Remaking the Starbucks Experience: Minimizing Culture Impact
Original photography for The Involvement Practice | Tim McCleary
Fewer employees. Smaller menu. More doodles.
Culture changes are brewing at Starbucks. According to reports in late February, the company will be cutting 1,000 corporate jobs and, by the end of 2025, dropping 30% of its menu.
With more than 170,000 possible drink combinations (and some external estimates putting that number closer to 300 billion), it's no wonder that Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol wants to simplify processes to reduce customer wait times and employee stress.
While eliminating time-consuming menu items is designed to make baristas happier, Niccols has resurfaced a process as part of his “Back to Starbucks” strategy that may not put a smile on their faces. The in-store team members have been asked to personalize customer cups with a doodle to humanize the brand. It’s part of an effort to shore up declining sales over four straight quarters.
Four culture change activation tactics
Starbucks is not a client of The Involvement Practice, but let's use this example to explore ways to activate this culture change:
Prepare for the downsizing at the corporate office by clearly communicating to employees the reason for it and answering questions as candidly as possible.
Hold small group sessions for those who will remain on the team to help them process the loss of their colleagues, and rethink how work gets done given the lower headcount.
Create a softer, more human landing for those leaving the team by bringing them together as a community for what could be called “Transition Sessions,” above and beyond the other benefits they may receive.
Keep the importance of the customer experience front and center. Actively involve customers in the menu reduction by encouraging baristas to engage their regulars in a brief conversation about it. Doing this will initially take some extra time, but it will ease customers into the change, and acknowledge their loyalty to the Starbucks brand.
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Read more about the changes at Starbucks on CNN Business.
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