IWI Venture's Recipe for a Cheesy Culture

In the first blog in our series, we highlighted Alpha Coffee and their efforts to set up employees for success through their intentional training program. Now, we turn to IWI Ventures, an organization that operates restaurant franchise companies such as Noodles & Company, who take pride in caring for their employees, especially in a high turnover industry where many employees are part-time. IWI Ventures’ team members are of all ages and with different levels of experience, so they take the time to create dialogue with their employees and understand their needs.

IWI’s motto is to make peoples’ lives better, and while they admit it may come across as cheesy, the leadership team, including Area Manager Josh West and Regional District Manager Arik Hanneman, believe that it’s the little moments built up over time that can make a lasting impact. And for them, the key to building up that impact and trust is leaning into curiosity and making space for conversation. Besides, it’s only fitting for a company serving up all kinds of delicious comfort meals to have a little cheese in their culture!

President of IWI Ventures, Britt Wiedemann, engages with employees during a teaching session.

Mac n cheese n mattering

Like many Small Giants companies, IWI starts their culture building at the very beginning: the hiring journey. And they do so with their own secret sauce.

“We can teach how to make mac n cheese,” says Josh. “But you can’t teach how to be a good person.”

When interviewing potential new hires, Josh and Arik both look for people who are empathetic team-players who can see themselves buying in… or dare we say, melting in… to the culture. And they do this by asking open-ended questions that lead to casual and genuine conversations, rather than stiff and brief answers. 

One question Arik likes to ask often is “on a scale of 1-10, how good with technology are you and why did you give that number?” He says that, because technology is so expansive and ever-changing, hardly anybody is actually proficient in the subject as a whole. People who claim they are a 10 might be overly confident or even arrogant. Regardless of the number given, Arik says that this question gives a good indicator of an interviewee’s mindset.

By conducting interviews with these types of questions, Josh adds that they’re usually able to get a sense of a person’s character within the first five minutes.

Once a part of the team, each employee is treated with care and consideration, and they’re met where they’re at when it comes to personal and professional skills. For many of the younger employees, working in one of IWI’s restaurants is their first job, and indeed for some, it could be the first place where they experience leadership and guidance. Josh, Arik, and their managers all understand that they could be a crucial role model in some of their young team members’ lives, and work to not take that for granted. 

Whether an employee needs guidance on how to properly greet guests, or they’re looking to advance their career and want additional training courses, the leadership team at IWI is there to provide their people with the tools they need to succeed. They’re able to understand each person’s needs by developing relationships through consistently showing up for them, in both big and small ways. In fact, Josh and Arik agree that it’s often the small moments built up over time that make a more powerful impact than the splashy gestures. 

When disc golf is more than disc golf

Both Arik and Josh visit all of the shops they manage on a weekly basis. Typically, area managers only visit their locations once a month or quarterly. For some more seasoned employees, the consistent presence of leadership can come as a surprise. It’s one of the crucial ways that the leaders ensure they are showing up for their people, and can help to problem-solve in real time.

For example, on one of his site visits, Arik was talking to an employee who had recently been promoted into a shift manager role. They found a common interest in disc golf, so Arik proposed they go play after work one day. For him, it was just a round of golf; but the employee expressed excitement, and said he couldn’t wait to tell his friends that he was getting to throw with “the big boss”. This was one of those moments, Arik said, that reminded him of how important his actions and words are to his teams.

Out on the course, in the fresh air away from work, the two were able to have an open conversation where the employee shared that he was really struggling with his new management role. The employee admitted it was tearing him apart that he was failing and didn’t know what to do. By having this trusting and vulnerable conversation, the team was able to move this employee into a different role where he thrived, rather than lose him completely. 

“When you can see farther down the road,” Arik says, “it definitely helps us make better decisions, and quicker ones at that.”

Arik and Josh both encourage their site managers to be in tune with their employees’ needs, too. This could look like taking an hour break with an employee to go for a walk, getting them talking about their stressors, or helping to restock their cooler. While sharing in those tasks may not feel the most productive in the moment, it can lead to a healthier, more productive employee in the long run. Problems were addressed that could otherwise lead to prolonged and more serious challenges. 

If an employee seems to be underperforming or inconsistent, the leaders carefully ask empathetic questions to get to the root of the problem. With that understanding, they can then work together to find a solution.

Making space for conversation is a crucial component to the IWI culture. By approaching conversations with questions and curiosity, being mindful of verbiage, and checking their preconceived beliefs at the door, the leadership team at IWI is able to build trusting bonds with their teams that can lead to success. 

Because if you don’t take the time to get to know someone on a genuine level, how are you supposed to make their life better?

Baking in the recognition

Showing employees they matter through recognition is baked into Josh and Arik’s roles. Being on site consistently not only allows for the leaders to problem-solve in real time, it also allows them to observe when employees are shining, and recognize that in real time. 

They incorporate recognition through weekly email shout-outs, several off-site excursions a year, and celebration call outs in the monthly company-wide newsletter. 

IWIy also approaches recognition by investing in their people. For those who are looking to level up, IWI will put them through a Zingerman’s course. 

Josh and Arik both admit it can be difficult to feel totally confident in their recognition practices, particularly while managing 300 people across multiple stores between the two of them. Their hope is that by consistently showing up, and using several tools for recognition, their employees see the support for growth. 

A recipe for successful teams

Arik, Josh, and the IWI Ventures leadership team strive to be an affirming presence in their employees’ lives so that each individual can grow and create a positive ripple effect. By setting a precedent for curiosity and honest dialogue, they create a culture that allows each team member to feel like they matter and have someone – or a whole team – rooting for them.

In the fast casual dining industry, many companies run the risk of having an impersonal, transactional relationship with their employees. Among the IWI stores, employees are recognized as individuals and made to feel like they truly matter through open dialogue, support, and recognition. 

So whether it’s learning how to make ragu, climbing the career ladder, or simply understanding how to be a part of a team, each employee is given the chance to be seen and to grow, creating trusting bonds (not to mention some delicious noodles) along the way. 

Read the next part of this Every Employee series: Forging Unity: ACE Metal Crafts' Cohesive Culture.