Starbucks is giving all of its employees a raise. The coffee shop giant recently announced a 5 percent increase in base pay across the board beginning this October.
CEO Howard Schultz explained in a letter to employees, “Striking the delicate balance between profit and a social conscience is a responsibility I take personally.”
This announcement comes after an online petition started by a Starbucks employee in California, as well as national conversations surrounding living wage for employees.
The Goal is Happy Employees
For Starbucks, the move is intended to improve employee morale, which could help the business provide great customer service and potentially decrease employee turnover. It could also have an impact on the company’s reputation with employees and non-employees alike.
And though most small businesses certainly don’t have the huge number of employees that Starbucks does, the idea behind listening to what your employees want and supporting them with fair pay still holds up. Profits are, of course, important. But if your employees are unhappy with their compensation, things like customer service could suffer. And that’s likely to hurt your business more in the long run.
In addition, improving morale can encourage employees to stick around instead of searching for work elsewhere. And if you can decrease turnover, you can lower the costs involved with things like hiring and training.
So the next time your employees ask for a raise, think about more than the immediate cost. You could learn from Starbucks and think about how the change can really impact your business in the long run.
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Employees are the lifeblood of your daily operations so it is important to take care of them.