Starbucks moves to the next phase in its turnaround: Winning over employees

As Starbucks aims to bring back customers and assuage investors with its turnaround strategy, it is also winning over its store managers with promises to add more seating inside cafes and promote internally

As Starbucks aims to bring back customers and assuage investors with its turnaround strategy, it is also winning over its store managers with promises to add more seating inside cafes and promote internally.

Since CEO Brian Niccol’s first week at the company, he’s been pledging to bring the company “back to Starbucks” to lift sluggish sales. That goal was in full view at the company’s Leadership Experience, a three-day event in Las Vegas for more than 14,000 store leaders this week.

Starbucks unveiled a new coffee called the 1971 Roast, a callback to the year that its first location opened at Pike Place in Seattle. The finalists at Starbucks’ first-ever Global Barista Championships referred to “back to Starbucks” as they prepared drinks for judges. Even the Wi-Fi password was “backtostarbucks!”

To investors, Niccol has already presented a multi-part strategy that involves retooling the company’s marketing strategy, improving staffing in cafes, fixing the chain’s mobile app issues and making its locations cozier. The company also laid off roughly 1,100 corporate workers earlier this year, saying it aimed to operate more efficiently and reduce redundancies.

Starbucks shares have climbed nearly 20% since April and are trading just shy of where they were after a nearly 25% spike the day Niccol was announced as CEO.