Dive Brief:

• The McDonald's that has been a staple of the American fast-food diet for generations is betting on a futuristic business model. People are being replaced by self-serve kiosks and other automatic tech.
• McDonald's CEO Stephen Easterbrook, told Yahoo! Finance that human workers will be relocated to other areas as they move from the front counter to cooking and other restaurant duties. Additionally, McDonald's employees will become more customer-oriented as "hospitality service people'" — requiring new skills and interacting more closely with customers at their tables. 
• The reason for this change? McDonald's has experienced staffing shortages and wants to appeal to candidates with a fresh new approach and technology advancements. 

Dive Insight:

The direction that McDonald's is taking, introducing more customer self-serve tools and moving employees into roles as hospitality-oriented service people, is a bold move. However, it's similar to what other businesses have done, such as banks, retail centers and travel firms, in the face of automation. 

The level of skill that employees will need to help customers on the floor, deal with technology invading previous human roles and developing stronger customer service skills will increase, meaning more emphasis will be placed on recruiting for soft skills.

Additionally, McDonald's may be able to place more emphasis on skill development as a benefit for employees, differentiating themselves as an employer that is focused on preparing employees for positions both inside and outside the company.