@Coffee Shop Owners: Barista Resignations Are Like Throwing Money into the Sea!

High staff turnover has always been a significant issue in the coffee industry that cannot be ignored.

Many coffee shop owners might believe that it's because the younger generation lacks the determination to stick with one thing, so they frequently think about resigning. While this factor exists, as a coffee shop owner, have you considered that you might also be part of the problem?

Many coffee shop owners, when discussing recruitment issues, always shake their heads and lament: "I already offer higher salaries than many coffee shops, but I still can't make baristas want to stay for long periods."

Once, a coffee shop owner shared with me: he had previously hired a young person who excelled in coffee knowledge, technical skills, and customer service to be a store manager. At that time, many customers came specifically because of this barista, and many became regular patrons of the shop.

Regarding his performance, the owner expressed great satisfaction. To retain him, he provided good salary and benefits, hired other baristas and part-time staff, and then went to manage other businesses. As a result, the store manager resigned within a few months, citing exhaustion as the reason.

When the store manager left, he explained that although there were enough staff members in the store, other baristas couldn't help with operations management and training beyond product preparation and customer service; part-time staff couldn't properly handle customer complaints or unexpected minor incidents... From opening to closing, various big and small problems all required him to solve.

When this owner returned to manage the coffee shop, he found that he couldn't take on the management role, despite being the owner of this shop... because the management methods had changed, other former baristas and part-time staff also left one after another. Later, a new store manager was hired, but the new team's management and product quality couldn't match the previous model. New baristas also left after just one or two months, and regular customers rarely returned due to the former manager's departure. Business revenue began to decline.

Common Management Mistakes

Although this incident is just a personal experience sharing, some of the problems within it are mistakes that many coffee shops make in their management. One is complete delegation with 100% authority, being completely ignorant of the coffee shop's operations; another is placing all management focus on one person without providing relevant training to other staff; and a third is failing to make appropriate adjustments to the original operational management methods when new managers appear.

As a coffee shop owner, you are the principal manager of the coffee shop, and you must have a clear understanding of all operations and product preparation standards! Hiring a manager is merely a role to assist with operational management. In any industry, employee turnover is ultimately inevitable, so as an owner, you must prepare in advance for someone who can immediately take over the work.

Building a Stable Framework

When a coffee shop needs to hire a manager to assist with operations, the first thing the owner should do is establish a stable framework, setting general operational requirements and product standards that every new employee needs to know. Then allow the assisting manager to refine and adjust (optimize requirements), provide training, and make timely corrections when problems are discovered.

This ensures that when the assisting manager leaves, other staff members won't fall into "disarray," and the owner can immediately take over the work and record existing optimization plans. This way, when the next assisting manager appears, they can understand the team in the shortest time and continue to maintain morale.

The Importance of Training

Training work cannot rely entirely on one person. As a coffee shop owner, you must know all product preparation methods and quality standards yourself. Only when you do things well can those who follow also do well. All training begins with the owner - good and bad production habits, and whether there are requirements for each product, are all determined by the owner.

For example, if a trainer doesn't do well during the training process and the owner doesn't make timely corrections, incorrect things will continue to be incorrect. Product consistency is always the most core aspect of a coffee shop. Don't think that customers won't notice and can be ignored. When things become serious, they can directly affect a coffee shop's reputation.

Understanding Career Development Needs

Beyond coffee shop management, if you want a coffee shop to have more development and retain more baristas who can help the brand grow, the owner needs to first understand each person's different expectations and needs regarding career development.

Each person has different reasons for applying for a job and different needs. When you encounter people who are passionate about coffee, the owner can provide proper guidance and give them a sense of belonging within the team. Then their performance at work will be better, and they will have thoughts of staying and developing further.

Allowing staff to have a sense of belonging in the team affects consumers. Baristas are brand ambassadors for the coffee shop. Therefore, if they are valued and encouraged, their positive attitudes not only maintain stable product quality but also enhance customers' trust in the brand and increase repeat purchase rates. Continuous repeat purchase rates are the key factor for sustainable brand development, and repeat rates离不开 these brand ambassadors.

The True Cost of High Turnover

Many coffee shop owners view frequent barista departures this way: "If they want to resign, let them resign; there's no shortage of people applying for barista positions..." The high turnover rate might not seem harmful to the individuals themselves, but for coffee shops, it's an invisible killer.

Training staff requires investment in time, personnel, and materials, and recruitment also requires investment in time and energy. In the same amount of time, having baristas who can provide consistent products and quality service would bring how much revenue? The cost of one person leaving is much higher than you might think! These losses are intangible but will continue to occur.

Building a Sustainable Team

So if you truly want a coffee shop to develop sustainably, working alone won't suffice, and what one person can accomplish is very limited. When you have people who can assist with development, you should utilize their strengths, give them opportunities, delegate authority appropriately, and work hard together.

The owner cannot demand that every person work as hard as you do, but can make every person willing to work with you to make the brand better~

Image source: Internet

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