What nickname does Starbucks use for its employees?

Starbucks calls its employees “partners.”

The term reflects Starbucks’s company culture and its employee-ownership history. Starbucks began offering stock options to eligible employees in the 1990s, and the company commonly used “partner” to emphasize that employees shared in the business rather than being treated only as staff.

Starbucks employees work in many roles, including baristas, shift supervisors, store managers, and corporate positions. Not every partner is a barista, although barista is the best-known customer-facing job in a Starbucks café.

The word can cause a common mix-up because “partner” is also used by many other companies as a general workplace term. At Starbucks, however, it is the company’s established name for employees. The usage appears in company communications, benefits information, store training, and discussions of Starbucks workplace policies.