McDonald's New Zealand has been working closely with Te Taura Whiri i te reo Māori, the Māori Language Commission, to develop reo names for its menu items and educate staff members on correct pronunciation.
Speaking at the recent reo symposium in Wellington, Simon Kenny, Chairperson of McDonald's New Zealand, highlighted the company's ongoing efforts to integrate te reo Māori into its business practices.
"We've been on a journey for five years now, so it's just about how we better embed te reo Māori strategy into our business," Kenny explained.
International recognition
McDonald's New Zealand gained international recognition in 2018 when it introduced reo Māori menu items such as Makanui, Pākī, and Rourou.
These initiatives caught the attention of the global McDonald's community and led to the company being featured in reports on diversity and inclusion.
Kenny noted, "We are just a small blip in the McDonald's world, but all of a sudden we were getting features in reports they were doing around diversity and inclusion, and then ultimately we had our global CEO posting in te reo Māori to support te wiki o te reo Māori."
Employee told not to speak te reo
The pivotal moment that propelled McDonald's New Zealand to reevaluate its policies occurred when employee Janine Eru-Taueki was admonished for speaking te reo Māori to a customer.
"So this person was getting warned for speaking one of our official languages, so I thought there's something wrong with this policy... We went back to that individual and apologized, and said, 'This is no good, we are gonna revisit the policy. Can we get your feedback on where you think we went wrong?'" Kenny recounted.
Recognizing the need for change, Kenny engaged with Te Taura Whiri i te reo Māori for guidance.
"They just gave us a really simple challenge which was to just normalize te reo Māori in everyday life, and we went cool, what does that look like in McDonald's? We went back to our people and asked how we can do that, and that's how it all started."