Starbucks® Live True to their CoreVals™

What’s your go-to drink at Starbucks? If you don’t have one (much less one for each season or time of day) you are likely a minority. When you spot the mermaid-like green sign on the corner of a new city or at the airport, you know what your experience will be - and it will be consistent. From the moment you enter, you see it in the displays, taste it in the product, and feel it with the customer service. With all of that in mind, as well as the relatively positive myriad of stories in recent press, we thought we would look into the values that drive this brand and its stakeholders. In particular, we wondered how well they lived up to their stated CoreVals™? While many companies just put the words on the wall, it turns out that Starbucks live true to their stated values.

Let’s take a look at their Mission Statement and Values: 

Our Mission

To inspire and nurture the human spirit - one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.

Our Values

With our partners, our coffee and our customers at our core, we live these values:

• Creating a culture of warmth and belonging, where everyone is welcome.

• Delivering our very best in all we do, holding ourselves accountable for results.

• Acting with courage, challenging the status quo and finding new ways to grow our company and each other.

• Being present, connecting with transparency, dignity and respect.

• We are performance driven, through the lens of humanity.

These statements clearly represent a human-first approach, with big promises for accountability and transparency. While anyone can craft amazing values on paper, the real factor in determining their values is by the way they execute on them. We are excited to share that Starbucks has lived up to the hype. From the benefits and opportunities they offer to their partners to the way they have responded to a global pandemic and social issues, they’ve managed to nail it. 

In April of 2019, two young African-Americans were waiting at a Starbucks for a business meeting to begin when a manager called the police on them after less than 10 minutes because they did not yet order anything. The incident led to a viral video of the two being arrested and led out in handcuffs. While the public backlash was swift, Starbucks responded with an unprecedented effort to prevent these incidents from happening again. Schultz decided that it was their responsibility as a company to take a deep look at its relationship with racial bias, and scheduled a day-long companywide closure for mandatory partner training. This move to train more than 175,000 partners in more than 8,000 stores was stunning and impactful. His goal was to not only train his stakeholders on racial bias, but to create a foundation for lasting change.

On the flip side, Starbucks also holds their partners accountable for staying true to their values. Throughout 2019 there were three different cases in which local police reported being refused service while in uniform. Starbucks has valued their role as a part of each community they are in, and the local law enforcement plays an important part in many of those communities. Using their values as a guide, they unhired™ the partners responsible and issued a statement stating that ALL, including law enforcement, should be "welcomed and treated with dignity and the utmost respect by our partners." Additionally, they have emphasized their “Coffee with a Cop” program that has been occurring nationwide since 2011 with the goal of bringing “police, customers and Starbucks partners together to help build community through conversation, understanding and empathy.”

Schultz- and the leadership that has followed in his steps-are our kind of leaders. They understand the importance of harnessing a healthy culture, uplifting employees, holding stakeholders accountable and focusing on community. In the words of Shultz, “You are imprinting a company with a culture and a set of values. It ultimately always boils down to respect, respect your employees and they will respect you and what your company stands for.” When your partners are happy, they have the tendency to make your customers happy. When you create a positive customer experience, you reap the rewards of brand loyalty. So next time you notice a smiley face next to your name on your Venti Iced Coffee and go about your day, remember that corporations like Starbucks who contribute to the community in a meaningful way are just as worthy of support as the coffee shop next door.