Starbucks interim CEO Howard Schultz laid out a framework Monday for the “reinvention” of the company in a letter to employees. The Bold Moves plan will incorporate five key pillars: 

• Revamping the execution of Starbucks’ brand mission
• Improving employee welfare
• Ensuring the store experience is “planet positive”
• Creating personalized customer experiences
• Redesigning “partnership”

Starbucks will announce specific programs and initiatives that would deliver on these abstract tentpoles in the coming weeks, Schultz said. 

The company is already rolling out tangible operational changes that fall beneath these strategy umbrellas, however. Starbucks announced in a separate blog post on Monday that eligible hourly employees will receive pay bumps effective Aug. 1 as part of its previously announced $1 billion investment in its employees and technology. 

The wage hikes will raise hourly pay to $15 or 3% above current wages, whichever is higher, for workers hired on or before May 2. Eligible tenured hourly employees who have been at Starbucks for two to five years will receive a 5% raise, and employees who have worked five-plus years at Starbucks will receive a 7% raise.

In September, Starbucks will also provide faster sick time accrual and financial stability toolkit benefits, among other benefits. The company will also deploy enhanced in-app tipping and credit card tipping later this year to allow customers to better recognize employees. 

In addition to wage increases and benefits, this initiative has also included relaunching its Coffee Master program, enhancing training and technology for employees and testing an employee app in June to hear staff concerns. 

The Bold Moves plan and the $1 billion investment in workers and tech come amid several major company changes, including the search for a new CEO. Since Schultz regained the helm at Starbucks, the company has undergone a corporate reshuffle. Several executives have left the chain, including Rossann Williams, Starbucks’ former EVP and president of U.S. retail and Canada. Williams resigned in June after being offered another position in the company. She and Schultz had been at the center of Starbucks’ response to the union drive within the company that began in August, 2021. 

Starbucks also is planning to outfit 90% of its newly developed stores with drive-thrus and incorporate new designs and technology — such as handheld devices and equipment that will help improve speed, efficiency and profitability — across its cafe network.