McDonald's Is Hosting a Drive-Thru Event to Find New Employees Amid COVID-19

Can I take your order . . . and your resume?

As the world adapts to COVID-19, remote job interviews are becoming increasingly popular.  But no one enjoys a shaky internet connection, especially during something as important as a job interview, and McDonald’s is taking remote hiring to a new level with its recently announced Drive-Up Hiring Day. On Wednesday, Sept. 16, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. only, applicants will be able to drive up and request an on-the-spot interview, which will be conducted with social distancing precautions in place.

Drive-thru lanes have been lifelines for brands like McDonald’s during the pandemic. Now, the chain is turning to make-shift drive-thru lanes to help them with another recent challenge: a labor shortage.

Since states began easing dine-in restrictions, industry jobs have rebounded after experiencing catastrophic lows in April. While the restaurant industry added 133,600 jobs in August, staffing levels remain nearly 2.5 million jobs below the pre-COVID-19 peak in February, according to the Labor Department. 

As a recent article on Bloomberg points out, key demographics like teenagers, at the urging of their parents, and the elderly are staying away for health and safety reasons. Plus, emergency-enhanced unemployment checks have kept others on the sidelines.

In June, McDonald’s said it wanted to hire 260,000 restaurant workers this summer. It’s unclear if they met that goal. The announcement follows similar, yet smaller, plans from Subway, Yum Brands, Taco Bell, Dunkin and many more.

Even prior to the pandemic, the QSR and fast casual segment had been dealing with an overall labor shortage. As the labor market continued to shrink, franchisors boosted their benefits, including paid sick leave, career opportunities and educational scholarships, to retain their most valuable asset: store employees.

McDonald's said the drive-up interviews will be conducted using proper distancing and will be designed to be as easy as possible. 

“Applicants can stay in their vehicles or sit in the designated interview areas,” the regional operators said in a statement, adding that they hope to hire thousands of workers. 

To get a headstart on the hiring process, McDonald’s said job seekers can start an application via text or by using Alexa and Google Assistant. Last year, the chain launched McDonald’s Apply Thru, a voice-initiated application process using Google Assistant or Alexa devices.

“Potential applicants will receive a text message shortly thereafter with a link to continue their application process,” the brand said.

McDonald’s said this is the first coordinated drive-up hiring event among its U.S. operators, though some franchisees including one in Louisville have conducted similar types of interviews in the past. 

With no appointments being necessary, it will be interesting to see if things go smoothly and participants respect the drive-thru hiring process. For those seriously looking for work, this could be a prime opportunity. On the franchisor side, this could be a key strategy in making hiring as seamless and painless as possible in order to attract workers at a time when it is increasingly hard to do so.