Starbucks Australia has streamlined its recruitment process by integrating CheckWorkRights with its existing SmartRecruiters system, significantly reducing administrative burdens and strengthening visa compliance.
The initiative comes as the company enters a period of aggressive hiring, with over 1,400 team members across 80 stores—many of whom are visa holders.
Previously, Starbucks faced delays due to manual visa entitlement verification (VEVO) and national police checks, with turnaround times stretching up to five days during peak periods.
Talent Manager Lizzie Ibeakanma said the company needed a faster and more reliable method for managing right-to-work and visa checks, particularly given that half the workforce are visa holders.
Starbucks selected CheckWorkRights after evaluating multiple options, citing its automated VEVO checks and compatibility with SmartRecruiters, which required no additional coding or IT involvement.
“Over 50 per cent of our team completed their right to work requirements within the first 24 hours. It’s that easy to pick up and use,” Ibeakanma said.
The digital overhaul has delivered measurable results. Starbucks has cut recruitment time by removing bottlenecks at the pre-employment stage and is now saving up to two full days of admin work each month through automation.
Candidate experience has also improved, thanks to a mobile-friendly workflow that streamlines the process for applicants and hiring managers alike.
The integration also includes national police checks, further simplifying hiring for managerial roles.
“For QSR organisations, where high-volume hiring is the norm, seamless integration is absolutely key. When you’re onboarding dozens of team members quickly, manual processes can’t keep up,” Will Aldous, CheckWorkRights Managing Director, said.
“To stay competitive, QSRs need recruitment and onboarding workflows that are mobile-first, fast, and frictionless so the best talent doesn’t slip away.”
Starbucks is now considering additional screening checks as part of its ongoing efforts to streamline recruitment.