CoCo Reflections from Silken Buska:
This Week’s CoCo: Take Care of Your Co-Workers
Yet another thing I love about Stone Creek is that caring for the people we work alongside is a key focus! I’ve worked at companies where people don’t care and it is never as enjoyable. Helping create a good work environment by working well with our coworkers means we are happier and customers also get to experience the joy we feel! I’ve had such amazing coworkers and custies can see how we care for each other and how it turns into caring for them that we’ve been called the dream team! And it’s because we choose to care for each other. One obscure way I try to care for others is when I’m asked to pick up a shift and instead of waiting to respond when I know I can’t work it, responding right when I see it. It doesn’t take any extra time to respond at the moment but it helps coworkers out tremendously! Another more obvious way we care for each other through our work is during shift change. When I’m on bar, I’m always trying to make that handoff as smooth as possible. It’s not always possible as curveballs get thrown and equipment needs repairing, but if I can set my coworkers up for success it helps everything run smoothly! Another thing I like to think about is the care we give on a grander scale at SC. We in cafe take off the tape on empty pastry bins to care for the kitchen. Production checks orders to make sure our cafes are stocked. That crazy HR lady pops in our cafes to make sure we know we can reach out if there’s an issue (Yeah Celeste, I’m lookin at you…lol) And I know there are so many other things I don’t even know about. We #takecareofcoworkers in our immediate work spot and for the entire company to keep this well caffeinated machine a happy one.
Next Week’s CoCo: Be Here, Physically & Mentally
There are some days I’m better at this core commitment than others… when life is really busy, it’s hard to just focus on the job right in front of me. It’s easy to be physically somewhere. All you have to do is show up. It’s much harder to be present in the moment with the people around you. A way I try to work on this in cafe is focusing on the customer or task right in front of me. This can be challenging because we have so many things to complete in a shift. But if we can get our brain to focus on that thing, it will help us accomplish the task quicker or create a memorable interaction with a customer. For example, when there’s a line of customers and you’re helping someone who isn’t a regular and they are signing the tablet or you’re grabbing coffee, and if we say hello to the regular next in line and start asking about the drink or cool activity they did, we are no longer present with that customer in front of us. Some people may not notice, but our goal is to win fans and being present with the person in front of us is such a great way to win that fan! I have to regularly remind myself to do this while on bar as well because some customers will talk and want connections more than others. But just because some may not be as vocal, doesn’t mean they don’t deserve the same intention as others. In our fast paced culture this is hard to do. But let’s all get to work, take a breath and when we ask how someone’s day is, let’s listen for the response. What a simple and great way to #betherephysicallyandmentally.
CoCo Heroes:
- Take Care of Your Co-Workers: This Core Commitment Hero comes from the Downer Kitchen Team – Tony! They are always taking strides to make sure everyone can perform at their best. Whether it’s words of encouragement, making sure everyone is caffeinated, or jumping in to assist on another station, sidework, or deep clean; Tony is always looking to help out others/provide a welcoming workplace. Tony especially worked to help on launch weekend by getting ahead on prep during their opening shift. This would set up the prep people to more easily support grill and expo while those stations became accustomed to the workflow of the new menu.
- Be Here, Physically & Mentally: This Core Commitment Hero comes from the Downer Cafe Team – Mitch! Mitch comes into work fully ready and prepared to crush the day and anything that comes along with it! Mitch is always on top of finding solutions to any gaps or emergencies that may come along. He also is always ready to train any new hire at any time in any position! Mitch is also always fully ready and knowledgeable of the launches that are coming each week as well!
Going-Ons:
SCC Company Party Tonight: Tonight from 6pm-10pm, we will be getting together at Story Hill Firehouse to celebrate Stone Creek Coffee’s 30th Anniversary and our work together! We would love for you to join us for a night of dinner, drinks, dancing, and games. All cafes will close at 5pm to allow team members the opportunity to attend.
Employee Satisfaction Survey – Coming Soon: Multiple times throughout the year we reach out and ask for your feedback regarding an array of subjects, and then we use your feedback to help us Never Stop Learning. On Monday, February 5th, Teams & People will send out our biannual Employee Satisfaction Survey. Through your anonymous responses to these surveys we are able to gauge the perspectives of our employees on how well we are doing as a company and employer. Both the detailed #SpeakUps and #HeroShoutOuts you provide in this survey and the aggregate score give us tremendous guidance and an objective picture of how well we engage with our team members.
As our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging team continues to iterate to improve our learning in support of our DEI&B initiatives, you can expect to see a few additional questions at the end of this survey and others in the future. These are optional, but highly encouraged as they are imperative to our learning. Of course, we love hearing what you think is going well. Moreover, if there is something you want to see improved, please share it. As this survey is anonymous, we encourage you to share as detailed of feedback as possible to best guide any follow up commitments that are captured.
It’s important that we get a high volume of participation in these surveys in order to gain the most accurate data. We feel it is so important that for this upcoming survey, we will be celebrating high participation by giving $100 to each team with at least 90% team responses to be able to gather and have some fun together! Please note that while anonymous, in order for your response to count towards your team’s participation percentage, you will need to disclose your work location.
Once it launches, this survey will run for two weeks. Team Leaders, please take a moment in your upcoming administrative time to add reminders about this survey in team communication and team schedules.
February NSL Workshops: Our next round of NSL Workshops are quickly approaching, as they do! Our February NSL Workshops will be hosted in cafes and lead by your team leader and a member or two of Teams & People! Attendance will be required. Please take a look at your team’s NSL Workshop time and closing details below. Closing signage will be delivered to applicable cafes(*) ahead of time and should be hung up by the appropriate date below. (Whitefish Bay, Downer, Shorewood, and Glendale to close early on respective workshop dates at 5pm. Oconomowoc & Wauwatosa Bluemound to close early on respective dates at 4:30pm). Office staff, stay tuned for more information. In lieu of food provided during the workshop, each team is encouraged to use a portion of their Team Celebrations budget (e.g. Team Leaders order pizza) to enjoy food & hangs afterwards. Team Leaders, see “Celebrate with Your Team” in the Weekly Ops Recap for more details. Please reach out to your Team Leader, Karen Strange, or Teams & People if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you all soon!
Monday, February 12th
- Downer Cafe & Kitchen – 5:30-7pm at Downer Cafe & Kitchen*
- Shorewood – 5:30-7pm at Shorewood Cafe *
- Wauwatosa Bluemound* & Harwood – 5:30-7pm at Harwood Cafe
Tuesday, February 13th
- Bakery – 4-5:30pm at Factory
- Whitefish Bay Cafe & Kitchen – 5:30-7pm at Whitefish Bay Cafe & Kitchen*
Wednesday, February 14th
- Production – 10:30am-12pm at Factory
Thursday, February 15th
- Delafield & Oconomowoc* – 5:30-7pm at Delafield Cafe
- Glendale – 5:30-7pm at Glendale Cafe*
Tuesday, February 20th
- Factory Cafe – 5:30-7pm at Factory Cafe
Professional Development Opportunity – Specialty Coffee Association Event: This spring, the Speciality Coffee Association (SCA) Expo will be coming to Chicago and Stone Creek Coffee is looking to sponsor a group of up to 10 team members to attend on Friday, 4/12! If you’re not familiar, the SCA is a non-profit that represents thousands of coffee professionals, from producers to baristas, all across the world. The SCA Expo is one of the largest coffee events in North America and gives insight to what’s new in the coffee industry with cuppings, lectures, and product showcasing.
- What does sponsorship include? If selected, Stone Creek Coffee will provide transportation to and from the event, meals for the day, and cover the cost of entry to the event. Paid Professional Development will be entered for the employee covering the duration of the event.
- How do I apply for sponsorship? All team members are welcome to apply to attend and are invited to do so by emailing Teams & People (teams@stonecreekcoffee.com) with a brief summary of why they would like to attend. Following the event, attendees will commit to sending a summary of their learning at the event or aspects that they found remarkable to Teams & People. Sponsorship requests are due to Teams & People by the end of the day on Friday, February 23rd.
- Questions are welcomed to Teams & People (teams@stonecreekcoffee.com). We look forward to spending the day geeking out over coffee together!
Job Openings:
Join the Tech Team: Our incredible Tech Team that we all know and love is hiring! We are seeking a talented and dedicated individual to work alongside the team as the Tech Ops Manager. This role will support the team in areas such as team workflow, scheduling, equipment and inventory management, ordering processes, error tracking, and team development. If you or a friend are interested, visit our website to learn more about the position and apply!
view all current openingsWins & Shout-outs:
If you’d like to recognize or celebrate a teammate, we would love to hear about it! By clicking here, you can fill out a form to nominate a hero and choose how you would like them to be celebrated.
Birthdays:
- 2/2 Krista Fuller
- 2/3 – Lauren Trific
- 2/10 – Trina Schreiber
- 2/11 – Eric Resch
- 2/12 – Theresa Toms
- 2/17 – Megan Willborn
- 2/18 – Zipporah Caspers
- 2/23 – Vanessa Van Den Elzen
- 2/23 – Max Mantych
- 2/28 – Christopher Tammes
Anniversaries:
- Makayla Drutowski – 2 years!
- Tony Johnson – 2 years!
- Maddy Meyer – 1 year!
- Drew Pond – 10 years!
- Killian Steiner – 2 years!
- Chase Sullivan – 2 years!
- Alexis Westhoff – 4 years!
- Stacey Ziebart – 1 year!
Welcomes:
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Christopher Berry – Harwood
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Parker Hurkman – WFB Barista
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Jared Smith – Shorewood
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Zion Shaw – Glendale
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Chet Tallmen – Delafield
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Claire Bjorgo – WFB Line Cook
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Joshua Brown – Fulfillment Specialist
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Clara Madley – Delafield
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Miguel Zimora – WFB Barista
Looking for volunteer opportunities? Click here to see our Volunteer Opportunity Index.
Employee Discount Codes:
Please don’t share these with non-employees
- 20% Employee-Only Website Coupon Code
- January: SCCEMPJAN24
- February: SCCEMPFEB24
- 40% Employee-Only Mobile App Coupon Code
- January: SCCEMPJAN24
- February: SCCEMPFEB24
Catch up on all of our newsletters, company updates, recipes, and more in our Employee Blog here.
Ways to Speak Up:
Do you want to speak up about ideas, thoughts, and more? Send an email to Teams & People (teams@stonecreekcoffee.com) or use the button below to send a note anonymously.