The new CEO of Starbucks intends to work as a barista in stores every month.
CNN reports from New York today -
Starbucks' latest boss Laxman Narasimhan hinted at his blueprint for the corporation in a message to staff members. His proposal consists of taking on the role of a barista at one of the coffee chain's shops at least once every four weeks.
As of Monday, Narasimhan has taken over as the coffee chain's CEO from Howard Schultz, two weeks ahead of schedule. However, he has been a part of the coffee company for several months now. Since October, Narasimhan has served as the interim CEO at Starbucks and has been familiarizing himself with the company. Additionally, he went through barista training, which involved 40 hours of training in stores.
In the letter that Narasimhan wrote to employees on Thursday, they expressed their gratitude towards the many people who have influenced their understanding of the unique culture at Starbucks over the last half-year of working closely with the company.
"Thanks to you, I have gained a comprehensive understanding of wearing the green apron in our business. You have kindly invited me into our stores and instructed me on how to become a skilled barista. These experiences have allowed me to gain insight into our work, our processes, and the obstacles and prospects that lie ahead," he expressed.
In order to maintain our connection to the culture and our customers, while also staying in tune with our challenges and opportunities, I plan on devoting half a day each month to work in our stores.
Narasimhan wrote a letter outlining his strategy to uphold the reinvention plan that Schultz had previously proposed. Starbucks has invested over $1 billion to enhance their employees' training, equipment, and compensation, along with additional benefits for non-union staff. The objective is to modernize the brand and ensure that it remains pertinent in today's market.
Last year, our plan for reinvention was put forward and we will still be concentrating on making the store, customer, and partner encounters even better,” Narasimhan stated. The term “partner” is utilized for employees at Starbucks. The focus includes providing customers with additional digital options, hastened operations with reduced waste, international growth and amplifying the brand with top-quality coffee,” he remarked. The company has also come up with a new series of coffee blended with olive oil.
Narasimhan emphasized the importance of revitalizing the partner culture at Starbucks. He pledged to strongly support the company's partners and culture.
Narasimhan is in charge of Starbucks' annual shareholder meeting happening on Thursday. He's stepping into his role during a tumultuous time, as the company faces a challenge to keep unions out. Unfortunately, this has caused some unpleasant moments and hurt the image of Starbucks as a forward-thinking business.
According to administrative law judge Michael Rosas, Starbucks acted in a very bad way when it dealt with employees who tried to form unions at its stores in Buffalo, New York. This included the very first store to unionize. The judge said that Starbucks was very mean to these workers and sent very important executives to Buffalo stores many times in order to stop them from forming unions. This effort was very intense and has probably made a long-lasting impression on how the workers vote on unionization.
Starbucks stated earlier that they are exploring all possible ways to seek additional legal review regarding Rosas' order. They mentioned that they think the verdict and the solutions imposed are not fitting considering the facts presented in this issue.
Even though Starbucks has taken steps to prevent it, approximately 300 stores have made the decision to form a union and have been officially recognized by the National Labor Relations Board. This makes up a small percentage of the roughly 9,300 Starbucks shops that are directly owned by the company in the United States.
Workers who are part of a union are optimistic that Narasimhan will be more receptive to their cause compared to Schultz, who has been opposed to the union ever since assuming the position of interim CEO. Schultz is still part of Starbucks' board and is expected to give a testimony regarding the company's labor practices in a Senate hearing happening next week.
This week, Michelle Eisen, who works at Starbucks and is a member of a union organizing group, made a statement expressing optimism that Laxman Narasimhan will lead the company in a new direction and collaborate with them to realize its full potential.
