McDonald’s restaurants are open fewer hours because of COVID-19

As a leading fast-food restaurant, many will have assumed McDonald’s would be able to manage the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the company renowned for its quick service and wide range of opening hours has been challenged by the pandemic.

In fact, CEO Chris Kempczinski told The Wall Street Journal that 13,000 McDonald’s restaurants in the US have been forced to reduce their opening hours by an average of 10%.

This move is born out of staff shortages, but it could unintentionally be impacting the profitability of restaurants. Notably, a restaurant that was previously open 24-hours will now be missing over two hours of custom.

A lack of staff poses serious questions for a business. What are they doing to retain staff? What can be done attract employees? Why are so many staff falling ill?

How can McDonald’s combat staff shortages?

Currently, record numbers of US employees are quitting their jobs for new pastures. The main reasons for this mass exodus are a reconsideration of a work and life balance, a lack of pay amidst the dangers of the pandemic, and not enough benefits.

In response, other large corporations like Amazon have reconsidered their benefit offerings by bolstering education grants and encouraging booster vaccinations with financial incentives.

Booster vaccinations could greatly aid McDonald’s attempts to recover from staff shortages caused, in part, by waves of sickness as the Omicron variant continues to infect millions in the US.

When it comes to attracting new talent, Kempczinski has said he is focused on this area and wants to improve the company’s technology abilities for corporate staff. He added that McDonald’s needs to be a fun place to work, offer roles that people want, and take better care of workers.

Of course, hiring more staff could be problematic when employees, who have been sick, return to work and there is a surplus of workers. Additionally, short-term roles may not be appealing to the millions who have just left the workforce to reconsider what they want from their labor.

In an effort to attract more staff, some McDonald’s franchises have taken matters into their own hands and offered iPhones to new hires or given money to applicants who attend interviews.

This staff shortage is not specific to McDonald’s; it is indicative of the experiences of many organizations when faced with a pandemic. Nonetheless, the companies that can clear this hurdle will undoubtedly have a competitive advantage going forward.