How to Make Culture More Than Words on a Wall

In this episode of the HR Leaders Podcast, I had an inspiring conversation with Kelly Costanza, Chief People Officer at CAVA, to unpack how one of the fastest-growing restaurant brands is turning culture, hospitality, and frontline careers into a real business advantage. Kelly shares why culture cannot just be a word on a wall. At CAVA, culture is operationalized through values, competencies, recognition, career pathways, frontline listening, stock grants, mental health benefits, and leadership rituals that make the employee experience feel just as intentional as the guest experience. Most importantly, Kelly explains how CAVA is building a place where people can have a career, not just a job, from hourly team members growing into general managers, to leaders staying connected to the restaurants through shoulder-to-shoulder service, town halls, and practical feedback from the frontline. **🎓 In this episode, Kelly discusses:** 1. How CAVA turns culture into everyday operating practices 2. Why frontline careers are central to CAVA’s origin story and growth strategy 3. Why support center leaders work in restaurants every quarter to stay close to the frontline 4. How values like generosity first always show up in benefits, recognition, and guest experience 5. How CAVA is building career pathways through Flavor Your Future, stock grants, and leadership development 🙏 Thank you to our series partner, Arist Meet the end-to-end AI agent for enablement that finds talent gaps, builds personalized interventions, and delivers learning directly in the flow of work → https://arist.com/resources/webinars/agent?utm\_source=hr\_leaders\_podcast&utm\_medium=sponsored&utm\_campaign=hr\_leaders\_podcast\_cr\_june\_2026 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.