McDonald’s Launches Job Application by Voice for Alexa & Google Assistant
McDonald’s launched a new voice app for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa to aid its job applicants. The McDonald’s Apply Thru Skill completes the first part of the application without needing to fill out any paperwork.
McVoice Job Application
The Apply Thru voice app on Alexa and Google Assistant starts the job application process for McDonald’s in a way similar to applying online. People interested in applying can ask Alexa to “help me get a job at McDonald’s” or ask Google Assistant to “talk to McDonald’s Apply Thru.” Google is also planning to add the same form of request as Alexa currently offers. Then the voice assistant will ask questions about who the applicant is, the area where they live, and what they are interested in doing at McDonald’s. A text message then confirms that their information has been received and shares a link to finish the application online. McDonald’s launched the Apply Thru voice app in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and half a dozen European countries, but the company said it plans to expand the voice app to other countries soon.
The point of the app is to streamline the process of applying for a job and to also reduce the initial friction of beginning the job application process itself. If someone sees a television commercial for jobs at McDonald’s for instance, they can then quickly ask a voice assistant at that moment to start their application, reducing the likelihood of forgetting to apply altogether.
“We must continue to innovate and think of creative, and in this case, groundbreaking ways to meet potential job seekers on devices they are already using, like Alexa,” McDonald’s Chief People Officer David Fairhurst said in a statement. “Alexa has many of the qualities we look for on our teams — friendly, responsive and fun. I am looking forward to having our application process simplified with Alexa.”
Fast-Food Voice Innovation
McDonald’s claims to be the first company to directly offer even partial job application processes via voice. The potential value of using voice assistants to draw new applicants is obvious when considering the rapid adoption of smart speakers and other devices with voice assistant integration. Voicebot’s research found a 40 percent rise in smart speaker ownership in the U.S. in 2018, with new and cheaper options rolling out seemingly every month. As people continue to get more comfortable asking voice assistants questions, inquiring about applying for a job seems like a natural fit and quality use case.
The job application voice app is just one of the first voice-first initiatives the company has planned. Last month, McDonald’s acquired voice tech startup Apprente to help develop voice assistant-powered drive-thrus. The acquisition was announced a couple of months after reports emerged that McDonald’s was already testing voice assistant enabled drive-thrus in Illinois. Apprente is also the foundation of the new McD Labs, a research and development lab for McDonald’s based in Silicon Valley.
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