Recruitment of Employees at Dunkin Donuts

Dunkin' Donuts:

A vision for the future in the Midwest region

Dunkin' Donuts has experienced stratospheric growth in recent years. To capitalize upon its success in the Midwest region in the five new locations opening up over the course of the next two years requires playing to the organization's strengths in terms of the quality and efficiency of service it offers at a relatively low price. Recruiting top talent, even at entry level positions, is demanded for Dunkin' Donuts to continue to effectively brand itself as America's favorite place to grab breakfast or an afternoon snack. Dunkin' has transformed itself into a homey, blue-collar alterative to Starbucks that still offers a wide variety of breakfast and sandwich foods spanning from traditional donuts and bagels to egg white flatbreads. But all of these products must be served with a smile.

Job Design

Working at a franchise such as Dunkin' Donuts requires staff with strong customer service aptitude. Even the entry level jobs demand a high level of commitment from employees since Dunkin' Donuts is fundamentally a service-based organization. "To design jobs effectively, a person must thoroughly understand the job itself (through job analysis) and its place in the larger work unit's work flow process (through work flow analysis)" ("Job design," 2015). Motivation is a critical component of encouraging workers to perform at a high level. According to the path-goal theory of leadership, when tasks are highly repetitive as in the case of a service-based business, leaders must "focus on relationships. You show sensitivity to individual team members' needs, and you consider your team members' best interests" ("Path goal theory," 2015). For example, when employees go the extra mile to help out a customer, a manager should be instructed to take note of this fact and praise the worker.

A friendly atmosphere, encouraging coworkers to recognize their fellow employee's efforts, reasonable break times and scheduling, and even friendly 'competitions' (for example, which shift can sell the most of a particular promotional product) are all components of meaningful leadership in this particular context. Employees should also have a sense of where their tasks fit into the larger business model of the company. Ideally, rotating workers between different tasks makes for a more flexible and informed workforce and also guards against monotony. Task identity (the extent to which workers can complete a task from beginning to end and thus identify with the task as a critical part of their identity as a worker) and task completion, or the ability to complete a task (which makes them derive satisfaction from it) is also important ("Job design," 2015). Workers must know that even the simple task of serving doughnuts and coffee is critical for company success. However, workers cannot live on motivational speeches alone and as well as stressing the higher aspects of the motivational pyramid such as self-actualization and the social dynamics of the workforce, there must still be mechanisms in place to ensure that workers' physiological needs such as appropriate working conditions, safety and the demand for adequate pay and benefits are addressed.

Organizational Design

According to a recent article in Forbes magazine, "Organization design should start with corporate self-reflection: What is your sense of purpose? How will you make a difference for your clients, employees, and investors? What will set you apart from others, now and in the future? What differentiating capabilities will allow you to deliver your value proposition over the next two to five years?" (Neilson, Estupinan, & Sethi 2015). Dunkin' Donuts has had a critical rebranding in recent years, marketing itself as the alternative to higher-priced breakfast providers like Starbucks and Panera Bread. It offers lower-priced yet high-quality foods and beverages in an unfussy atmosphere. Campaigns like "America runs on Dunkin'" and "Time to Make the Donuts" are designed to reinforce its universality, versus the exclusive pricing and attitude of other coffee stores. "For decades, Dunkin's Donuts coffee played a supporting role to its baked goods. Then, in 1995, a year after Starbucks opened its first store in Boston, Dunkin' began its plan to grab more of the coffee market and introduced a line of flavored coffees" (Hoy 2006). Coffee is now a part of the Dunkin' brand value proposition just as much as donuts, and focusing on this is critical given America's increased coffee consumption and the increasing worries about sugar.

This stresses the need to make every store efficient and operational according to standardized principles such as layout and food and beverage delivery but also tailored to each location's unique needs. Giving managers discretion in terms of which products to emphasize and the decor of the store ensures that Dunkin' will suit the lifestyles of the demographic patronizing a particular location. For example, some Dunkin' Donuts are more focused on commuters in business locations while others might attract more college students. Having more places to sit and eat in the latter will ultimately improve the store. Dunkin' has moved from a "regional power brand" in New England to a store with universal appeal that can be modified to local needs (Hoy 2006).

Recruiting and Selection

Especially in service-based organizations, hiring for attitude is all-important. Dunkin' Donuts has showed a willingness to innovate in recent years and the same must be shown in its approach to hiring. Competitor Starbucks has made much of how it trains its staff extensively in coffee preparation and Dunkin' must similarly recruit and select employees that are willing to make a commitment to its expansion and development as an organization with the attitude they have towards customers. Recruitment is a critical problem for the hospitality industry, particularly in fast food where there is such a high level of turnover. Paying workers more and offering them comparable benefits (again, in comparison to competitor Starbucks, this is critical) ensures that qualified employees will apply and more importantly stay. Hiring for attitude and asking employees how they would behave in various customer service scenarios, versus using standardized exams and formulaic questions will help create a personalized and friendly image for the company from day one.