Starbucks Adds Support to Their Frontline Teams
More of this, please
Last week, Starbucks announced that they were adding a full-time assistant manager to their stores. The company has recently begun to lean away from automation and lean back into its people.
An article by Inc. highlighted some of the benefits:
Leadership opportunities for newer leaders
Allows store managers to tackle more strategic tasks
Another middle manager to get stuff done
Yes, all that is true.
As a former store manager, here’s what this added layer of support meant to me when I got it.
It happened one time in my 24-year career. I had an assistant manager added to my roster. I was ecstatic. I knew I needed more support but never thought in a million years I’d get it.
I lucked out. The stars aligned.
Okay, my business was off the charts. That’s why I got it.
Here’s what having the extra manager did for the team.
Promoted a talented young person to a leadership role
More training throughout the week with staff
More support for projects and visuals
Other leaders got more time with me, so they received more development
More robust customer service
Leadership team felt fully supported
We could easily call out sick
We could plan vacations and time off
It was a joy to go to work because we knew we’d have the support to accomplish anything that got thrown at us.
I’m not kidding.
It was a party, and our customers were also totally stoked because they could feel the happiness and ease.
I cannot wait to see how this plays out in Starbucks stores, but all I see from here is upside.
Shiny new tech and AI are fun, but is it worth it for your customer-facing business? Maybe not to the extent you think it is.
Nothing beats humans on the floor.
Humans who are supported in their work and in their time away from work.
Stop cutting from the frontline.
The future of your business is there.
Kit Campoy is an accomplished retail expert and author. She leverages her two decades of leadership experience to inform and inspire.
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Another "duh" solution that corporate is so slow to tune into. But, Yay for Starbucks. And glad you spelled out WHY this works for everyone!