Recruitment and training at Starbucks

Induction training is a process where a business teaches its new employees how the business works. One benefit of this is that it is a good way to provide the new staff with the general information of the business, such as health & safety, security, personnel and the departmental systems. This improves the employees’ understanding of the business, which can increase motivation in the business. Another benefit is that the new employees can contribute to the business more quickly, as they would already know how the business works, and what their role is in the business.

The level of experience required for a store manager would be greater than it would be for the barista position. The barista position could be a first job for people, so it would be better for them to fill in an application form, as they would have no previous jobs on their application form. It also means that Starbucks gets only the information that they wanted, as they are put on the application form. If the applicant has no major qualifications that would be put on a CV, then they would be able to go on the educational program that Starbucks provides if they get the job. For example, underqualified baristas could go on the ‘learning to lead’ program, so that they can potentially reach manager level at Starbucks if they do internal recruitment.

The reason that people applying for a barista would have to go to the Starbucks store to get an application form is that each store has its own manager or team that would deal with recruiting new staff. Recruiting a new manager is different because the Head Office would deal with that, as they might assign the applicant to a store, which is why they can apply online.

When Starbucks decides to recruit a manager, the job description would have more information than one for a barista. Shortlisting would also be a bigger task when choosing a manager, because if the same number of people applied for baristas as they did for managers, there would most likely be fewer positions for managers. This means that the number of applicants has to be cut down more during shortlisting and the best way to do that would be to make the job specification as detailed as possible.

The Internet is better for advertising jobs, as it can be updated faster. When the job description and person specification are completed, they might have to be sent to a newspaper, and they might have to wait until the next day before the advertisement would be put in. There would also been a fee that they would have to pay when they want to put a poster up or if they want to put an advert in a newspaper. The cheapest way to do post vacancies would be to post it on their own website. It would also make it possible for people to apply for the position online. Starbucks could have a questionnaire that can be filled in online which could replace some of the assessments that would be done in person. This could be cheaper, as it would mean less time would have to be spent at an assessment centre. A route that might get more views would be to post the vacancies on an employment website. If many people go to this website, they will see the vacancy along with other companies’ vacancies. Although this will cost money, it may only involve paying a small fee every time someone clicks on the link for the job description.

For a barista, the training needed for them would be more basic than it would be for the manager position. A new manager would be expected to have some previous experience, if not from Starbucks, then from somewhere else. If this is the first time they have been a manager, then they would have to learn skills that will suit the job. This means that they would use the Management Practice training course in the ‘learning to lead’ program, or the ‘business and communication’ program run by the Starbucks Support Centre. Both of these would be off-the-job training. New baristas would have more on-the-job training, which would mean that they learn the skills from people that already work at the selected Starbucks.

It also gives them a first hand experience of how the business works. Unfortunately, if the trainer has any bad habits in the business or takes any shortcuts, they could be passed onto the new staff he is training. If a barista does not have many qualifications, or does not have many business skills, then they can also go on some of the courses offered by the SSC, such as the computer skills course or the conflict resolution course if they hope to become a manager at some point in the future. If there are people who work in Starbucks who have a major interest in coffee, they might go on the ‘coffee education’ course, so that they can find out more about coffee. This would be useful for managers, as it means that they will understand their project better. In addition, if a customer wanted to know more about the coffee they are using, they would be able to ask the staff and get some information from them.