Of course our partners (employees) are partners with our beans in making the Starbucks experience into The Starbucks Experience™. And just like our beans aren't all the same to start, our baristas' scheduling needs aren't all the same either.

Think of every Starbucks 100% arabica coffee bean as a share of stock.

Just like each investor has a goal, each coffee bean has a story — an expression of where it’s come from, and where it’s going. 

Every bean begins with a unique flavor profile. But by roasting these beans means far more deeply than the competition, we ensure that a stable, reliable product results from the incredible variety of coffee beans we source from around the world. The resulting consistency of our coffee is our company’s greatest virtue.

Of course our partners (employees) are partners with our beans in making the Starbucks experience into The Starbucks Experience™. And just like our beans aren't all the same to start, our baristas' scheduling needs aren't all the same either.  That's why we take a special approach to grinding out these differences, aiming for that special place where all availability is open, all shifts are variable, and in total, everything is perfectly consistent — for us. But it takes a whole lot of change in every single one of a whole lot of variables (partners' lives) to keep that up. 

Consider that each employee is a human being with various calendar preferences based on the needs of their family, their education, a second job, or just their life. Anyone can see that. By looking beyond these needs, we produce a pattern of schedules that keep the flexibility in our system, not their calendars.

With partners’ schedules as with our beans, turning varied needs into a consistent outcome for the Starbucks corporations — that's the magic of Starbucks.