McDonald’s recently bagged three prestigious Human Resource awards that solidifies its position as one of the country’s most dedicated and sought-after companies to work for. The three accolades that were garnered include the Best Companies to Work for in Asia 2018 (Malaysia Edition) by HR Asia; the Best Employer in Malaysia 2018 by AON; and the Best Franchise Employer 2018 by the Malaysian Franchise Association (MFA).
“We are thrilled to be accorded this honour. Being the recipient for these three awards is a testimony to McDonald’s Malaysia brand success and a recognition of our strong business leadership that puts talent first and appreciates the importance of human capital as a key contributor to business outcomes”, said Azhar Darbi, Senior Director of Human Resources, McDonald’s Malaysia.
Azhar attributed the win to the three aspects of McDonald’s Employee Value Proposition (EVP) – Family & Friends, where the company treats their People as more than just co-workers, but more of extended family members and friends. McDonald’s also provides Flexibility as they believe that every person’s personal requirements are different and lastly, it promises a bright Future for its People by equipping them with lifelong career and personal skills.
In addition, the quick service restaurant also promotes the “McDonald’s Culture” consisting of three pillars – Guest-obsessed; Better Together; and Commitment to Lead – as its guiding principles for continuous improvement. Through McDonald’s Culture, the company is committed to ensure guests or customers enjoy the best of McDonald’s experience, promotes teamwork amongst employees and make a positive impact to the quick service industry, community and planet.
“At McDonald’s, people are the face of our brand and critical to our success. Our ambition is to leverage our scale, where training and development programs help to build a path forward for our people particularly in functional and leadership areas. To date, we have invested more than RM8.2 million annually to drive human capital development initiatives. All 12,000 McDonald’s employees in Malaysia are required to undergo structured and continuous training and development at different stages of their careers to help them reach their fullest potential,” added Azhar.
Pushing ahead with National Dual Training System
To elevate the standards of the company’s human capital development and to nurture new talents, McDonald’s also participates actively in the National Dual Training System (SLDN) under the auspices of the Ministry of Human Resource. McDonald’s Malaysia is the first quick-service restaurant operator to be awarded the SLDN accreditation by the Department of Skills Development (DSD) under the Ministry of Human Resources.
The SLDN is an industry-oriented training programme that combines workplace and institutional training. During the 18-month training period, the McDonald’s apprentices are expected to receive 70 – 80 per cent practical training in the restaurant and 30 – 20 per cent theoretical lessons conducted in classrooms.
As soon as they pass the assessment and final test, which will be conducted at the end of the training programme, they will be awarded the Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia (SKM) Level 2 and Level 3 by the Department of Skills Development (DSD). This certificate qualifies them for employment at McDonald’s restaurants and to continue to progress in their career.
Besides benefitting from full sponsorship of the training programme, each apprentice is also given a monthly living allowance of RM1,200, medical and insurance benefits, as well as free meals.
The McDonald’s Training Centre at Menara TH, Petaling Jaya, is the SLDN-approved classroom training centre. By the end of the year, a total of 100 McDonald’s restaurants will be certified as practical training locations, involving approximately 1,000 apprentices. The selected restaurants are located in the Klang Valley, Johor Bahru and Penang.