Earlier this week, the fast-food chain McDonald’s announced that it is recruiting 20,000 more workers as it opens new restaurants in the UK and Ireland.
Sky News reports that the Chicago-headquartered firm is taking on more staff and opening 50 new sites across this year.
McDonald’s UK and Ireland Chief Executive, Paul Pomroy told The Sunday Telegraph, that an additional 100 sites will be added over the next few years.
‘Opportunity to work with us’
Pomroy said: "It's fantastic to be able to offer an additional 20,000 people an opportunity to work with us.
"There is no doubt the pandemic has had a huge impact on many people's employment opportunities and threatened the future of high streets up and down the country.
"The moves we've announced today reflect our commitment to continue to innovate and invest in the local communities and economies we serve," Pomroy added.
Hiring struggles in the sector
McDonald’s boss also told the Telegraph that it was “getting harder and harder to recruit”.
Pomroy’s comments align with those of Hawksmoor’s Co-Founder Will Beckett, who previously told the BBC that “hospitality is struggling with recruitment at the moment”.
Beckett added: “It's a little hard to tell whether this is because there aren't enough people due to them leaving the country or leaving the sector, or because everyone is recruiting at the same time.”
This is also supported by data from the trade industry body UK Hospitality which found that there is an estimated shortfall of circa 188,000 workers.
The comments from these business leaders, coupled with the data, have pointed towards the struggles keenly felt in the hospitality industry when it comes to recruiting new talent.
Attracting top talent
With the data pointing towards hiring struggles in the industry - and McDonald’s set to hire a large number of new recruits - it is crucial that HR considers best practice when it comes to attracting top talent to the business.
Mandy Watson, Managing Director at recruitment firm Ambitions Personnel, said: "It's fantastic that a company like McDonald’s is launching this many jobs at once, but it could be a challenge to tempt people to come and work for them post-pandemic.”
Like with any position, Watson explained that work benefits and perks should be a focus point in any marketing.
Watson’s recommendation - to focus on perks and benefits - could be good advice for HR with EBRI data finding that 78% of employees cited work perks as an important part of their decision-making process when taking on a new role.
In addition, the recruitment expert said that incentive schemes “might be a good idea to encourage more applications”.
This is a method that several employers in the hospitality sector have recently deployed to attract new talent into the business.
For example, British steakhouse chain Hawksmoor announced that it would offer bonuses of up to £2,000 to workers who recommend their friends for jobs at the organisation.
Separately, restaurant chain Caravan explained that it would offer gift vouchers to customers if they successfully recommend someone for a role at the firm.
Watson added: “McDonald’s has done a great job of reading its customer base and remains a good employer for those who want to apply themselves and get stuck in.
“They've always been known as a place to progress quickly for those with the skills and ambition, so perhaps a campaign that focuses on that is needed.”
Recruiting en masse
Given the sheer scale of McDonald’s - and with a franchise model - Watson said that in terms of attracting candidates “they never really struggle” in that area.
Despite this, the recruitment expert did say that any “positive PR or case studies” could really help with encouraging people to apply.
“They should also be transparent with the duties that candidates might be expected to perform. As we all know, working at a McDonald’s can be anything from food preparation to hygiene and is fast-paced, so they need to set out expectations too," Watson concluded.