Howard Schultz’s Open Letter to Starbucks Partners

According to the Seattle Times, Starbucks Chairman, Howard Schultz, felt the need to send Starbucks employees a pep-talk letter. Seems as though Howard has been bothered by some recent, but unnamed, criticism directed at Starbucks.

In the letter Howard writes …

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“Over the last several weeks, there have been an exceptional number of comments about Starbucks in the media and online, many of which have not been positive. At times, partners have asked about my feelings when Starbucks is criticized. Given the tone of the coverage recently, I wanted to reach out to you and share my thoughts.

I don’t feel the need to address these issues specifically. We’ve done that previously and that’s not my primary concern. My focus is on you – the partners who have made Starbucks such a trusted presence around the world. And my focus is on preserving the trust that we have built with our customers and each other over the years. I want you to know that you can be proud of the company we all work for and that you can continue to trust the foundation it’s built upon.”

Access Howard's full letter here (.pdf link)

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Thanks to the Starbucks Gossip blog, we can expect to read FIRECRACKER commentary from disgruntled and happy Starbucks employees. Seriously folks … these responses will give us all an insider view into the morale of Starbucks employees.

Comments

[Lewis Green]

John

Every CEO and COO should read this letter. When I oversaw internal communications at Starbucks, we frequently issued Howard letters and voice mail. His constant and consistent messaging is one of the keys to Starbucks positive and productive culture.

[johnmoore (from Brand Autopsy)]

Lewis ... what did you find so compelling about this letter? The cynic in me thinks this letter is platitude-rich and overly sweet. It's a nice gesture but it reads "hollow" to me.

Maybe it reads "hollow" to me because Howard is so consistent with his choice of words. I, as a former long-time Starbucks marketer, have become tired of hearing Howard talk about how the SBUX story is only in its beginning chapters. For the past 15 years he has been saying this in the same way. As the SBUX Chairman, he has a responsibility to evangelize the growth story of the company. I'm just tired of him using the same words every time. Sometimes consistency can equate to monotony.

[Lewis Green]

John,

I hear you, and I feel the same. In fact, when I oversaw internal communications I tried to get him to address specifics, but that is not his style. Back then, Orin Smith had that role.

As for being compelling: Remember that even though Starbucks turnover is well below retail average, it turns over completely every two or three years, so for many the messages are new. Also, employee surveys always indicated when I was there that store employees loved hearing from Howard.

I am in favor of CEOs communicating frequently and deliver consistant message, mixing in some specifics. It may not be compelling messaging, but I think frontline employees really appreciate it.

[johnmoore (from Brand Autopsy)]

Yep. You are right-on that front-line employees appreciate any direct communication from the CEO. And as you mentioned earlier, not enough CEOs communicate with front-line employees.