Major companies, from Starbucks to Target, are bolstering their CX by investing in culture, benefits and incentives for their employees.
Satisfied, tenured employees are well-positioned to offer superior customer service, but turnover rates across industries suggest employees are far from satisfied.
The average retail associate turnover rate is 60%, according to Brad Jashinsky, director analyst at Gartner. Workers who have been with a company for a long period of time aren’t automatically superior for CX, but they are more likely to have helpful knowledge.
“Having employees on longer typically means the organization is better run and not having to spend so much time and money on recruiting and training, and that customers are able to come in and get answers to their questions immediately,” Jashinsky said.
Employees overall that say they are satisfied with their experience are 1.6 times more likely to be high performers, according to Gartner data from 2024. However, less than one-third of employees say they feel strong satisfaction with the experience at their organization.
Starbucks, Target and Dave & Busters are looking to workers to boost satisfaction, emphasizing investments in their employee experience in calls to investors in recent months.
While Starbucks is tying financial incentives to metrics including customer satisfaction, Target is adding more support for associates as part of a broader set of in-store CX investments. Dave & Buster’s is investing in training and unifying its culture across brands to improve the dining experience.
Starbucks’ incentives encourage connections
Starbucks is in the middle of a CX-focused turnaround, and its baristas are playing a starring role.
The cafe chain’s effort to simplify processes is not just aimed at cutting down order times, but ensuring workers have time to connect with customers.
“Our partners are the heart of the brand, creating connections across all channels,” Tressie Lieberman, EVP and global chief brand officer, said at an investor day conference in January. “We have a unique opportunity to connect people over coffee during a time when loneliness is pervasive.”
Starbucks made those customer connections even more important earlier this month by introducing quarterly bonuses based on factors including customer satisfaction targets. The new program is meant to align worker incentives with CX goals under the Back to Starbucks plan.
The bonus incentives are on top of what Starbucks sees as pay, benefits and a career path that make it stand out in the business, CEO Brian Niccol said at the investor day conference. “When our partners succeed, customers feel the difference, and our entire business gets stronger.”
Not every worker has been happy with the coffeehouse chain’s previous efforts. Starbucks has often been at odds with Starbucks Workers United, which has unionized workers at hundreds of stores.
The combination of compensation and additional career opportunities within the organization is a great incentive for workers in any businesses, according to Jashinsky. Major examples include companies like Walmart and Costco, where the current CEOs started within the store.
“I think it helps them connect to the associates,” Jashinsky said. “Not only does it help on the executive training side, it helps those leaders speak the same language as their associates.”
Target’s store turnaround includes employees
Target plans to invest $1 billion in CX this year, and its in-store experience — including more support for associates — is a top priority.
“We need our experience to delight guests every time, and to be crystal clear, there's real work for us to do here,” CEO Michael Fiddelke said on an earnings call last month. “That's why we're strengthening reliability and service end-to-end as well as making meaningful investments in payroll and training that our teams need to consistently deliver for our guests.”
Target is exploring a new approach to customer service as well that aims to build on the retailer’s other CX investments, according to EVP and Chief Merchandising Officer Cara Sylvester.
“We're piloting an enhanced service model in select stores right now with team members delivering an intuitive and genuine experience, helping guests discover newness, sharing the latest trends and answering questions about products,” Sylvester said during the earnings call.
Like Starbucks, Target wants to simplify associates’ workload so they can spend more time helping shoppers. The retailer is investing additional store hours to ensure workers have the support they need to focus on assisting customers, according to Fiddelke.
Target is investing in financial investments aimed at its associates in terms of salary and other benefits as well. The Dream to Be program, which offers associates tuition-free education assistance, has helped more than 12,000 workers earn degrees and professional certificates.
“We'll continue to invest in the team,” Fiddelke said. “I think our long history of team investment has served us so well because it's the team that brings to life our strategy every day.”
Target is just one example of a retailer investing in CX through financial support of its employees. In 2024, both Costco and Sam’s Club credited higher wages for better shopping experiences in their warehouses.
Dave & Buster CEO: CX can’t exceed EX
Dave & Buster’s is making improved training and a unified employee culture the next step in its quest to improve customer satisfaction.
The company is prioritizing its operations and company culture with the goal of driving better CX and, in turn, improving traffic and sales, according to CEO Tarun Lal.
“From launching industry-leading general manager incentives to investing in training programs and simplifying tasks for our team members, we are sending a message to the field that our success is closely tied to our execution and to our guest experience,” Lal said on an earnings call last month.
Dave & Buster’s turned to its restaurant teams to help craft the rest of its experience strategy as well, according to Lal. The entertainment company plans on investing more in games and immersive experiences, which was a result of asking workers about what diners are saying.
The company also plans on improving the employee experience by defining a shared mission across Dave & Buster’s and its family-focused Main Event chain.
“We want our teams to know that we are walking the talk on the fundamental truth that our guest experience can never exceed our team member experience,” Lal said.
