According to Niccol, the baristas he talked to have a vested interest in the company’s success. In a conversation with investors on Starbucks 2026 investors day meetingNiccol said that many employees he meets often ask him about the company’s stock. “When I go into stores, they ask me, ‘what do you think is happening to the stock price?'” Niccol said. “I like it because, you know, that means they care.”

The CEO of the world’s largest coffee chain said that interest goes beyond financial motivation, saying that Starbucks employees, or “partners,” as the company refers to them, ask from a place of pride. “You want to be in a company that you want to be a part of,” Niccol said. “You want to be in a company that you think makes a difference in the community, that community that you live in.”

Starbucks has for many years aimed to strengthen employee engagement by delivering a “mindset of ownership” to the workforce. Created in 1991, Starbucks’s “Bean Stock” program gives employees the ability to invest in company stock and share in the results of the company’s performance. The idea is that Starbucks employees, regardless of their rank, can develop a more personal relationship with the company’s success.

Starbucks’ stock price has been remarkably stable over the past five years, with the $100 billion company down more than 5% over that span.

Shifting priorities at work

Niccol arrived at Starbucks from Chipotle in September 2024. At the helm of the coffee chain, Niccol tried to change the company with various workplace initiatives, including four days back to work mandate for corporate employees in October, requiring remote workers to relocate to Seattle or Toronto within 12 months and affecting hundreds of workers. The move is intended to improve employee connection in an effort to return Starbucks to its core, according to the company.

For Starbucks stores, the company CHANGE the dress code for baristas, suggests employees wear solid black tops and remove ear gauges larger than a quarter. The company also instituted a rule requiring workers to write notes on customers’ cups such as “you’re amazing” and “seize the day,” according to one company. memo.

In the past, Starbucks differentiated itself from other chain stores by offering benefits atypical to hourly workers, including health benefits for part-time employees and free college tuition through a partnership with Arizona State University. At Chipotle, Niccol CARRIED a similar tuition policy as CEO in 2019, offering free college to all employees enrolled in business or tech degrees.

Yet the pressure to rebuild a positive workplace has become a pressing concern for Starbucks leaders. The company has been facing an ongoing strike from the company’s labor union, Starbucks Workers United since November. The “Red Cup Rebellion” as the union calls it, has lasted until now because Starbucks and union leaders failed to negotiate a labor contract that met the union’s demands for better staffing and higher wages.

Niccol said at the investor day meeting that he aims to develop career success and the feeling of satisfaction at work for his employees. “We’ll give you a great professional career, we’ll also get you great opportunities personally,” Niccol said. “It’s a place you can be proud to tell your friends and family you work at Starbucks.”

The CEO’s words explain his vision of making Starbucks a desirable workplace for all hourly employees. “We want to be a different kind of company. We want to be the kind of company that people can have a career with”.