1 McDonald’s Singapore has embarked on initiatives to raise productivity, and is sharing the gains with their workers through a monthly pay increase of
almost 20%.
2 Over 110 McDonald’s restaurants in Singapore are rolling out new technologies and equipment to improve productivity and convenience, and expanding the training provided to staff that will allow them to take on enhanced job roles. This is supported by the Inclusive Growth Programme (IGP) administered by the National Trades Union Congress’ (NTUC) e2i (Employment and Employability Institute).
3 As a result of McDonald’s relentless focus on productivity, efficiency as well as upgrading of skills, more than 6,000 crew from McDonald’s Singapore will receive higher wages from 1 April 2011. A full-time crew with McDonald’s Singapore can expect to receive a gross monthly salary of at least $1,100 now as compared to $900 previously.
4 Through close monitoring of efficiency indicators and productivity across its work processes, McDonald’s Singapore is enhancing its work processes with the introduction of frozen fries dispenser machines and cashless payment terminals:
a) French fries are one of McDonald’s most popular items, and these are cooked to exacting standards of quality and freshness. The original manual workflow requires crew to obtain fries from a freezer, move them to a loading area, load the fryer baskets individually, and repeat the process once the baskets are used up. The new frozen fries dispensers now allow the fries to be stored and dispensed from one machine, cutting the average time required to load per basket of French fries from 2-3 minutes to around 4 seconds. The new system not only improves the quality and consistency of the fries, it also enhances crew productivity by reducing the number of crew required to operate the station from two to one, a significant improvement especially during peak periods.
b) With the new cashless payment module, the company has shortened payment time and offers more payment options. The new machines reduce the average payment time for customers by 28% and allow customers to also pay by credit card, with no signature required for payments below $35. Soon, they will also be able to pay via NETS debit and Flash pay cards. This again improves turnaround time, which is especially important during peak periods.
Enhanced training and job scopes
5 With the support of IGP funding, McDonald’s Singapore is enhancing the training of its crew leaders as well as introducing a new role called the Customer Relations Managers (CRM), to enhance service as well as productivity in itsrestaurants.
a) Crew leaders are trained to be better trainers for the crew, manage zones within the restaurants, and assist their shift managers in running the restaurants. Their salaries and their career development pathways will also be enhanced. A full-time crew leader with McDonald’s Singapore can expect to receive at least a gross monthly salary of $1,240 per month now from $1,100 previously.
b) McDonald’s Singapore will upgrade its current Store Activity Representative (STAR) jobs to new Customer Relations Manager (CRM) positions. From conducting birthday parties, greeting guests and managing queues, the CRM will now be the overall customer service champion in the store. They will gain new skills in service recovery, feedback analysis and frontline service. They will drive service excellence at the stores. The CRM will progress from being hourly paid to monthly salaried staff, with a full-time CRM being paid around $1,600 per month, up from $1,200 previously.
6 “At McDonald’s, we view ourselves as a People company first. Investing in productivity and training allows us to provide a better experience to our customers, while inspiring our people to achieve their fullest potential,” said Ms Randy Lai, Managing Director of McDonald’s Singapore.
7 A delegation of 60 union leaders, led by the NTUC Secretary-General, Lim Swee Say, visited McDonald’s at Alocassia Apartments today to learn more about the initiatives at McDonald’s Singapore.
8 “Step by step, company by company, industry by industry, we will raise the productivity and wages of our workers, to realise the vision of a 30% real wage increase over 10 years.” said Mr Ong Ye Kung, Assistant Secretary-General of NTUC and Chairman of e2i.
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About e2i (Employment and Employability Institute)
As THE market-place for workers, employers and training providers, e2i exists to create better jobs and better lives for workers. In 2010, we helped 40,000 workers through providing better jobs, developing better skills through professional development, and improving productivity for companies. An initiative of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), supported by the Workforce Development Agency (WDA), the Singapore Labour Foundation (SLF), and the Singapore National Employers’ Federation (SNEF), e2i serves all segments of workers, from rank and file to professionals, managers, executives and technicians.
About McDonald’s Singapore
In Singapore, McDonald’s has more than 110 restaurants island-wide, eleven Drive-Thrus, over 30 dessert kiosks and over 30 McCafé outlets. McDonald’s is the first in the industry to offer super-convenience with McDelivery 24/7TM (online ordering available at www.mcdelivery.com.sg), 24 hours drive-thrus, 24 hours dining at a majority of restaurants daily or on weekends (Fridays, Saturdays and eve of Public Holidays) and
Breakfast from 4am. McDonald’s employs 8,000 people in Singapore and serves more than 5 million customers every month. It is the recipient of the Hewitt Best Employer award in 2007 (Singapore) and 2009 (Singapore & Asia), and the national Service Excellence award in 2008.
For further information on McDonald’s Singapore, please log on to
www.mcdonalds.com.sg
About the Inclusive Growth Programme (IGP)
Launched in August 2010, the Inclusive Growth Programme (IGP) is a $40 million programme set up to drive productivity improvements across sectors. It supports companies in rolling out their productivity improvement projects and to share productivity gains with workers. IGP targets to benefit 25,000 low wage workers over two years. As of end February 2011, 240 IGP projects had been approved. These will benefit close to 19,000 workers.