Starbucks Announces Increase In Employee Salaries

Starting October 2016, Starbucks announced that the company plans on increasing salaries for its employee base. The company also announced that this decision was made due to their desire of not losing their employees to the competition.

Over 150,000 Starbucks baristas will be receiving a five percent raise, and the initial public feedback has been nothing but supportive. Starbucks’ popularity ensures that its employees have an imposed alert rate of work. The mixology involved in a regular cup of Starbucks coffee, also makes the job be closer to that of a bartender than that of a coffee shop server.

Previous study research data showed that Starbucks baristas, as well as several other coffee shop employees, do not make as many tips as other similarly paid retail positions.

The executive wage-increasing decision came soon after several business and economy surveys documented the current market’s need for an avid competent workforce. Several companies have increased their efforts to attract skilled and competent workers and keep them with adequate wages and a series of additional benefits.

The Starbucks Life

Along with the five percent increase in base pay which could be set into place as early as October 3rd, Starbucks also announced that they will be allowing a more relaxed dress code, as well as several benefits, including additional company stock for employees who have been with the company for two or more continuous years.

While the company did not share the current wages of its employees, a quick look at the total number of Starbuck coffee houses in the United States would suggest that 150,000 employees is actually a very small number.

The decision to increase wages may have been finally set into motion because perhaps the company could not risk losing employees to the competition any further. The above-mentioned popularity has ensured that lines are longer, clients are more impatient, and the rate of work is even more increased.

Howard Schultz, Chairman and CEO of Starbucks, stated that the raise in salary is intended as an attempt to strike a delicate balance between social conscience and profit.

In regards to profit, there are many who have speculated that Starbucks will also be increasing the price tags of their deliciously sweet caffeinated products in order to account for the change in employee salary.

If Starbucks did plan to raise the prices on their products all along, could they be using the increase in salary as justification? Let us know.

Photograph Courtesy of Flickr.