Upskilling Frontline Workers and Cultivating People Potential: Lessons from Chipotle and Din Tai Fung with Eric DiCenzo-Crotallo

Andy Storch recently hosted Eric DiCenzo-Crotallo, the Vice President of Talent, Learning, and Communications at Din Tai Fung and former Director of Talent and Learning Development at Chipotle on the Talent Development Think Tank Podcast. Eric’s experience building world-class talent programs for frontline restaurant teams holds rich lessons for any leader seeking to improve learning and growth in organizations where hourly and frontline employees play a critical role. Here’s how to translate those insights into actionable steps for your company.

Empower Frontline Leaders with Purpose-Built Learning

One of Eric’s major initiatives at Chipotle was the launch of “Cultivate University,” a hands-on development program targeting “field leaders”, managers responsible for multiple restaurants. Recognizing that most were promoted internally and lacked people leadership experience, the program combined operational excellence with soft skills including communication, accountability, and situational leadership.

To replicate this, identify key transition points in your organization (such as employees moving from technical work to people management) and develop training that uniquely supports those skill sets. Cohort-based, in-person learning can help build critical relationships and reinforce company culture.

Simplify and Humanize Performance Management

Eric described overhauling performance management to shift from cumbersome, paperwork-heavy appraisals to focused, conversation-centric reviews. Chipotle replaced lengthy Word documents with simple one-page templates embedded into their HRIS and paired them with regular “four by four” (for leaders) and “four by two” (for hourly staff) conversations emphasizing coaching, development, and recognition.

Examine your own review process for unnecessary bureaucracy and find ways to keep the focus on dialogue, growth, and individual aspiration. Build questions that encourage employees to reflect on achievements, values, future goals, and development needs, rather than simply evaluating past performance.

Establish an Always-On, Employee-Driven Feedback Culture

Traditional engagement surveys weren’t cutting it for Eric’s teams. He spearheaded Chipotle’s “Always On, Always Listening” initiative with the help of Qualtrics, allowing employees to give feedback anytime especially at “moments that matter,” such as role transitions or work anniversaries.

To bring this to your organization, invest in tools that let team members share feedback regularly, and make leaders responsible for translating insights into action. Crucially, visibly close the loop by showing employees how their input drives change. Real-time feedback is especially important for fast-moving environments like hospitality, retail, or manufacturing.

Align Talent Strategy with Company Priorities

Eric shared that leaders in talent development must tie their work directly to strategic business goals. By connecting employee experience with guest experience and financial results (the “value chain”), he demonstrated that improvements in team member engagement led to better customer outcomes and, ultimately, stronger business performance.

Identify the strategic priorities of your organization and ensure every talent initiative supports those goals. Use data to show the connection and build leadership commitment.

Introduce Pay-for-Performance and Growth Pathways

At Din Tai Fung, Eric moved the company away from tenure-based pay rises to a pay-for-performance model. Now, employees are rewarded based on goal attainment—driving greater engagement and accountability. Alongside, they defined clear career paths, articulated internal promotion opportunities, and built coaching and leadership development programs.

Review how your organization rewards performance. If growth is a priority, ensure your compensation and recognition systems reward not just loyalty but contributions and capability-building. Define and clearly communicate paths for promotion that encourage employees to envision their future with you.

Support Language and Life Skills for All Employees

Recognizing that many frontline employees benefit from language and literacy support, Eric introduced “Elevate You,” a company-sponsored English language program at Din Tai Fung. The unexpectedly enthusiastic uptake proved there’s appetite for holistic development offerings even beyond immediate job skills.

Explore opportunities to offer language or life skills training for your teams, especially if you have a diverse or multilingual workforce. These investments demonstrate care, build loyalty, and boost employees’ confidence at work and beyond.

Model Inclusive, Empowering Leadership

Eric’s journey from operations to HR and his own leadership mistakes reinforced the power of collaborative, inclusive approaches. He advocates slowing down to bring diverse partners into every project and prioritizing communication and feedback rooted in radical candor.

Encourage your talent teams and leaders to practice open collaboration, humility, and clear feedback. Invest in resources like “Radical Candor” and actively support managers in developing these skills.

Prepare for the Future of Work

Finally, Eric urges talent leaders to anticipate technological change such as the impact of AI by focusing on upskilling and reskilling. Organizations need to ensure that if technology shifts roles, employees are supported to move into new opportunities, inside or outside the company.

Monitor emerging industry trends and proactively build agility into your learning and development programs. Foster a culture where continuous learning is a shared expectation, not just a one-off event.

Creating an environment where frontline employees can thrive calls for intentional investment in learning, feedback, performance, and recognition. As Eric DiCenzo-Crotallo’s experiences show, companies who make talent development a strategic priority especially for hourly and frontline teams—unlock engagement, innovation, and sustained business success.

Be sure to listen to the full episode on the Talent Development Hot Seat Podcast!

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