Starbucks teaches its baristas new drinks and new equipment through a learning system powered by BadgeOS, BuddyPress and WordPress, delivered with partner Brand Connections.
Starbucks, based in Seattle, needed a platform to train baristas across the nation on the drink recipes from its menu and on the equipment used to make them. The learning system was custom built for the employee intranet.
Starbucks barista training: the brief
Baristas needed to sign in with their Starbucks credentials, watch short equipment videos and prove what they learned. Managers needed results by person, store or city, and everything had to run well on phones, tablets and desktops.
BadgeOS and BuddyPress training system
- Single sign on linking Starbucks accounts to WordPress.
- BuddyPress profiles, activity and groups by city, country and region, so leaders can view results by geography.
- Video lessons that record who watched what.
- Gravity Forms quizzes extended by a purpose built add-on. Learners need 80% to advance, and managers are alerted after a fourth attempt below that mark.
- Badges, achievements and leaderboards through BadgeOS.
- Google Charts dashboards and searchable, exportable reports.
- A nightly import that turns HR CSV files into groups, members and group admins automatically.
How lessons and quizzes work
Baristas sign in to the intranet, watch an equipment operation video and then take a multiple choice quiz on what it covered. The quizzes are built with WordPress custom post types and Gravity Forms. A barista needs 80% competency on a quiz before moving to the next one. If someone has tried more than three times without reaching 80%, their manager gets a notification to follow up.
Through the Google Charts API, managers sign in to see visual statistics on how employees scored, and detailed reports can be queried and exported.
Groups that mirror the company
BuddyPress groups organize baristas by country and locale. Baristas and managers align locally with one another, and administrators view quiz and learning insights by geographic area. An automated nightly schedule imports new employee data from internal CSV files: custom scripts add cities as BuddyPress groups, add the employees in those cities as members of their groups and keep city and employee metadata, such as group admins, up to date.
A social layer for learning
BuddyPress gives learners personal profiles, conversations with other learners, an activity feed and leaderboards that display personal achievements. Badges give each learner a visual reward to display on their profile or share on social media. The platform is responsive, so baristas reach their training 24/7 on a smartphone, a tablet or a desktop.
Why badge based training mattered
Training became measurable, social and self updating, on any screen, any time.
WordPress training platform stack
- WordPress
- BuddyPress
- BadgeOS
- Gravity Forms
- Google Charts
- Custom SSO
Project leadership by Brian Messenlehner, AlphaWeb founder.
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