Employee Development Strategy of Starbucks

Employee Development Strategy of Starbucks. Starbucks has been one of the innovative companies in developing employees’ careers. It has a program called “The Journey of Coffee”. The Journey of Coffee has been by Starbucks in 2005 to provide the employees with the knowledge and skills to be a good baristas.

The program consisted of three stages:

1)Stage I – Introduction to Coffee and Starbucks vision
2)Stage II – Barista Skills Certification and Partner Skills Certification (PSC) for retail partners.
3)Stage III – Career Advancement Program (CAP) for managers

This program is by all new employees who work at Starbucks. After completing this program all employees will get knowledge about coffee. And their careers will develop and they will get more experience in coffee making, customer service, sales, and marketing.

1)Stage I – Introduction to Coffee and Starbucks vision

All new employees have to complete this stage. In this stage, employees will learn about the history of coffee, how to make good coffee, and be able to taste the different kinds of coffee. They will also learn about Starbucks ‘ vision, mission, and values.

2)Stage II – Barista Skills Certification and Partner Skills Certification (PSC)

This stage is important for all baristas who want to achieve promotion into a shift supervisor position. All new baristas will go through this stage and all baristas who want to get promotions must pass the exam and get the certificate. This stage is into two parts:

2)1)Barista Skills Certification – In this part, employees will practice and must pass an exam to get the certificate. If they pass they can work as a barista in Starbucks. And if they fail they have to take more training until they can pass it.

2)2)Partner Skills Certification (PSC) – In this part, employees will study operating systems, customer service skills, and customer relations skills.

They will also learn about retail management, teamwork, and leadership skills. If employees pass the exam then they can work as shift supervisors in Starbucks. And if they fail then they have to take more training until they can pass it.

3)Stage III – Career Advancement Program (CAP) for managers

Career Advancement Program (CAP) – This program is designed for all shift supervisors who want to gain promotion into the store manager position.

In this part, employees will study retail management, customer service skills, customer relations skills, and other retail-related skills that help them to be store manager that meets customer expectations in any situation.

After completing the CAP course successfully, employees will receive an official letter that confirms that he/she can work as store managers in Starbucks stores in UAE or any other country where Starbucks is available including Japan.

The first CAP was held in March 2010 in Tokyo Japan. And now there are two CAP courses per year: one in Tokyo Japan and another one in Seattle USA.

Starbucks ‘ Product Development Strategy is a wholesome one, They not only improve the products but even the employees as well. They have a continuing program for the

 employees to learn new skills, improve their knowledge and get a promotion. And also for the customers to enjoy a good coffee environment and service.