In one of my classes in the first year of university we talked a bit about the importance of motivation in the workforce not only in terms of lowering the labor turnover but also in terms of satisfying the costumers and making them loyal to the firm. However, I had never experienced the importance of employee motivation in real life myself until this winter break.
It was the third of January in Greece and I had just met my friend Lisa who I had not seen for a long time. As we were walking outside a Starbucks storeshesaid “Let’s get in to say hi to Sara.” Sara was the Starbucks barista. Not being a great fun of coffee myself it was the first time I entered a Starbucks store after three months and I looked at the barista’s behaviour from a different perspective. She was friendly, welcome and seemed to really know Lisa, who she of course called by her first name. Before learning about motivation factors I thought that Sara’s behaviour was her personal character, but I then understood it was all about Starbucks motivating her to behave in such a manner.
I then made a research and found out thatStarbucks does, indeed, give great emphasis on the quality of services and the motivation of employees. The idea is that people need to be highly valued, trained, motivated and financially rewarded in order to perform in a way that would satisfy the costumers and make them loyal to the firm.
Based on the equity theory employees in the workforce should feel that they are working in a friendly, lively and enthusiastic environment, without a sense of status within the organisation. Starbucks tries to achieve that by calling their employees “partners” and by making the distinction between the managers and the employees as small as possible. As I later found out Sara was the manager of this particular store but she was wearing the same cloths and worked in the same fashion as the rest of the employees so costumers could not make a distinction.
Starbucks tries to motivate employees both intrinsingly and extrensingly. Employees get trained not only in how to make coffee but also in how to treat and deal with costumers. Gaining knowledge and being able to perform their job well is a basic intrinsic motivation. In addition, Starbucks provides performance-related payment so the more employees contribute to the business, the more they get paid, which motivates employees to work more to gain more money.
Lisa goes to this Starbucks store at least three times a week to say hi to Lisa and Starbucks gains money because of that. Lisa would then tell her friends, including myself, that Starbucks is a good place to get their coffee from, and Starbucks will gain more money because of that. So through this event I realised through a real life example that motivating employees creates loyal, satisfied costumers who then bring more costumers through word of mouth.
FAQs
Starbucks tries to motivate employees both intrinsingly and extrensingly. Employees get trained not only in how to make coffee but also in how to treat and deal with costumers. Gaining knowledge and being able to perform their job well is a basic intrinsic motivation.
What motivation theory does Starbucks use? ›
Starbucks has implemented Taylor's theory. They have a reward and recognition programme for their employees. This is the motivation factor for the staff. Starbucks also do training and progression.
How did Starbucks become successful? ›
Key factors in Starbucks' success include its commitment to quality coffee beans, customer-focused approach, and strategic expansion. It also embraced corporate social responsibility, and environmental sustainability. The global coffee giant has been able to build a loyal customer base and drives consistent growth.
Where did Starbucks start? ›
Starbucks first opened its doors on March 30, 1971 at Seattle's historic Pike Place Market. It was an understated debut – a 1,000-square-foot mercantile space manned by a single employee – but it had plenty of special touches.
What is the main motive of Starbucks? ›
Our aspiration is to be people positive – investing in humanity and the well-being of everyone we connect with, from our partners to coffee farmers to the customers in our stores and beyond.
What are the three principles that Starbucks implement in motivating their employees? ›
Answer and Explanation: Starbucks makes employees feel validated and motivated through their supervision, training, and benefits.
What strategy made Starbucks so successful? ›
Starbucks' ability to envision and deliver true 1:1 customer personalization is what puts them on a loyalty pedestal. Its loyalty program is one of the most successful marketing strategies for Starbucks. Loyalty is critical to the success of marketing and business.
What is the inspiration behind Starbucks? ›
Alfred Peet, a coffee-roasting entrepreneur, was a major inspiration to the founders of Starbucks. Peet was a Dutch immigrant who had begun importing fine arabica coffees into the United States during the 1950s.
What motivated the founders to start Starbucks? ›
They started Starbucks because they wanted Seattle to have access to the delicious dark-roasted coffee that they loved – but had to go out of town to find. Investing $1,350 apiece and borrowing $5,000 from a bank, they took a name from classic literature and opened our first store on Mar. 30, 1971.
What does Starbucks stand for? ›
While researching names of mining camps on Mt. Rainier, one of the best known landmarks near Seattle, Terry came across “Starbo,” which eventually led the team back to where they'd started. In “Moby-Dick,” the name of the first mate on the Pequod was, you guessed it, Starbuck. A brand was born.
Starbucks establishes an emotional bond between its products and consumers by making customers the center of attention and offering a number of ways in which they can feel motivated by their engagement with the brand. The business is always innovating, never standing still. Not every invention has to be through.
What is the Starbucks slogan? ›
With every cup, with every conversation, with every community– we nurture the limitless possibilities of human connection.
Which strategy is used by Starbucks? ›
Starbucks' Product Differentiation
The product differentiation strategy is crucial to the entire Starbucks business strategy. Starbucks has been able to differentiate itself by creating a unique coffee culture that sets it apart from other coffee chains.
What is the message strategy of Starbucks? ›
Starbucks has a unique social media marketing strategy that has contributed to its big success online. They craft campaigns, product posts, and social posts catering to different events or holidays. This helps Starbucks create a sense of urgency in the minds of consumers to try out its products sooner than later.
What is Starbucks model strategy? ›
Starbucks follows a chain business model where most of its revenue comes from company-operated stores followed by licensed stores. It also generates revenues via royalties, selling goods and services, and sales of packaged coffee, tea, and other beverages.
