Starbucks Company Strategy

Due to its stellar employee track record as well as its distribution of coffeehouse chains, Starbucks Company has positioned itself as a global leader. It has received accolades for its efforts, including those for most admired company and best place to work by Fortune. The company's highly motivated and devoted team has been credited with contributing to its enormous success, quick development, and global expansion. Over 30,000 workers are currently employed by the business in open locations across the world (Starbucks Corporation, 2016, pp.2). Dealing with human resources issues has been necessary due to the quick expansion in order to keep employees motivated in their daily work. The success of the firm can continue to be promoted by ensuring the issues regarding employees are dealt with expediently. The Starbuck’s work culture represents many human resource policies. Furthermore, the company provides numerous benefits irrespective of whether an employee is part time or full time.

The employees in Starbuck are treated as partners rather than workers. Being a Starbuck partners means having an enormous opportunity for self-development. Starbuck college achievement plans are available which allows the workers to pursue studies at Arizona state university. Military service members and veteran partners can extend the benefits to the spouses, domestic partners or child.

Starbucks Retention Strategy

Starbuck tries to craft culture that values and respects the inclusion and diversity. The primary objective of the company is to create a diverse workforce and growth skills. The hospitable working situation inspires employee’s engagement. The company offers generous benefits to its workers. The benefits packages are given to temporary and permanent employees including health, vision, dental and insurance as well as funded holidays and retreat, stock option plan, mental well-being dependence benefits and worker assistance programs. As a result, Starbuck employees has 82% job-satisfaction rate (Starbucks Corporation, 2016, pp.3).

Listen to employees: Starbucks listen to the employees through a well-organized communication channel. At the company, the managers plan according to the worker’s requirement and make them feel the sense of belongings. The company’s management wants an employee to participate in creating and developing plans and working together to achieve the goals. The communication of policies and principle between all the staffs averts limitations in the workers’ personal opinions.

Proper welfare measures: it occurs where the employee is provided with welfare policies such as medical insurance (health, dental and vision), house rent and commodities discount. Starbucks offers excellent deals on welfare policies. For instance, vacation, commodity discounts, and medical insurance. Additionally, the partner working more than 20 hours are eligible for the aids. The organization also assigns stock dividends to the entire workforce with a free script issue (Starbucks Corporation, 2016, pp.5). Therefore, incentives motivate the employees to work towards the common goals, which increase the sales.

Equal treatments: Starbuck refers to all employees as partners and also treat them equally. Small teams contain 3 to 6 workers, to maintain proper management systems (Starbucks Corporation, 2011a, pp.3). Equal treatment at the workplace means that the employers do not discriminate any employee differently from others. Every worker deserves respect, a balanced and fair treatment which create and harmony and friendly working environment.

Starbucks Separation Policy

Starbuck’s policy states that the establishment is an equal opportunity business. All the competent candidates will get consideration for the work without the regard of the belief, age, race, disability, nationality, sexual orientation, marital status, gender expression as protected by the local, states and federal law. The policies apply to all perspectives of employment regarding appointing, reimbursement, entitlement for benefits and dismissal. Failure to conform to related standards will cause corrective action such as employment discharge.

Involuntary termination: involuntary separation can create problems for employers. The failure of a member to perform the vital roles results in an unintended dismissal. A worker can be discharged due to the lateness, absenteeism, misconduct, inability and unsatisfactory performance.

A voluntary termination happens when a person surrenders a verbal or written letter of resignation to the supervisor. "It can also occur when an employee is absent from work for three successive workdays and fails to communicate to the respective authority" (Dobbin, 2009, pp. 13).

Fortunately for the workers, the courts have made numerous decisions that create exceptions to the employment at will doctrine, since the managers prefer to avoid the expenses of fighting the wrongful discharge claims, many no longer fire the employees at will. Therefore, a good practice is to maintain written documentation so that one can demonstrate just cause when terminating workforce. Employers should warn the employee and give the opportunity for improvement in case of the poor performance. When the termination is necessary, the communication should be in private, while the manager explains precisely for the action taken.

According to the current disputes and what the separation policies entail, there seem a lot of the gaps. For instance, the dyslexic employee winning a discrimination case against Starbucks shows that the company has not fully complied with set regulations. The fact brings into a stark focus of disability under the equality act 2010 and the requirements to make a real adjustment for incapacitated workforces (Starbucks Corporation, 2011a, pp.4). For the company to close the gaps, it should consider the rules and policies entirely when hiring and terminating employee either voluntary or involuntary. As a result, the firm will avoid the penalties or the bad reputation. All Starbucks associates have an ongoing duty to acquaint themselves with appropriate laws involving job tasks and all the firm’s policies. Breach of the standards, policies or regulations should amount to corrective action including discharge. Workers have a legal responsibility to take reasonable care to correct and avert illegal harassment.

Starbucks Outplacement and Employee Assistance Programs

Being a Starbuck partners means having opportunities to improve the skills and knowledge. Massive prospects lie in future including growing as a person in an area of one’s profession. At the company, the package called ‘Your Special Blend” is a benefit that is custom-made to the necessities of the personnel. “Your special blends” comprise the bonuses, 401(k) matching and discounted stock purchase options (Starbucks Corporation, 2016, pp.6). Additionally, adoption program offers support and fitness coverage for the workers and dependents.

Similarly, the Starbucks college achievement plan is a chance for all eligible US populations to complete studies. Employees also appreciate the recognition and time off packages and career retreats. The partners can also take the bonuses such as 30% in-store and online rebates (Starbucks Corporation, 2016, pp.8).

Work-life benefits programs are also part of the blend in the company. For the employees working with the group when they were in college, currently, they are buying home and managing the realities of child care and elder care. For that reason, the company responds by offering flexible work schedules as part of work-life programs.

Starbucks and Legal Implications for Separation Policies

"Equal employment opportunities (EEO) guidelines ensures employees are employed by an ability to execute a job, rather than get discriminated by factors such as gender, race, national origin, color, religious, status, sexual orientation or physical or mental disability" (Dobbin, 2009, pp. 11). Equal opportunities policies make sure individuals are treated with dignity and rewarded by ability and hard work. Similarly, fair opportunity contributes to the inclusive and diverse workforce where a variety of views and perspectives are heard which strengthen and add to the organization creativity. Discrimination is illegal in a workplace and leads to the costly legal battles, from both reputation and financial viewpoints (Dobbin, 2009, pp. 15).

At present, Starbuck strives due to different staff’s backgrounds. HR work extra hard to employ, improve and preserve teams that are descriptive of the broad population. Discrimination in hiring and terminating is illegal under the federal law and sued by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and federal laws, and federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) codes (Dobbin, 2009, pp. 17). Companies that violate the anti-discrimination laws are not only subject to the risk damage to their reputation but also incur a severe penalty.

Starbucks dress code balances between allowing the workers to engage in personal expression while maintaining neat, clean and professional appearance. The dress code policy aims to improve the worker's happiness and ability to express them in the workplace. Starbuck has previously amended the dressing code policy in 2014 to permit visible tattoos but not on the neck, face and also as long as the tattoo do not contain racist, objectionable imagery or obscene (Starbucks Corporation, 2016, pp.11). The company’s new guidelines also allow for piercing of not more than two earrings per ear. The dressing code directs the workers to check with the administration in case of any queries. Workforces should know that supervisor has absolute power to adopt what is acceptable within the limits of dressing code. Thus, management may reserve discretion, and supervisor retains the right to determine what is appropriate within the employer’s guideline and authority to discipline workers for dress code violations.

Starbucks Dispute Resolution Process

A certain percentage of workers in Starbucks belongs to the labor union; structured groups of staffs that bargain with employers to mend the member’s job security, pay and working conditions. When the discrepancies arise between what the workers want, the two teams engage in the process known as collective bargaining. "In case the negotiation flops, the groups opt to mediation in which a neutral third party creates a recommendation for attaining a settlement or arbitration where the third party enacts a binding contract" (Bernardin et al., 2011, pp.175). If the labor differences cannot be fixed through formal grievance procedures or collective, each side can recourse to a multiple of strategies including strike, picketing or boycotting.

Conclusion

Starbuck is undoubtedly the most successful companies in the world. The respect, dignity and excellent production of goods and services linked with workers distinguish the firm from other businesses. Starbucks hires, recruits, train and motivate employees to perform the best and retain to gain a competitive edge. Additionally, the success of the company is due to its principles and values. The fundamental values and guiding principles used in Starbuck by senior executives are to build a “business with soul.”(Starbucks Corporation, 2011a, pp.2). The company shows low employee turnover rate due to the substantial compensation and welfare provided to all workers. However, of late the company is under discrimination critics. And so, the managers should make sure the senior management and employee adheres to rules and guidelines set by the local, state and federal laws to prevent massive penalties and bad reputation.

References

Bernardin, H. J., Richey, B. E., & Castro, S. L. (2011). Mandatory and binding arbitration: Effects on employee attitudes and recruiting results. Human Resource Management, 50(2), 175-200.

Dobbin, F. (2009). Inventing equal opportunity. Princeton University Press, pp. 10-51.

Starbucks Corporation 2011a, Annual report, fiscal year 2010, Starbucks Corporation, [online]. Available at accessed on 10 January 2018, pp. 2-74.

Starbucks Corporation, 2016, fiscal 2016 annual report. [online]. Available at< https://s22.q4cdn.com/869488222/files/doc_financials/annual/2016/FY16-Annual-Report-on-Form-10-K.pdf> accessed on 10 January 2018, pp.2-16.