specialreport
Looking for a few good men
(and women)
The initiative centers on attracting
top-flight undergraduate and gradu-
ate students—many of whom are
already familiar with best practices—
to execute on processes already in
place and to leverage key learnings of
their own, according to Gibbons.
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individual,” he explains.
He adds that the company is testing a
supply chain training system that will
“provide the bulk of our technical train-
ing and will add formal coaching and
mentoring to round the process out.”
Gibbons declined to specify how many
recruits will come on board each year. The
initial phase will be aimed at building out
the U.S. organization, followed by a simi-
lar staffing process for the company’s
international operations, he says.
After that, Starbucks will focus on creating an internship program with an eye
toward recruiting underclassmen interested
in a career with the company. In some
cases, Starbucks may not have to look
beyond its own counters; Gibbons says
there could be students working part-time
as “baristas”—Starbucks lingo for servers—
who would be a good fit for the program
because they’re already inside the culture.
In what Gibbons calls a “dry run” for the
overall program, Starbucks earlier this year
hired two engineering graduates from
Purdue University, one of the nation’s leading engineering schools. The vetting experience produced mixed results, according
to Gibbons. Recruits thought Starbucks
told a compelling story, he says. However,
“people were not aware that we are a supply chain organization,” he admits.
The company will only consider the top
10 percent of the graduating class of the
schools it partners with, according to Shawn
Simmons, Starbucks’ vice president, partner
resources for supply chain operations. The
ideal candidates will have exposure to
Fortune 500 organizations either through
prior work experience or through internships, Simmons says. In addition, they must
demonstrate prior leadership experience,
and be willing to rotate between domestic
and international positions, he adds.
If successful, the strategy will yield multiple benefits, according to Gibbons and
his team. It will brand Starbucks as a bona
fide logistics organization within both
academia and industry. It will ensure a
seamless human resources transition over
time as the old guard nears retirement.
And the company will reap the intellectual windfall of advanced concepts that
graduates take out of school and into the
workplace. Gibbons says Starbucks
