Analysis of Flexible Working Arrangements at Starbucks (2019)

This report examines Starbucks' implementation of flexible working arrangements to enhance employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention. The analysis focuses on Starbucks' staffing and scheduling approach, which allows employees to manage their schedules effectively, including part-time options. The report highlights the benefits of flexible working, such as improved work-life balance, reduced stress, and increased employee commitment. Starbucks' flexible policies, including parental leave and the Starbucks College Achievement Plan, are discussed in the context of attracting and retaining diverse talent, including millennials. The report concludes that flexible working arrangements are critical for sustaining Starbucks' competitive advantage and achieving its business goals by fostering a positive work environment and improving customer satisfaction. The analysis is supported by academic references, underscoring the positive impact of these arrangements on both employees and the company's overall success.

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Starbucks
2019
Student’s Name
4/24/2019

Flexible Working Arrangements 1
Introduction
Flexible worker arrangements help the organizations in sustaining its competitive advantage
by retaining the best talent in the company. Under this arrangement, the employees are
provided with the flexibility to work in accordance with their choice and lead to higher job
satisfaction and commitment towards the organization. It is analyzed the adoption of flexible
working arrangements has increased from 50% to 53% (De Menezes and Kelliher, 2017)
Introduction and types of flexible working arrangements
Starbucks is well known for providing flexibility to its workers and providing maximum
benefits to them. Starbucks has a strong legacy of progressive and responsible employment. It
provides the employment opportunities to the diverse population including students, working
partners, and the fresher’s for the achievement of personal and professional growth. The
company provides equal benefits to all the employees who work for more than 20 hours. The
main aim of baristas is to provide flexibility to the employees and deliver the best services to
its customers (Starbucks, 2016).
Starbucks offers flexible working arrangements to provide the opportunity to the working
women’s and millennial to continue their professional and personal growth. It provides work-
life balance and also supports the students who work for more than 20 hours by providing
Starbuck College achievement plan. These flexibilities allow the company to retain the staffs
that are motivated and loyal to the company. The company understand the outside obligations
of its partners and desires to provide a stress-free environment in which all the employees
work in a collaborative manner. Flexibility provides the ease to attract the best talent and
retain them for a longer period of time (Timms et al, 2015).

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Starbucks uses the approach of staffing and scheduling under which all the employees are
asked to share their preferred scheduling and the managers collectively decide their schedule.
The employees are required to do the job for 8 hours and pre-scheduling is done to avoid the
hassle and effective allocation of the staff. The company also provides part-time flexibility to
the students who aspire to grow their professional and personal development. It provides all
the benefits to the workers who work for 20 hours and more. The employees also receive
parental and paid leaves. It provides the benefit of flexible working schedules and encourages
shared partnership to reduce the stress and increase the motivation of the partners (Mas and
Pallais, 2017).
Impact of flexible working arrangements
It is analyzed that Starbucks has expanded its horizon by providing the best experience to the
customers by adopting the approach of flexibility to its employees. Through scheduling the
company allows the staffs to manage their schedules which help the business in carrying its
operations successfully. The overheads of the company are reduced as the overcapacity of
staff brings an increase in the expenditure. The company is able to fix the schedules at the
peaks and lean season which helps the company to increase its productivity and deliver
valuable experience (Camuffo and De Stefano, 2016).
The flexible schedules make the employees more committed towards the job and create a
positive working environment which provides ease to the company in running its business
operations. The absenteeism is reduced which in turn protects the production and flexibility
helps in delivering 24/7 services to its customers. Through the adoption of flexible working
arrangements, there is a reduction in the stress, fatigue of the partners which in turn motivates
them to invent creative solutions and deliver higher performance for the company. The

Flexible Working Arrangements 3
company is able to improve the coverage and scheduling of all the departments and brings
efficiency in business operations (Camuffo and De Stefano, 2016).
The success of Starbucks lies in the hands of its partners. It is analyzed that the company
considers its partners at the greatest asset for achieving its business goals. The company has
scattered from 1 to a lot number of baristas by treating the employees well and providing
them maximum job satisfaction. The company has provided job opportunities to the
diversified demographics and has attracted millennial through its adoption of flexible
working arrangements (Noe et al, 2017).
The company considers the outside obligations of its partners and has designed the flexible
schedules to provide them the opportunity of balancing their work and life. This flexibility
allows the members to be more committed and increases the productivity of the company.
The partners are able to concentrate more on the diversifying needs of the customer and
deliver maximum satisfaction. The company is able to reduce the cost and increase the
profitability of the business. Higher satisfaction among the partners is directly related to
higher satisfaction among the customers. The company is successful in sustaining its
competitive advantage through the adoption of staffing and scheduling (Noe et al, 2017).
Conclusion
From the above discussion it is critical to note that flexible working arrangements helps in
motivating the employees and in turn increases the productivity of the company. It is
analysed that Starbucks adopts the approach of staffing and scheduling to motivate the
employees and make them more committed towards the job. They also provide the facility of
flexibility of working hours and part time jobs.

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References
Camuffo, A. and De Stefano, F. (2016) Work as commons: Internal Labor markets, blended
workforces and management. In the structuring of work in organizations (pp. 363-382).
Emerald Group Publishing Limited
De Menezes, L.M. and Kelliher, C. (2017) Flexible working, individual performance, and
employee attitudes: Comparing formal and informal arrangements. Human Resource
Management, 56(6), pp.1051-1070
Mas, A. and Pallais, A. (2017) Valuing alternative work arrangements. American Economic
Review, 107(12), pp.3722-59
Noe, R.A., Hollenbeck, J.R., Gerhart, B. and Wright, P.M. (2017) Human resource
management: Gaining a competitive advantage. New York: McGraw-Hill Education
Starbucks. (2016) Starbucks Approach to Staffing and Scheduling [Online]. Available from:
https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2016/starbucks-approach-to-staffing-and-scheduling/
[Accessed 24/04/19]
Timms, C., Brough, P., O'Driscoll, M., Kalliath, T., Siu, O.L., Sit, C. and Lo, D. (2015)
Flexible work arrangements, work engagement, turnover intentions and psychological
health. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 53(1), pp.83-103