Starbucks’ latest swing in its turnaround will center on employees. The chain on Thursday announced a fresh incentive rewards program built around creating more opportunities for hourly workers, the company said and giving them a chance to share in its ongoing transformation. Starbucks expects the program to “further strengthen alignment between incentives and the metrics that drive improvements to coffeehouse performance and operations, and the customer experience, which should offset costs related to the incentive rewards program.” Essentially, Starbucks is banking on the upside of more engaged employees and subsequent results outstripping what it’s going to invest. The program is scheduled to begin rolling out in July. Starbucks added the roughly 5 percent of U.S. restaurants where employees have a union will be “subject to collective bargaining as required by federal law.” To start, the program introduces a coffeehouse performance-based bonus structure. So, hourly employees will now have ways to earn beyond base pay and benefits. Baristas and shift supervisors can earn up to an additional $1,200 per year ($300 per quarter) when their restaurant meets and exceeds certain targets across sales, operations, and guest experience. Or, as Starbucks said, “metrics that drive growth.” There will be expanded access to tips as well. Employees will be able to earn via expanded ordering and payment channels, including Mobile Order and Pay and when customers deploy Scan and Pay at the register. In other terms, customers will have more prompts to tip. Taken together, Starbucks said, the new bonus and expanded tipping…
