We only hire friends
A strange highlight of our annual holiday in France is breakfast at McDonalds. I know: you’re as shocked as I am. But breakfast at a French McDonalds is like no other. Miniature jams, proper croissants and the mandatory McMuffins.
It’s not so much the food that I like it for, but the quality and consistency of service at the particular branch we go to, at 9am, often the only customers on the outskirts of an anonymous town in the west of France.
Actually, let me get even more specific: I like the people there. They make the nine hour drive ahead feel like it’s going to be the best day ever.
McDonalds recently won plaudits for their Friends Wanted programme. They decided to improve staff retention and happiness, and what better way to do this than recruit friends, together.
They launched the programme with mirror image ads on tray covers, so both friends sitting across a table could see it. They had ads showing how working alongside your mates is a lot more fun than working alone.
It got our team thinking about recruitment in all sorts of businesses, but none more so than the loneliest of all public services: teaching. You see, most teaching still happens in isolation. Most teachers barely have time to grab a cuppa in the day, let alone lounge in the staff lounge with their friends.
And let’s face it: there’s no guarantee that your colleagues are going to be your mates.
So what would happen if schools started to hire pairs of friends at a time? Or entire groups of them?
Collaboration between them might be easier (takeaway food and raucous Friday nights of planning in their sights).
Happiness would be higher: you can tell your friends anything, so troubles don’t get buried to fester away.
Challenging situations would be quicker resolved: friends jump on grenades for each other.
Peer leadership would surge: groups of friends don’t need managed to come to arrangements, when WhatsApp does it for them.
If you were going to join a new organisation with your next dream team of friends, who would you apply with, and what would the impact be?
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