Chelsea Schwartz joined Desert de Oro Foods (DDO) at the height of the pandemic in July 2020. She was hired as an Assistant General Manager (AGM) boasting previous management experience from time with Burger King and McDonald’s. She quickly moved up here!
Today, Chelsea is Regional Training Leader (RTO) of Region 6 in San Antonio, TX, where she was born and raised. Her current position is unique because it requires an individual to become an expert on two restaurant brands instead of just one.
She admits it’s been hard at times, especially during dual brand audits, when restaurant leaders come in and review a location’s adherence to brand operational standards. But the support has been unwavering. “I think at some point … [DDO] had more faith in me than I did in myself!” she says with gratitude.
“I have a pretty good life because of DDO.”
– Chelsea Schwartz, Regional Training Leader, Taco Bell/KFC
People are a Worthy Investment
Chelsea has nothing but great things to say about her time at DDO so far. She’s complimentary of our high-touch company culture and has a deep respect for her leader, KFC Regional Director Greg Jackson.
[DDO] invests more in their people,” Chelsea says, comparing DDO to her past employers. “They train you with the intention to grow you.” In addition, she’s noticed more consistency in response time and communication from DDO leadership.
Regarding Greg, Chelsea says she appreciates that he spends time out in the field visiting restaurants rather than staying in the office. “He’ll stop by, tell you what you need to work on or give you a ‘good job,’” she says.
Providing feedback is really important to us! And it’s clear that Chelsea has been impacted by how she’s been supported. “You get a lot of feedback so you always know where you stand,” she shares.
Chelsea says she’s learned how to be a compassionate leader thanks to DDO. That, combined with access to effective training resources, has directly impacted her success as an RTO.
So far, Chelsea has been responsible for training six or seven restaurant managers for us! But if you ask her, she’s still learning and growing. While she’d like to climb higher, she doesn’t mind staying in her current role a few more years.
“I like to make sure I know everything,” she says. And that’s good, because we love developing our leaders!