Global technology and consulting corporation IBM has announced that food service retailer McDonald’s South Africa is to use IBM’s social business software.

The move comes as McDonald’s seeks to embrace the convergence of social, mobile and cloud to help facilitate its expansion to new markets and enable its employees to collaborate more effectively.

McDonald’s is working with IBM and its business partner, Knowledge Dimension, to transform the way its almost 200 restaurants and 8,000 employees communicate and collaborate, thereby attempting to help the company communicate and operate more effectively.

McDonald’s says it further plans to use the technology to help transform into a ‘social enterprise’, aimed at gearing geographically dispersed employees with the ability to communicate more effectively and share ideas.

Established in South Africa in November 1995, the SA market is considered one of the most successful for McDonald’s internationally. The chain initially opened 30 restaurants in just 23 months, and the company has trained and employed almost 8,000 South Africans at various levels, including franchisees, restaurant managers and crew.

“With our intended aggressive expansion plans – growing the number of restaurants by approximately 25 restaurants a year – improved communications is undoubtedly a business imperative,” says Greg Solomon, managing director for McDonald’s South Africa.

“Equipping our employees with a social network to improve communication is critical in helping us fulfill our brand promise to customers for quality, service, cleanliness, and value.”

Challenged by having to communicate across this vastly dispersed organisation, the company sought a more effective way to reach every one of their crew, driving engagement and collaboration across the system.

The company’s “Engagement with our People” initiative kick-started in 2011, intended to implement processes and tools between head office, Owner Operators (Franchisees), restaurant managers and crew (employees) to increase productivity, improve decision-making and achieve measurable business results, says Gary Swale, director, business development, Knowledge Dimension.

McDonald’s SA is currently using IBM Connections and IBM Sametime instant messaging software to support internal communication and training requirements across their branch network.

The McDonald's crew (staff at restaurant level) will access the platform in South Africa via a mobile solution, supplemented by in-restaurant touch screen docking stations. This phase is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2013.

"McDonald's decision to embrace social business is pioneering and is reflective of the need to find smarter ways of working," says Alistair Rennie, general manager, social business, IBM.

"McDonald's is taking a purposeful approach, using social technologies to engage employees, empower customers and drive organizational performance to secure a competitive advantage."

The agreement with McDonalds was signed in late 2012.