How inclusion and engagement is driving a successful business

Making their customers smile

Becoming the number one in any market is not easy, especially in the fiercely competitive coffee shop market. Costa, owned by The Coca-Cola company, set themselves the very challenge. Not as cool as the independents and not as large as Starbucks, the brand that started in 1971, needed to gain market share by consistently delivering quality products with a warm welcome from happy baristas.

Living the values

Focusing on passionate staff and experience, with the goal on making customers smile, has made a positive working environment for Costa’s employees. Costa prides itself on its culture, based on its 4 values of:

  • Passion

  • Courage

  • Warmth

  • Trust

Costa image 1

 

Living the values

Focusing on passionate staff and experience, with the goal on making customers smile, has made a positive working environment for Costa’s employees. Costa prides itself on its culture, based on its 4 values of:

• Passion

• Courage

• Warmth

• Trust

Costa image 1

 

Costa image 2

An inclusive workforce

And also, its 3 network groups. These groups for Costa employees focus on inclusion and wellbeing for all:

  • Shine is Costa’s LGBT+ network that creates opportunities for Costa employees to ‘connect and spread positive change, together’.

  • Inside Out is Costa’s mental wellbeing network. It is a ‘safe space for people to discuss mental wellbeing openly’, to promote awareness of the topic and for staff to access resources and support if need be.

  • Belong is Costa’s 3rd network. It enables team members to define and reshape its cultural diversity agenda and demonstrate progress.

Costa image 2

An inclusive workforce

And also, its 3 network groups. These groups for Costa employees focus on inclusion and wellbeing for all:

• Shine is Costa’s LGBT+ network that creates opportunities for Costa employees to ‘connect and spread positive change, together’.
• Inside Out is Costa’s mental wellbeing network. It is a ‘safe space for people to discuss mental wellbeing openly’, to promote awareness of the topic and for staff to access resources and support if need be.
• Belong is Costa’s 3rd network. It enables team members to define and reshape its cultural diversity agenda and demonstrate progress.

Costa say that they want to make a place where their teams love to work, and their customers feel represented. In giving the staff a voice and the aids to thrive, they will also have a positive effect on the local community and customers. Costa have a Community Programme that they set up in 2014 to support local communities to its stores. Whilst the company is a large multinational, being able to adapt to each local community creates a sense of inclusion and shows how each store can adapt to the customers it serves. Every store has a community noticeboard where customers and public can put up news and information.

Continually finding ways to bridge the gap between a chain store and local communities has maybe helped to keep Costa thought of more favourably than other competitors. Initiatives such as the Chatty Café Scheme to tackle loneliness, anti-litter campaigns and food redistribution show how Costa are wanting to engage and benefit its customers, the local community and its employees.

​Maybe that’s why Costa is the second largest coffeehouse in the world and largest in the UK!

Social icons-05

 

 


- Seam Murray / Founder of The Retail Practice / Communication Specialist

Social icons-05

- Seam Murray / Founder of The Retail Practice / Communication Specialist

More blogs

Tesco-1
Learn from the UK leader
Hunkemoller MTE
How Hunkemöller won on customer service
Once a year
Why hearing from your employees once a year is not enough