We are a learning organization that provides opportunity, nurtures talent, develops leaders, and rewards achievement. The foundation of the McDonald’s training system is providing training when and where it is needed. Through effective training, team members at McDonald’s can become proficient and focused on the system’s specific procedures and policies. Some of the crew will remain at the restaurant as essential crew members; some will move into management; others may simply move on. Whether in a first job or throughout a career, McDonald’s training provides life skills that may be useful in many different situations.

McDonald’s uses the following basic principles to design crew and restaurant management training programs:

• People remember best what they learn first. Remember the expression, “Bad habits are the hardest to break.” Studies show that it takes five times longer to learn the right method if the participant learns the wrong one first.
• People learn best through a variety of techniques. McDonald’s training combines a variety of ways to acquire information, including demonstration, simulation, and hands-on practice.
• People need reinforcement to encourage learning. Reward and recognition is an integral part of the curricula because it allows team members to develop skills to give and receive feedback.
• People understand and retain information more effectively if there are clear learner objectives.

McDonald’s uses the following basic principles to design crew and restaurant management training programs:

• People remember best what they learn first. Remember the expression, “Bad habits are the hardest to break.” Studies show that it takes five times longer to learn the right method if the participant learns the wrong one first.
• People learn best through a variety of techniques. McDonald’s training combines a variety of ways to acquire information, including demonstration, simulation, and hands-on practice.
• People need reinforcement to encourage learning. Reward and recognition is an integral part of the curricula because it allows team members to develop skills to give and receive feedback.
• People understand and retain information more effectively if there are clear learner objectives.

McDonald’s uses a blended learning approach to apply the training principles, which means multiple methods are used to deliver training messages. These methods include the following:

• Digital learning platform, which allows participants to start their self-learning journey and work independently to learn the important operational knowledge and standards.
• On-the-job coaching gives the participant the opportunity to work shoulder-to-shoulder with a coach, which builds on-the-job practical restaurant skills and shows how the concepts work in working environment.
• Training tools are systematic, interesting and understandable. They enable consistent and updated messages to be delivered.
• Classroom training is an interactive event with clear learning objectives. The training held either in or out of the restaurant and guided by professional trainers for effective knowledge transfer. Activities include webinar broadcast, capstone course, restaurant experience, case study, visits & tours, online assessment, etc.
• McTalent Development Program is a fast track development program for external-hired talents to join Store Management Team. It provides tailor-made training for participants to get rapid advancement to restaurant general managers and mid-managers.
• All Star Competition is an iconic employee event with training, learning and fun. It is a platform for participants to show their consistent training results and team spirit with rewards and recognition for top performers.

Since 1961, more than 80,000 restaurant general managers, mid-managers and owner/operators have graduated from the Hamburger University. An estimated 8,000 students, from 121 countries, attend Hamburger University classes, which are taught in 28 different languages every year, This embodies the learning today, leading tomorrow mindset as we believe that lessons learnt today are for life.

Our commitment to the advancement of our human capital continues to take shape. We set up the hamburger university located at McDonald’s Corporate Offices and regional training centers within the United States. Additionally, there are HU campuses in Sydney, Munich, London, Tokyo, São Paulo and now in Shanghai.