When an employee gets hired to help serve a company, it’s important for clear communication to be present between what the employer expects from the employee. In this way, an employer can voice the main tasks and concerns that most important for the company. For this paper, the key areas of Chipotle’s code of conduct, which are most important will be noted and explained. Also the key steps that Chipotle can take to ensure Chipotle employees follow the code of conduct will be mentioned as well as three ways Chipotle can participate in a more socially responsive way in the communities Chipotle is present at.
Important, key Areas of Chipotle’s code of conduct
While all employees must show up to work on time and do their work as best they can in the way Chipotle employers showed them, they must also follow a code of conduct when they are at work. Chipotle’s code of conduct includes an “Integrity Statement, [an] Anti-Discrimination, Harassment and Sexual Harassment Policy, It’s The Law and Chipotle Confidential” (Chipotle Code of Conduct). All of the parts of Chipotle’s code of conduct are important to the business, but those that are most important to Chipotle regard the employees and the way Chipotle maintains its honesty as a company. Since Chipotle is “a company based on integrity-being real and being honest,” it’s important for Chipotle to create an environment where any employee can voice his or her concerns without being afraid of getting fired. This is called Chipotle’s “open door policy” and they remain honest “whenever Chipotle communicates with the public, including the media and government agencies” (Chipotle Code of Conduct). This is one reason why Chipotle also asks employees to keep Chipotle information private. If employees started to say false lies about the company, this could be dangerous for Chipotle which makes sense why they require this of employees.
In addition, through creating a safe workplace for employees, Chipotle shows how much it values its workers. Not only do they ensure the Chipotle workplace is safe for employees but they are also “committed to preventing deterioration of the environment and minimizing the impact of our operations on the land, air and water” (Chipotle Code of Conduct). This is why they have always sought to push their “food with integrity program which promotes Chipotle’s use of healthier ingredients” (Lepore, 2011). In this way, Chipotle has been able to appeal to a younger crowd that appreciates healthy quick food and not fast food (Lepore, 2011). Chipotle has appealed to a younger, health conscious through their use of honest advertisement, honest ingredients and the way in which they treat their employees.
Key Steps Chipotle can take to ensure employees follow rules
Although Chipotle does a good job in communicating how much it values its employees, Chipotle also communicates how much company privacy and employee privacy mean as well. This is why it’s important for supervisors to ensure the company’s code of conduct is visible at all times and has been understood thoroughly. Supervisors can “evaluate policies frequently” to make sure the policy is still effective (Morley,2016). Also the policy must be enforced because a “policy is only effective when it is enforced” (Morley, 2016). For those times where an employee has acted in accordance to the code of conduct (ie. Employee has leaked private, company information), disciplinary action should be taken immediately. In this way, the rest of the employees can understand the severity of breaking the code of conduct. Most importantly, though, are the leaders and supervisors Chipotle employs because if they show themselves to behave in an exemplary fashion, employees will follow suit and not break rules as well. Newton says that a “leader’s actions set an unspoken standard about what is appropriate and what is not” (Newton, 2016). Thus, it’s very important for supervisors to take disciplinary action when necessary but even more important for supervisors to behave in the way they want their employees to behave.
Three suggestions Chipotle can increase its socially responsive activities in communities
Chipotle is at its core a company aimed at a younger generation (18-24 yrs. Old) because Chipotle is a health conscious restaurant. With the popularity of buying organic food, Chipotle has already held socially responsible activities in communities. For example, in 2015, Chipotle held its “Cultivate Food and music festival, its Farm Team Loyalty program-both focused on humane food sourcing and organic farming” (Bhasin, 2012). Even though social responsibility is something that Chipotle has built its brand on, it can increase its reach into the lives of the next generation of children. It’s important for young children to understand how vital it is that they get good food into their bodies to be able to live long and Chipotle can help through educational workshops and awareness in schools. Also, Chipotle can introduce a farming program for children, maybe in the summer, that shows how food gets puts on a plate in a humane way. Lastly, Chipotle can make its presence felt at farmer’s markets in the communities. In this way, Chipotle can still teach about healthy food that is also fast in an environment that is health conscious. Through these ways, Chipotle can further increase its already powerful message of “food with integrity” to the next generation. Who knows? Through these methods, Chipotle may be able to turn children away from consuming harmful fast food so much so that fast food might be a thing of the past.
- Lepore, Meredith (2011, April 1). The Amazing Story of Chipotle. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com.au/the-chipotle-story-2011-3#chipotles-stock-surge-is-staggering-8
- Chipotle Investor Relations (2010). Code of Conduct. Retrieved from http://ir.chipotle.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=194775&p=irol-govConduct
- Bhasin, Kim (2012, March 12). Chipotle is Using this unconventional marketing strategy to take the nation by storm. Retrieved by http://www.businessinsider.com/chipotle-is-using-this-unorthodox-marketing-strategy-to-take-the-nation-by-storm-2012-3
- Morley, Miranda (2016). How to Ensure That Employee Policy is Effective. Retrieved by http://smallbusiness.chron.com/ensure-employee-policy-effective-10157.html
- Newton, Chris (2016). The Importance of Leading by Example. Retrieved by http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-leading-example-31860.html
