Studio

Revert to the mean
Conventions are a big part of the McFamily. They bring together corporate leaders and staff with franchisees and partners. These events are often very successful at sparking ideas, but the momentum is lost as soon as the lights go out.

They arrive as co-workers and colleagues — but can they leave as a community? We needed this moment.

We wanted to maximize the tremendous investment that McDonald’s makes in face-to-face conventions and remove the barriers to sustained interactions. An application just for conventions wasn’t going to cut it. Nor would a standalone online workspace like Slack or Microsoft Teams. We needed to create a product that would enrich the convention experience, allow for conversations to continue, and infuse the day-to-day work life with interactions that harken back to the creative energy of the face-to-face. Furthermore, this product had to seamlessly connect with the existing communication infrastructure at McDonald’s. :)

Cultivating connectedness and innovation
The opportunity lies in developing a product that would cultivate a year-round community among McDonald’s corporate leaders, staff, franchisees, and partners, transforming their interactions from periodic to continuous. This shift can enable constant innovation and problem-solving, mirroring the electric atmosphere of face-to-face conventions throughout the day-to-day operation.

Furthermore, by embedding McDonald’s culture, values, and iconography within this platform, it would serve as a virtual representation of the McDonald’s brand, creating a unique space for the community to engage with one another and the organization itself. This can enhance employee engagement, retention, and the company’s ability to attract the next generation of talent, who value a digitally advanced workplace.

Integration and customization
The strategy centers on creating a unique, integrated, and customized digital platform. This should be designed to both foster continuous community interaction and embody McDonald’s organizational culture, all while providing the necessary functionality and security. The plan would be executed in three phases:

User-Centric Design: Collaborate with users (employees, franchisees, partners) to understand their communication and collaboration needs, and incorporate these insights into the platform design.

Integration: Seamlessly integrate the platform with McDonald’s existing digital infrastructure, ensuring smooth operation and user adoption. Also, it should be ensured that the platform can support real-time collaboration, idea-sharing, and communication, similar to an online workspace.

Continuous Improvement: Regularly gather feedback to keep refining the platform, so it continues to meet evolving user needs and organizational goals. This process should also include regular updates to security measures to keep the platform safe and trustworthy.

By achieving these objectives, the new platform would not only break down communication barriers but also cultivate a sense of connectedness and continuous innovation within the McDonald’s community.

Community enablement
Why not use a third-party conference app combined with a day-to-day online workspace?

A custom platform that is at home in both worlds would allow the organization to foster networks that interact in both of these environments as well as infuse the digital experience with iconography and other features that reflect and build organization culture and values. A corporate-led platform also allows for greater security and helps to manage organizational risk.

By investing in and elevating an in-house digital communications platform, McDonald’s can support dynamic teaming as well as create space for new voices and ideas to foster the productive evolution of the organization’s culture and strategies. In addition, McDonald’s has seen increased difficulty attracting and retaining top talent. Improving their digital product suite will increase team cohesion and also serve as a touchpoint for attracting the next generation of leaders.

P.S. A special note for the designers: We made the hamburger menu a little more literal — and added some cheese. :P