As is customary in the restaurant industry, Chipotle faced sudden sales and a 50% retention rate. CEO Scott Boatwright’s strategy called on the taco bowl chain to hire 10,000 workers to staff in over 300 new restaurants in 2025. And ultimately, the senior team wanted a more stable, well-trained workforce that could embrace the company’s culture and advance the ranks.
“We often have high sales so we were working on two things,” said Irene Eskenazi, Chipotle Chief Human Resources Officer. luckThis week’s Workplace Innovation Summit in California. “In restaurants with high sales, where new employees are constantly being trained and retrained, performance is not as high as those with longer tenure teams. What’s more, we’re on a very growing track.”
To address the talent aspect, Chipotle turned to the guild, educational technology, luxury companies and its CEO, Bijal Shah.
At the time, Chipotle was already offering tuition reimbursement benefits to employees, Shah said. luckSummit. However, this was important. Traditional reimbursement programs are often out of reach for frontline workers, and very cohort companies want to target such offerings.
“In tuition refunds, employees require that they receive their co-payments, receive education and be refunded after the facts,” Shah explained. “And when you have over $300 in your bank account, it really works, you’re available and accessible.”
So, Shah’s guild team spoke with Chipotle about a program that appeals to employees who cannot afford those advance payments, out-of-pocket costs, but who want to be educated and skilled in areas that will help them advance their careers.
Currently, Chipotle has a program that allows for both refunds and assistance, Shah said. The program “provides access to certain opportunities and then wider opportunities,” she said.
Chipotle in 2024 Promotion With 23,000 employees and 85% of restaurant management roles are filmed by internal candidates. About five of the 11 regional vice presidents are former frontline workers who have risen to advanced operational levels. At the field leader level, the role of responsible for an average of eight restaurant sites in a single region is 84% ​​internal promotion, and the group currently oversees an average annual sales of $24 million.
Eskenazi said hearing individual stories from employees who rose after joining the program is one of her favorite parts of the initiative’s impact.
“We have all these amazing stories you talk to people, and they moved to this country ten years ago, started as a crew member, and now they have six figure jobs in leadership, and they either went to college or they bought a house,” she said.
Eskenazi said the tuition reimbursement programme was initially focused on business and technology, and in both areas it is in line with the strategic plan for high-speed chain chains. Over time, she heard feedback that people were interested in the program, but they wanted more flexibility to explore new areas. Now it contains about 100 different degrees people chase. Chipotle also charts and structures employee promotion opportunities, allowing you to visualize career paths and see exactly how education leads to upward mobility.
“When we look at the business now and talk to our teams, there are a lot of beliefs in the program and a lot of beliefs in the company’s career opportunities,” she said.
Shah added that the “viral” of the program, that is, one colleague has travelled and communicated about it to another, made it difficult to promote a larger adoption.
“People start seeing colleagues, seeing opportunities for mobility, seeing changes happening in their lives,” she said. “I’m confident. There’s something about getting an education that builds your confidence.”
Additionally, identify aspiring, ambitious employees who are about to move up.
“Looking at who’s signing up for it is a really good indicator of who’s motivated, who’s excited, who’s inspired and who wants to invest in themselves,” Shah said. “Perhaps the only potential talent within the organization is waiting for their potential to be lifted.”
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com.
