Employing People with Disability
Interview Guide — McDonald’s Australia
Promoting the rights of people with a disability in Central Australia and the Barkly
Purpose of this conversation
To understand why and how McDonald’s employs people with disability, capture the benefits in their own words, and gather practical advice that helps other businesses follow suit — and that dismantles the stereotypes holding employers back. People with disability are the experts in their own lives; this conversation is about evidence and voice, not charity.
Before you start
- Type straight into any field — your work saves in this browser automatically.
- Ask permission to record, and explain how the material will be used.
- When an answer is general, follow up with “can you give me an example?” — the story is always more persuasive than the principle.
- Don’t rush the silences; the most honest answers often come after a pause.
- Tailor depth to who you have: corporate gives you policy and scale; a franchisee gives you the day-to-day human story.
Opening
~3 min1Tell me about your role, and how you came to be involved in disability employment at McDonald’s.
2Roughly how many people with disability work across your restaurants, and in what kinds of roles?
Concrete numbers are gold for convincing other businesses.
The “why” — motivation and the business case
~4 min3Why does McDonald’s employ people with disability — is it values-driven, business-driven, or both? How do those connect?
4What’s the business case you’d make to a sceptical manager or franchisee? What do you actually get back?
Listen for retention, morale, customer response, and team culture.
How it works — the practical mechanics
~6 min5Walk me through what happens from recruitment to a successful first few months. What does the pathway look like?
6Tell me about workplace adjustments — what kinds do you make, and are they as costly or complicated as people assume?
7How do you train and support managers and crew to work alongside someone with disability?
8Who do you partner with externally — employment services, the Australian Disability Network, JobAccess — and how important is that support?
Benefits and busting the myths
~5 min9Can you share a story of an employee whose experience captures why this matters?
Let them tell it fully — stories travel further than statistics.
10What are the most common myths or fears you hear from employers — and what’s your honest response to each?
11Let’s be candid: what’s genuinely been challenging, and how did you work through it?
Acknowledging real challenges makes the interview more credible — and shows others the problems are solvable.
Advice for other businesses, and close
~2 min12If a small business wanted to start tomorrow, what are the first three things you’d tell them to do? And what’s the one thing you most want other employers to understand?
Finish with: “Is there anything I haven’t asked that you think is important for people to hear?”