Oh happy day: recession winner McDonalds is planning to take on the already struggling Starbucks by opening a massive 1,200 McCafes across Europe (Starbucks has 1,300 stores). The finance boss of Maccy-Ds is the spokesmen on this one (which gives you an idea of motive) and he proclaimed the lofty ambition to becoming the biggest coffee seller in Europe. A huge boost for European café culture, I’m sure. Hate them or loathe them, McDonald’s is a great employer, and if you haven’t seen the package available to graduates on the McJob, take a look. Just don’t come McCrying to McMe when you wake up and realise you’ve worked there for seven years, been relocated to Milton Keynes, married a co-worker, both got fat, clean your car every weekend, that you’re best friends are a couple called Paul and Joan, you have a spaghetti jar, and IBS. Mark my words…

Tesco have a neat incentive scheme for staff called Shares in Success in which you get shares equivalent to just under 4% of your annual salary. The latest bonus pot will see £98m divided up between the staff. The bonus haul is a record for Tesco, the UK’s biggest private sector employer, who saw profits break the £3bn mark. With grads being told to work anywhere until the market picks up, a bit of security and a bit of a Brucie bonus with Tesco might not seem such a bad idea…

Poor old William Hill, he confided in me, old Boss Hanson that he’s worried about his public image.  I said nonsense and we knocked back brandies and cigars bought with the shattered dreams of his customers!  But it seems my advice may have fallen on deaf ears, as his HR department are considering changing the name to Bill Hill to appear friendlier and more community orientated.  They do know that they’re a bookmakers, don’t they? David Russell is William’s, or Bill’s as we’re now calling him, HR director and he declared: “We have discussed the idea of re-naming ourselves as Bill Hill quite a bit and while I think it will take quite a while for the name to appear outside our branches, I would predict we will start to use the name online.”  Personally I have often thought about using the current Mrs Hanson pet name for me in public, but Mr Snuggle Bunny doesn’t have that heir of authority I’m looking for.

It seems that the World Retail Congress isn’t just a jolly in the sun, serious debating (possibly even mass!) gets done with this years revolutionary realisation being that an engaged employee is a happy employee.  No, no not that kind of engaged – Mrs Hanson can vouch for that, the kind of engagement they’re speaking of is one of challenges, involvement and responsibility.  That’s what Best Buy CEO Bob Willett has been telling everyone: “The secret source of Best Buy is in its 180,000 employees all are encouraged to be entrepreneurial to ensure customers are kept happy.  They know what the problems are and what the solution is”.  So no more back seat managing from the Best Buy mob.  The business and HR students amongst you will no doubt be shrugging a ‘derrrr’ out a ‘haven’t these people heard of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs’.  This goes a long way to show the importance of choosing where you want to work, what questions YOU should be asking at an interview and what kind of work you’ll be happy doing.  Still interested in working in retail?  Well have a look at these videos

Yesterday’s announcement of £3bn profits at Tesco made them the world’s second biggest retailer to US giant Wal-Mart. The good news for us is their plant to create 26,000 jobs this year – 11,000 of them here in the UK – and plans for expansion will give the construction industry a boost too. If you think there’s no career for you in stacking shelves, think again: watch my friend Hannah gives her spin on working for the big daddy of retail. And here’s the clever chaps at GRB on the retail sector in general.