Operators eye turnover reduction via morale-boosting competitions

by Louise Kramer

Reprinted with the permission of Nation's Restaurant News

A sandwich cookie that hit select Starbucks Coffee units last month is a far cry from cookies found in grocery stores or bakery-cafes.

The Starbucks item is a shortbread confection filled with maple cream and was inspired by a South American treat called alfajor.

What sets the cookie apart is not only its South American roots, but how - and why - it came to market. It was created by an employee for Starbucks' New York region cooking contest. The prize is having the cookie featured in the coffeehouse chain's more than 350 stores in the multistate area.

The cookie's creator, Colleen Orbegoso, assistant manager of a Starbucks in Newton, Conn., also won $500 toward tuition at a culinary school. Dubbed Colleen's Maple Alfajor, the treat sells for $1.25 and will be in outlets through Nov. 8.

The recipe contest, the Seattle-based company's first, is part of an effort to "give partners the opportunity to grow personally and professionally," said Hope Tannenbaum, marketing specialist for the New York metropolitan region. "We want to support their talent within the company and their outside talents."

Starbucks is among a growing number of restaurant companies with rah-rah efforts to improve retention by making employees feel like they matter beyond their ability to whip up a cappuccino.

For instance, Union Square Hospitality Group in New York, operator of culinary meccas Union Square Café and the Modern at the Museum of Modern Art, last month pitted employees against each other in its second annual Barista Olympics. And Domino's Pizza held its second annual pizza-making contest, with a top prize of $10,000, at its annual awards meeting in July.

Such efforts are not wasted, as employers worry more about retention.

According to a 2005 survey by Monster Inc. of 600 human resource professionals representing companies of different sizes in diverse industries, about 70 percent of respondents said that retention is a primary concern in their workplaces given workers' beliefs that finding new jobs will not be difficult. Furthermore, while 45 percent of respondents characterized retention as a "high or very high" challenge today, 55 percent said that they expected it to be a "high or very high" challenge in the next five years.

Will Guidar, general manager of Union Square Hospitality's museum operations, said the Barista Olympics has become his pet project - one that brings employees together socially and helps them bond.

"This is a fun team-building contest," he said. "It is the only time of year now when the whole company gets together. Its one of the things we do to liven things up."

This year's coffee event was a raucous gathering of 150 employees from among the company's restaurants. It was complete with cheering sections for each team, intensely focused competitors and judges - including Nation's Restaurant News' consumer trends editor Erica Duecy - who sipped their espressos with great intent.

Starbucks' culinary contest is a new twist on Avant Grande, a music contest the company introduced last year, in which the winner was given the opportunity to perform as the opening act at a New York City summer music festival.

The winner of the Starbucks recipe contest, Orbegoso, 29, began working for the nearly 11,800-unit coffee chain two and a half years ago after she decided to give up a sales career. Her goal was to pursue a culinary degree. When she heard about the recipe contest, she signed up immediately. The guidelines stipulated that the product had to have a maple flavor because Starbucks is highlighting maple this fall. The dish could be savory or sweet.

"For a whole weekend I struggled in my kitchen and made a mess. Then I came up with this cookie," Orbegoso said in a recent phone interview during a mid-afternoon break at her store. Orbegoso has lived in Argentina, and her husband is from Peru. She said alfajores are a common treat in both countries and are typically filled with dulce de leche, a caramel cream. Her twist, she said, was to add the maple filling.

The cookies were rolled out Aug. 28. A display sign says, "Take a taste of our partner's talent."

Orbegoso is not getting compensated for the cookie beyond the recognition and the scholarship. But she has no complaints.

"Just the fact that they are selling my pastry and it is something I created is a real honor," she said. "The whole journey of this and the excitement has just been awesome." lekramer@aol.com

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Operators eye turnover reduction via morale-boosting competitions