While studying to become a physical therapist at the University of Houston, Crystal Hanlon was navigating a tight budget, often relying on Ramen noodles. A “help wanted” sign at The Home Depot, was her saving grace, allowing her to become a cashier to support herself. 

“Nobody realizes retail can make a great career,” Hanlon said. She soon got to see the company’s “orange blood” sense of community in action, participating in a corporate volunteer opportunity to build a ramp for a special needs child. “I started to understand what they were talking about, because we make a difference together.” 

Hanlon was so inspired, she has stayed with the organization for 40 years, holding nearly every rank within the store and beyond, from department head, assistant manager, and manager to district manager, VP of operations and merchandising, to where she is today as SVP and culture officer. 

There’s been a through-line with every role: “The thing that’s so special about Home Depot is the title really doesn’t matter. The title is all about [how] the higher you go, the more people you take care of, and you grow within the company. And that’s why I stayed,” she said during a fireside chat at From Day One’s Atlanta conference.

“Let’s Get in the Stores”

Hanlon says that The Home Depot’s corporate office in Atlanta is called the Store Support Center, “because we support our associates that are out there making it happen. The most important engagement is with the customer, and that’s in our stores,” she said. She realized that most of the nearly 5,000 people working in the corporate office had not been in the stores or understood the dynamics that frontline employees face day-to-day. “We need to have all associates understand what it’s like to be in the stores, be in front of the customer, help a customer… because culture is about connection.” 

Store Support associates are now required to spend one full day in a store every quarter, working alongside frontline employees in aprons. Hanlon says the corporate employees love the program and have also noted how hard the in-the-store on-your-feet jobs can be. “I said, ‘That’s exactly right, and that’s what our people go through every day. I want you to experience it, because then we’re quicker to respond to their needs,’” Hanlon said. Store managers also appreciate the program, giving it a 4.8 out of 5 rating when surveyed. “It’s really working well on connection and making everybody understand we have a unified goal, and that’s [to] take care of our customers and our communities and take care of each other.”

Return to Office 

Like many organizations today, The Home Depot is instituting a return to office for all corporate employees. “Culture is all about connection, connecting with the hearts of your people, and that means being together and being able to work together and talk to each other,” Hanlon said. “We are stronger when we are together. We’re more social and we understand the cause.” 

The RTO will take place in June 2025, allowing ample time for employees to adjust their needs and private lives to accommodate the shift, says Hanlon. The organization is being proactive in making sure folks feel the benefit of connection when they get to the office, including offering conversation starters in the elevators, companywide celebratory events, and Team Depot, an associate community volunteer program.

Of course, some employees who have grown used to working remotely may be resistant. “In Atlanta, the traffic is a big hurdle for us.” It’s easy to be stuck in traffic wishing you didn’t have to make the commute. But then when you’re in “it’s very energizing” said moderator Carrie Teegardin, reporter at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“A lot of people don’t like change,” Hanlon said. “But that's why we gave the long timeline. And I always say we’re blessed, because there are people right now struggling with many more tough decisions,” she added, citing the California wildfires, layoffs, and more. 

Creating Corporate Culture in the Home Improvement Industry

The Home Depot, Teegardin says, has a reputation as “a guy’s place.” But despite this, Hanlon and other women leaders have thrived. Hanlon says the founders created the company with eight core values, and “one is respect for all people and doing the right thing.” The corporation is “a melting pot of everybody” that reflects the diversity of the modern world, says Hanlon. 

Plus, she says, women are core customers who often drive decisions in the home. “Everybody’s differences [are] what makes us great, because we like to have a seat at the table for everybody, and I feel very included. I wouldn’t have stayed had I felt excluded,” she said. 

Further on the matter of inclusion, corporate culture must come from the top down. “[Our founders] created an inverted pyramid where every leader works for the people.” This approach is why the culture remains strong as everyone understands that “the most important person is the associate that’s out there with the customer day in and day out,” she said. “We’re together in this. That’s what creates culture.” 

Thanks to that culture, The Home Depot has strong retention and frequently hires from within. “90% of the population that run Home Depot came from the grassroots of a store or a facility. 90% were cashiers or lot associates or phone clerks who have learned everything we know by going to different roles,” Hanlon said. 

With six generations in the workforce, The Home Depot just had a special event for veterans of the company of 30 years or more, providing them space to share their stories and inspire younger associates. “We value tenure because we believe the tenured associates were part of something grand, that they understand the culture like nobody else. It makes people feel hope and feel the connection.”

Katie Chambers is a freelance writer and award-winning communications executive with a lifelong commitment to supporting artists and advocating for inclusion. Her work has been seen in HuffPost and several printed essay collections, among others, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, On New Jersey, and CBS New York.

(Photos by Dustin Chambers for From Day One)