Employee’s career step from Marriott to McDonald’s

What do fast food giant McDonald’s and luxury hotel chain the Marriott have in common?

From a career point of view very little, according to Janelle MacGinley.

She’s worked for both. She was the marketing guru for the Marriott at Surfers Paradise and later the Brisbane hotel when it opened in 1998 before moving to work for McDonald’s.

She admits it was a bold move to go from selling a relatively expensive product to one that costs considerably less, but it was one she was keen to make.

“Through talking to people within McDonald’s I became very interested in the company and I thought it was an industry I could excel in,” she says.

Her first venture in the fast-food industry was to run the McDonald’s outlet in Marsden, Logan, south of Brisbane.

“Having worked in the corporate arena in Brisbane then moving to Logan, it was a bit of a shift,” MacGinley says.

But one she’s never regretted.

MacGinley’s just opened her fourth McDonald’s outlet, in Holmview, and has now been recognised for her work over the years with the prestigious Golden Arch Award, which is given to less than 1 per cent of McDonald’s owners and operators from around the world.

“I was really, really very proud and humbled to receive that award,” she says.

In further recognition of her efforts a team of McDonald’s executives came to visit her this week at her Beenleigh outlet to hear more about the secrets of her success.

MacGinley is now in charge of about 700 full-time and part-time staff across her outlets, which also includes the Logan Central operation.

Her staff is comprised of a whole range of people, from those who are still in school or education through to managers, a number of graduates and her accountant husband Peter.

Danielle Sullivan is one of the graduate employees who now works as the training and people manager for MacGinley’s operation.

She has worked in several McDonald’s outlets since she was 15 while she was studying a degree in education.

But after graduating and spending two years working in the high school system, she decided she’d had enough and wanted to return to the fast food chain.

“This might seem a bit . . . ,” she struggles to find the right words.

“But I really enjoy working for McDonald’s.

“I’ve tried being a teacher but I didn’t feel like I was at home.

“I wanted to come back here and I wanted to work with the people.”

Sullivan admits it was not the career choice she had in mind when studying but now she’s involved in the training she says there’s more to the business than just serving food.

Lawyers and architects are also employed by the company, which offers training in Certificate II and III in Retail as well as Advanced Diplomas in Management – which Sullivan also studied through McDonald’s.

“The opportunities are endless,” she says. “There are marketing avenues, nutritional and even public relation avenues.

“The training is second to none. There’s so much opportunity to create a great life for yourself.”

It’s this focus on training and education that MacGinley says is important, especially when it comes to staff who are still in education.

“McDonald’s gives people a lot of flexibility in their work,” she says.

“When I’m interviewing I always say that if they need time off to work on some assignment or finish a degree then that’s not a problem. It’s very important people get an education.”

It’s this attention to helping her staff that is part of her success and something she says she first learned working with the Marriott chain.

“(McDonald’s and the Marriott) are both absolutely very different but also the same in dealing with similar ideas of customer service, and both companies are very strong with people,” she says.

The fast food giant may have its critics but MacGinley says it’s been important for the outlets to engage in the community.

“I firmly believe in an area like Logan that we need to give back to our community,” she says.

Her outlets have connections with the local police and citizens youth groups, chaplains, fundraising events, even the Salvation Army is allowed in to rattle a few boxes to customers. They’ve also helped with projects for the homeless and abused mothers.

“I think some people do have a feeling that McDonald’s does have some ulterior motive to support these organisations but I would say our aim is really to support the community and what comes from that is totally up to the community who are involved,” she says.