Ep 46: Crumbl’s Winning Culture Recipe

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Guest Bio:

As the VP of Employee Experience at Crumbl, Josh leverages his personal passion for forging meaningful connections to drive business results. He previously served as the Head of Talent & Culture at Traeger Grills and Head of Recruiting & Culture at Crest Financial, a tech startup. He graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Business Management, despite being an avid BYU fan.

Follow Josh Olofson on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/josh-olofson

Episode Highlights:

Crumbl, formerly Crumbl Cookies, has experienced rapid growth since its 2017 founding, now boasting over 1,000 locations. Josh Olofson, VP of Employee Experience, emphasizes the importance of aligning company culture with core values. He highlights a key shift in the brand's identity, moving beyond cookies to encompass a broader range of desserts, necessitating the name change. This evolution reflects a broader strategy of creating meaningful experiences, not just selling products.

Olofson's approach to employee experience is deeply rooted in fostering genuine connections and driving business results by embedding the company's mission and values into every initiative. He stresses that employees, like customers, seek purpose in their work, advocating for initiatives that go beyond mere words on paper. To achieve this, Crumbl focuses on four core values: authenticity, relationships, experience, and innovation. The company's mission revolves around "bringing friends and family together over a box of the best desserts in the world," a principle that guides their employee engagement strategies.

One innovative initiative that exemplifies Crumbl's commitment to its values was the company-wide "Questival," a large-scale scavenger hunt designed to strengthen cross-functional relationships. By forming teams with members from different departments, employees engaged in various challenges that promoted teamwork and understanding. This event, which included various unique tasks, resulted in a 90% satisfaction rate and effectively fostered deeper connections among employees.

Josh initiated the Crumbl Hackathon to showcase the company's dedication to innovation. Employees were given a week to develop ideas for improving same-store sales, culminating in a "Shark Tank" style pitch to the executive team. This event not only encouraged creativity but also fostered a sense of ownership and collaboration across departments. The overwhelming success of the hackathon, which led to multiple winning ideas, demonstrated the power of empowering employees to contribute to the company's growth. Josh does recommend, however, that you don’t win your own competitive initiative. 😉

Josh gives 3 items for you to first consider when seeking to implement culture initiatives:

1. Begin by auditing your existing culture to ensure alignment with your mission and values.

2. Secure buy-in from senior leadership.

3. Design initiatives with the desired end result in mind. Ultimately, Crumbl's success lies in its ability to create a culture where employees feel valued, connected, and inspired to live the company's mission every day.