McDonald’s champions inclusivity

As the world marked International Day of People With a Disability on December 3, McDonald’s restaurants reflected on more than 40 years of working with service providers such as JobSupport, atWork and Omnia to employ thousands of people with disability nationwide.

Working with service provider Omnia, Central Coast Macca’s outlets have placed more than 30 current employees.

One such employee is 30-year-old Christopher Crocker, who is celebrating almost nine years with Macca’s Wadalba.

Crocker has Asperger’s Syndrome, but hasn’t let that slow him down.

He was invited to Charlie Bell School of Management (McDonald’s training centre) to complete a Hospitality Champions course and has progressed from maintaining the dining room to cooking fries and manning the registers.

“I have great workmates and managers, who have all been really supportive,” he said.

“I have made lifelong friends at McDonald’s.

“My first job was keeping the dining room clean and saying hello to all the customers who came in, which I still do today.

“I was gradually taught to do registers and fries, and I’ve started doing shifts in drive-through.”

Crocker has also been volunteering with the Central Coast Mariners for more than 11 years and won the Mariners Volunteer of the Year Award in 2016.

Thando Gogwana has been working full-time at Macca’s West Gosford for 10 months.

Gogwana, who lives with autism, is a well-known and friendly face to customers coming through drive-through and is well-known for his fries and hash browns.

He loves that Macca’s procedures and equipment are standardised and routine, and regularly checks in with his Omnia support trainer.

“The staff have been great at understanding my limitations, but also finding my strengths,” Gogwana said.

“McDonald’s has helped me with independence, my communication, social skills and work skills.

“I like that my workmates take an interest in me and other staff with disabilities, as it shows they are invested and want to learn about me, not just train me.”

West Gosford franchisee Ron Mussalli has employed hundreds of people with a disability across his 11 Central Coast restaurants over the years, and is a leading advocate for disability inclusion.

His business, Saronbell Pty Ltd, has been working with Omnia for more than 13 years, and Mussalli has encouraged many other Macca’s franchisees to do the same.

“Being able to provide job opportunities for people with disabilities is core to our values and our commitment to being a part of our communities,” he said.

“We mean it when we say Macca’s doors are open to everyone, and we will always strive to ensure our restaurants are places where everyone is welcomed and strength in diversity is valued.”

Business Relationship Consultant for Omnia Inclusive Employment, Ash Mackinnon, has been working in partnership with McDonald’s stores on the Central Coast for 13 years.

He and Omnia assist the managers and staff in hiring, training and supporting employees with various disabilities.

“I get as much satisfaction seeing the McDonald’s managers and staff develop skills in training a diverse workforce as I do assisting our candidates into work,” he said.

“McDonald’s have world-class procedures that enable staff of any ability to become a valuable member of the team and to develop to the best of their ability.

“McDonald’s hire the smile and they also focus on ability rather than someone’s disability.”