these were some of the best examples of a company successfully planning and implementing an employee branding strategy. However, the case also highlights the challenges faced by McDonald’s in attracting new talent as derogatory comments continued to be made about McJobs and this could discourage prospective employees from taking up such jobs.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Understand the importance of employer branding and its relationship with the ability of a company to attract talent. Understand the issues and challenges in planning and implementing an employer branding initiative. Understand the strategic role of Human

Keywords

Employer Branding, Employer brand, Employee satisfaction, Employment policies and practices, McJobs, Service sector jobs, People Project, Hierarchy of Needs, 'My First Job' campaign, 'My McJob' campaign, 'Not Bad for a McJob' campaign, McPassport, Fast food, Retail , McDonald's