Taking Cues from Facebook

Responding to younger employees' online habits

If the growth of popular social networking sites like Facebook® (more than 150 million users worldwide) and MySpace® (110 million) is any indication, the world is rapidly changing how it communicates. Building on these obvious cues, McDonald's and other restaurant companies worldwide are creating similar online networks to boost employee interaction.

If you're a multiunit company like McDonald's, with employees spread across regions, states, and countries, social media is extremely valuable, and is quickly becoming the best way to communicate, organize, and even conduct business. Interactive sites, unlike e-mail or newsletters, can especially engage employees who've grown up using the Internet and enjoy connecting with peers online.

At McDonald's, we've launched StationM - a private networking site for our more than 650,000 hourly employees in 15,000 locations in the United States and Canada. It gives crew members an exclusive space to connect with each other. They post comments, share photos and participate in contests. "This is a way to hear from our restaurant staff and learn what's on their minds, and also to make them feel better about being a part of McDonald's," said Ben Stringfellow, McDonald's USA's Senior Director of Communications. Social media has allowed large companies to make important connections with entry-level employees.

At StationM, McDonald's has a facilitator to monitor and guide online discussion. "But companies do not need to fear a loss of productivity by creating an employee social networking site," added Stringfellow, noting that such concerns first emerged when the Internet debuted in the workplace in the mid-1990s. "Employers that avoid social media altogether are missing an important opportunity and running the risk of alienating Gen X-ers and millennials. Embracing the technology with proper planning and guidelines for its use are effective approaches to ensuring success."

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