Barista job description: Duties, skills, and responsibilities

Looking to hire a barista? Understanding the responsibilities of the role you’re hiring for is an important part of the recruitment journey. By having a clear understanding of what you need in your business, you’ll know exactly what to look for in a candidate. When crafting a job description for a barista, the listing should typically involve a variety of duties and responsibilities aimed at ensuring customers have a pleasant experience. This includes greeting customers as they arrive, taking their drink orders, and ensuring customer satisfaction throughout their visit.

When finding your perfect candidate, you’re going to want to make sure they can maintain a high level of skill and service across job duties. These could include  preparing hot and cold beverages, serving coffee, and ensuring the correct drink is made to the customer’s preferences. Baristas also need to provide customer recommendations, upsell specials, and assist with any dietary preferences or concerns related to the business.

Barista job duties and responsibilities

Among the biggest needs expected of baristas in the coffee service industry is excellent customer care. A barista will be responsible for making and serving hot and cold beverages, ensuring customer satisfaction, and keeping the work area clean and sanitary. They’re also expected to monitor stock levels, clean the brewing equipment, and ensure all beverages are made to the best quality and highest standards.

What should be included in a barista job description?

A barista job description needs to be specific about what the job entails, and what the new employee will be doing. This will include the actual tasks of preparing coffee beverages, handling cash and credit card transactions, and maintaining the brewing equipment.  It needs to include the requirement for excellent customer service, which is at the heart of the position. 

The best job descriptions highlight both the technical skills required. These typically include experience within the industry, grinding beans, preparing espresso shots, steaming milk, making specialty drinks and having the soft skills required to create a great experience for customers. 

It will depend on your specific business which of these skills is the priority, but having your new hire be well-rounded will make for a smooth onboarding process. Employers must also ensure that the job description contains any minimum age requirements or other legal aspects that will be applicable to the job.

Example of a job description

We are seeking a highly motivated Barista to join our team.

The barista is responsible for preparing and serving a variety of hot and cold beverages, ensuring excellent customer service, and maintaining a clean and welcoming environment. This role requires knowledge of coffee flavors, brewing methods, and drink recipes. They should also have experience with fundamental coffee-making skills, such as grinding coffee beans, preparing espresso shots, steaming milk and latte art.

Responsibilities:

• Prepare and serve hot and cold beverages, snacks, and pastries
• Offer advice to customers on drink choices and educate them about coffee varieties
• Operate coffee machines and other brewing equipment
• Clean and maintain brewing equipment and work areas
• Monitor stock levels of coffee beans and supplies, and place orders as needed
• Create a welcoming atmosphere for customers
• Ensure that all beverages are prepared according to customer preferences
• Follow food safety regulations and health and safety regulations at all times

Qualifications and experience:

• High school diploma or equivalent
• Prior experience in a similar role (preferred but not required)
• Knowledge of coffee brewing methods and coffee beverages
• Good time management skills
• Excellent customer service skills
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment
• Good interpersonal and communication skills
• Attention to detail

What is the best way to screen candidates?

When it comes to recruitment, you can screen candidates a number of different ways. For example, you can screen candidates by focusing on both the hard and soft skills the successful candidate will require. This is achieved by searching through resumes and looking for similar past experience. It could also be through assessing customer service aptitude via a formal interview where the interviewer asks how the candidate would handle difficult situations.

You can rely on hiring managers to hire or perform hands-on tests, for instance, making a flat white coffee or completing a trial shift. These can assist you in better assessing their barista skills and ability to work in a crowded coffee shop.

For a less manual approach, using platforms like Employment Hero can help find qualified candidates by matching them with your specific job requirements. With our SmartMatch tool to streamline the process of pre-screening candidates for you, you can ensure they have the right experience, food safety training, and are local to your area before jumping into interviews. This way, there’s no need for a lengthy job description, as the system already matches candidates based on their qualifications and experience.

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What skills should a barista have?

Baristas need a variety of customer service skills to be effective in their roles. These include strong communication skills, a friendly demeanor, and the ability to multi-task in an often fast-paced environment. Additionally, baristas must have good organisational skills to ensure all beverages are prepared and served efficiently.

Baristas should also be comfortable  operating brewing equipment throughout their shifts and recommending drinks to customers. A good understanding of customer preferences and the ability to educate customers on different coffee varieties is crucial.

What qualifications should a barista have?

A formal education is not typically required for baristas, but most employers prefer candidates who have completed food safety training and some kind of short course barista training. A high school diploma or equivalent is often listed as a basic requirement, however not essential. Having prior experience in a coffee shop or food service industry can also be beneficial, although it’s not a strict necessity.

Job requirements may vary depending on your business, so employers will often look for qualities such as excellent communication skills, the ability to work well within a team, and experience in handling cash and credit card transactions.

What are barista salary expectations?

Salaries for baristas can vary greatly depending on location, establishment, and level of experience. Barista salary benchmarking helps employers ensure their pay scale is competitive with the local market. By offering competitive compensation, coffee shops can attract and retain qualified candidates.to. If you’re looking to determine what you should be paying staff based on your industry, location, and role, jump into our calculator below.

Should a barista be required to have any specific education or training?

As mentioned before, a formal education may not be mandatory for baristas, but many employers prefer candidates who have received food safety certifications or other barista training. This ensures that baristas understand the importance of handling beverages and food safely and can adhere to health and safety regulations.

Some employers may also offer on-the-job training to develop customer service skills and teach employees how to operate point-of-sale systems. Understanding the customers’ drink menus and the specific offerings at the coffee shop is also a key part of the training process.

Should a barista be required to have any specific experience?

Experience in the food service or coffee industry is often valued by employers, especially in busy establishments where speed and accuracy are crucial. Previous experience as a barista or in a similar role can help candidates hit the ground running, allowing them to adapt quickly to the job duties. However, many employers are also willing to hire entry-level candidates and provide training for those without prior experience.