 |
 |
Quality
of
Life |
here’s
something comforting and classy about Starbucks. It’s not just the enticing
aromas and blues tunes wafting through the air, the handsome surroundings or the
likelihood of running into a friend or neighbor. It’s more the way the baristas
(never called "counter help") greet people, perhaps offering a blueberry scone
sample, or remembering a customer’s preference for nonfat soy latte with extra
foam.
Starbucks attracts a near-cult following, serving 25
million drinks a week at nearly 7,000 locations worldwide. In a four-week period
ending in August, the company--which is growing by three to four stores a
day--reported net revenues of $335 million, an increase of 26 percent over the
same period last year. The Seattle-based coffee empire was among the top 10 on
Fortune’s most recent "America’s Most Admired Companies" list. The magazine also
rated it the most admired food-services company in 2001 and 2002. Business Week
named founder Howard Schultz one of the country’s top 25 managers in 2001.
Since Starbucks began with a single store in 1971, its
overriding philosophy has been this: "Leave no one behind." With that in mind,
new employees get 24 hours of in-store training, steeping themselves in
information about coffee and how to meet, greet and serve customers. Full
health-care benefits (medical, dental, vision and alternative services) are
offered to all employees, including part-timers who work at least 240 hours per
calendar quarter. The EAP is available to all employees. Employees share in the
company’s growth via "Bean Stock" (stock options) of up to 14 percent of their
gross pay, and a stock-investment plan allows them to buy shares of Starbucks
common stock at a discount (85 percent of fair market value) through payroll
deductions. The company also matches employees’ contributions to their "Future
Roast" 401(k) plans, adding from 25 to 150 percent of the first 4 percent of
pay, depending on length of service.
As a result of such measures, Starbucks employees have an
82 percent job-satisfaction rate, according to a Hewitt Associates Starbucks
Partner View Survey. This compares to a 50 percent satisfaction rate for all
employers and 74 percent for Hewitt’s "Best Place to Work" employers. Though the
company won’t release specific numbers, it also claims that its turnover is
lower than that of most fast-food establishments. But it’s not just the benefits
that attract employees. Another company survey found that the top two reasons
why people work for Starbucks are "the opportunity to work with an enthusiastic
team" and "to work in a place where I feel I have value."
Omollo Gaya, who grew up on a coffee farm in Kenya and
immigrated to San Diego to attend college, was drawn inside a Starbucks store
seven years ago by the heady aroma. He bought a pound of coffee, struck up a
conversation with the employee behind the counter, and was impressed by the
barista’s knowledge. As he sipped his brew, "something clicked," Gaya says.
After researching Starbucks, he applied for a job and spent the next four years
in a San Diego store before being promoted to his current position as one of
eight coffee tasters at company headquarters. After six years, Gaya exercised
his Bean Stock options, which netted about $25,000 after payment of the exercise
price, to build a new four-bedroom house for his widowed mother on 15 acres in
her home village.
"The health benefits, the 401(k) and the stock options
really surprised me, and confirmed what this company is all about," Gaya says.
"From my first day on the job, I got a lot of satisfaction when I offered a cup
of coffee to customers and saw the smile on their faces, when I answered their
questions about coffee, and when I saw their enthusiasm when they returned with
a friend or colleague. My love for coffee started when I was 5 years old, but I
never thought it would come to mean so much to me. Buying a home for my mother
is the highlight of my being with Starbucks."
Maintaining that kind of feel-good atmosphere in a small
mom-and-pop company is one thing. The question is how Starbucks manages to keep
the spirit flowing with 11,000 full-time and 60,000 part-time employees in North
America, and an additional 7,400 workers globally. "Staying ‘small’ while we
grow is one of our biggest challenges," says Dave Pace, executive vice president
of partner resources (the company’s term for human resources). "It sounds
clichéd, but we do it by taking our mission statement seriously. Almost all
companies have a mission, but at Starbucks, we use it as our guiding principle
and hold it up as a filter for decision-making."
Providing a great work environment and treating employees
with respect is number one on Starbucks’ six-point mission statement. The list
also includes a commitment to diversity; excellence in purchasing, roasting and
delivering coffee; keeping customers satisfied; contributing to communities and
the environment; and, of course, achieving profitability.
Starbucks encourages its employees, who are called
partners, to keep in mind its mission statement, monitor management decisions,
and submit comments and questions if they encounter anything that runs counter
to any of the six points. Employees submit about 200 such Mission Review queries
a month, and a two-person team considers and responds to each one. As a result
of one such review request, Starbucks extended its military-reserve policy to
protect the jobs, salaries and health-care benefits of employees who were called
into action after September 11 and again during the Iraq war.
The company also encourages community involvement by
donating $10 for each hour that an employee volunteers to a nonprofit or
charitable organization. Profits from sales of the company’s logo-emblazoned
"coffee gear" are channeled into clubs and services for employees, which include
everything from running groups and bowling leagues to quilting and book clubs.
Employees can donate an amount of their choice to a voluntary "CUP (Caring
Unites Partners) fund," which is used to provide grants to fellow employees who
fall on hard times. And every year, as part of its Earthwatch program, the
company selects a few employees to travel to coffee-producing parts of the
world, where they learn firsthand about environmental and conservation issues
from the growers. Last year two were selected; this year five are going.
"People come to Starbucks to socialize and interact, so
our partners do much more than just make coffee," Pace says. "They are the ones
who create that environment in our stores and make this a place that people feel
good about. So they feel empowered and know they are making a contribution. This
is a company where we look out for each other and look out for the community.
And when people see us responding to them, they feel like this company really
‘gets it.’ "
= Member Only
