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McDonald's launches world's 1st voice-initiated job applications

Can applying for a fast food job be as easy as getting a drive-thru meal? McDonald's thinks so, as it launches the first voice-initiated job application process.

Photo: iStock

September 25, 2019 by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

From the company that was key in making fast food drive-thrus part of daily life, now comes the "Apply Thru," the planet's very first voice-initiated employment application process. That's right, the often-laborious application process is now getting assistance from Alexa and Google Assistant, though each platform demands a slightly different form of conversation to get the process started, the company said this week. 

Recruiting and retaining new workers for QSR store positions is often identified as the top challenge in restaurant operation today thanks largely to the historically low unemployment rate of 3.7% (down almost 6 points from 2011) and huge demand for restaurant store talent. By applying its growing technology muscle to the problem and making it easier for potential job candidates to apply, McDonald's is hoping to slurp up some of that dwindling pool of potential workers in search of foodservice work. 

"As McDonald's global chief people officer, I'm focused on ensuring that we're also harnessing technology to enhance the employment experience of the 1.9 million people around the world who work in our company-owned and franchisee-owned restaurants," the brand's Chief People Officer David Fairhurst told workers in a post on the company's global newsroom. 

"Across our major international markets, we've already implemented a range of initiatives from online scheduling systems — which enable our people to take greater control of their working hours — to the use of gamification and augmented reality in the delivery of our core training programs. Our voice-initiated application process —  Apply Thru — is just one more way we are using technology to benefit our people."

With the new system — part of the chain's Made at McDonald's global hiring campaign — starting the sometimes lengthy application process now can begin with two phrases, depending on which virtual assistant is being used, Alexa or Google Assistant, as seen in this video. 

So now by either saying, "Alexa, help me get a job at McDonald's," or "OK Google, talk to McDonald's Apply Thru" interested candidates can get the process up and running. Then, the company said that all users need to do is respond to several basic questions verbally and they will get a text with a link to complete the application. 

The Made at McDonald's campaign that the new feature was designed for was created to emphasize the skills, education and relationships working at the chain can provide for employees, regardless of whether they're seeking first-time, part-time job or lifelong work with the chain. The chain's approach is centered on helping potential employees realize the transferable skills they can acquire through their work at McDonald's for other work in or outside the company. 

"For example, in the U.S. alone, 128,401 McDonald's crew members have gone on to become nurses, 489,302 have made a career teaching and 2,403,460 have become entrepreneurs, according to a recent survey completed by McDonald's," Fairhurst added. 

The voice-initiated application feature that is now available in the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain and the U.K .is part of McDonald's increasingly active involvement in restaurant-centered tech, including everything from its global mobile app and self-order kiosks to the use of Dynamic Yield's personalization technology in drive-thru digital menu boards, which uses factors like weather and time of day for suggestive selling. 

About S.A. Whitehead

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Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb editor Shelly Whitehead is a former newspaper and TV reporter with an affinity for telling stories about the people and innovative thinking behind great brands.