The notion of helping those in need is central to Starbucks’s ethos and dates back 50 years to the founding of the company, Lisa Robbins, vice president partner resources for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), tells
People Management.

While it wasn’t easy to lead initiatives focusing on bringing underrepresented groups into the organisation, it was certainly easier “not having to convince people it was the right thing to do”, Robbins explains. “It’s part of us. It’s part of our DNA.”

Hiring for attitude and investing in employees (which Starbucks refers to as partners) is also key to Robbins’s approach. “It’s not a hiring strategy per se. It’s much bigger than that,” she says, highlighting the positive impacts it has on company culture. “If you come along and you are enthusiastic about customer service and being part of a team, you are willing to learn and curious, we will take you and we’ll invest in you to help you.

Commitment to recruiting refugees

With this inclusive hiring attitude central to their strategy, Robbins’s team set out to help those who have been displaced and are resettling through employment. Piloted in the UK in 2017, the initiative to hire refugees now runs in 11 countries in the EMEA region and is the organisation’s longest-running inclusive hiring scheme.

The first step, Robbins explains, is always safety, and the company works with local NGOs such as Refugee Council and Tent, a charity that helps refugees find employment, to ensure this. The next step involves helping people become ‘work ready’ in a country they probably don’t know well, focusing on removing some of the barriers they may face. “When you really get under the skin of it and understand, it’s about helping people be able to converse as much as possible in the local language, and understand the cultural differences. These all matter before you even get to finding work,” she says.

A third of refugees (33 per cent) have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent, while a quarter (26 per cent) have a master’s or equivalent, according to research from the Commission on the Integration of Refugees. But one in three (34 per cent) respondents who have a qualification say they ‘never’ get to use skills learned from it. The study found refugees are often unemployed, underemployed (undertaking work that does not reflect their skills and qualifications), engaging in informal or insecure work or underpaid.

This is something Robbins has regularly encountered because qualifications from other countries often don’t translate, leading to a loss of confidence and a lack of readiness for work. In a bid to tackle this, the company guarantees interviews for refugees and provides employability skills training, including barista and CV-writing workshops , in partnership with NGOS.

Employment is a crucial step in fostering a sense of belonging in a new country. Robbins says Starbucks is committed to trying to “fill a gap” between displacement and employment and lead the way in breaking down barriers for refugees.

Implementing the initiatives

Getting managers on board was crucial in implementing her initiative, Robbins continues, explaining that the “magic happens” when the store and district managers truly see the value. “At the beginning, there’s always a challenge to find one or two people who are willing to jump in with you,” she says, recognising that managers are often too busy running stores.

Calling it a “ground swell” or ripple effect, Robbins points out that while her team trains managers and gives them the tools, it is when they are truly invested that the initiatives are brought to life. Adapting strategies across countries is also key, rather than a ‘one size fits all’ approach. “It’s meaningful to each team, and they care because it may impact someone in their community, their network or family and friends,” she says.

Starbucks has committed to hiring 10,000 refugees through the programme and has so far recruited more than 5,500. However, Robbins clarifies that it is ultimately not about numbers. For her, it is more important to hire for the “right reasons” and implement a cultural shift.

Challenging misconceptions

Key to Robbins’s approach is “scrapping” the misconceptions around underrepresented groups, she adds.“I think there’s a misconception for some around what being a refugee means,” she says, explaining that this leads to a lack of understanding on how to support them into work. “There is always an opportunity to learn more.”

When talking to other organisations, Robbins often encounters “high curiosity” around hiring refugees, but “low desire or willingness, as it is seen as high effort and hard work”. But while it does take commitment to get initiatives off the ground, it is “worth the investment”, she says.

It’s not only the right thing to do, it is commercially strong, Robbins argues: “When we hire the right people, and invest in them, they stay with us longer than any other group. We’ve seen this with our refugee groups.”

For companies considering following Starbucks’s lead, Robbins advises them to learn from other organisations and work on challenging misconceptions:

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Also listen to the CIPD podcast episode ‘Unlocking opportunities for prison leavers’

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