Chipotle Builds Virtual Community For Its Remote Workplace

Chipotle Mexican Grill has enhanced its remote employee learning and personal development offerings to include Udemy for Business, an online, on-demand educational platform. All full-time Restaurant Support Center employees, Executive Team Directors, Team Directors, and Field Leaders have access to Udemy for Business, which offers more than 5,500 courses on a variety of topics, including tech, business and wellness. Through online educational opportunities, employee resource groups, and its Culture Committee, Chipotle is striving to provide a purposeful remote work experience for its employees.

Chipotle introduced the United Network of Influencers Furthering Inclusion and Ethnic Diversity (UNIFIED) as an employee resource group (ERG). UNIFIED is the company’s first ERG to be founded in a completely virtual setting. Last year, it joined four additional employee resource groups that continue to offer connectivity and support for Chipotle’s Field Leaders and Restaurant Support Center employees while many of them work remotely.

UNIFIED aims to advance an equal opportunity environment that will support a future free from discrimination and inequality for career growth opportunities. To achieve this goal and support Chipotle’s mission to Cultivate a Better World, UNIFIED will bring awareness, knowledge, and understanding of workplace ethnic challenges and community issues. Key program components include:

• A minority mentorship program
• Virtual round table discussions with prominent speakers and panels
• Quarterly trainings that promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace

In February, UNIFIED is hosting a virtual book club that will lead discussions on significant black literature in honor of Black History Month. The group will provide all participating employees with a copy of the chosen book, free of charge.

“Our employees are seeking real connection more than ever before, and it’s our responsibility to cultivate an environment where they can continue to thrive and pursue their passions with likeminded co-workers, even in a virtual setting,” said Marissa Andrada, Chief Diversity, Inclusion and People Officer. “I am so proud of the resilience shown by our ERGs in continuing to provide essential platforms for our employees’ personal growth.”