A Starbucks barista fulfills an order at a South Philadelphia store.
Marc Makela | Reuters
Starbucks will award baristas and shift leaders $300 quarterly bonuses if their stores meet certain goals to aid the coffee chain’s turnaround efforts, the company announced Thursday.
The program will begin in July, with the first payment expected in the fall for store employees who meet or exceed specific sales, operations and customer service metrics, Mike Grams, Starbucks’ chief operating officer, and Sara Kelly, chief partner officer, wrote in a memo to employees Thursday.
However, baristas at locations represented by Starbucks Workers United likely won’t see quarterly bonuses until Starbucks and the union reach a collective bargaining agreement.
“This new program, in approximately 5% of U.S. locations where partners are unionized, will be subject to collective bargaining as required by federal law,” Grams and Kelly said in the letter.
Negotiations between Starbucks and the union have been at a standstill for more than a year. In March, the company announced it had offered to resume in-person negotiations with Workers United. Negotiations between the two sides are expected to resume this month.
Under the leadership of CEO Brian Niccol, Starbucks has undergone a turnaround focused on “getting back to Starbucks.” Much of the strategy has focused on improving the customer experience, from making cafes more comfortable to requiring baristas to write messages on cups.
But the turnaround plan also depends on his baristas and their willingness to implement Niccol’s vision. Starbucks has been trying to improve the barista experience, improving its staff and planning to add assistant managers at most North American locations this year.
More changes are coming for baristas. The company also announced Thursday that it would offer its customers more ways to tip their baristas. Anyone who orders and pays through the mobile app will be able to leave a tip, as will customers who scan the app at checkout to pay.
In combination with the new bonuses, baristas could see their salaries increase by up to 8%, according to the company.
Additionally, all Starbucks employees in the United States will be paid on a weekly basis starting in August. Currently, most baristas receive their pay every two weeks, depending on local labor laws.
So far, the “Back to Starbucks” strategy is starting to pay off for the company. Last quarter, the channel saw traffic growth for the first time in two years.