Merriam-Webster defines culture as, “the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization.” At Yelp, our culture is grounded in and the that inform how and what we do every day. Culture at Yelp is circumscribed by both the behaviors we celebrate, and the conduct we refuse to tolerate. Navigating the path between these two poles is a never-ending journey of discovery and refinement. Our forward progress grants us opportunities to exuberantly welcome new travelers along the way while leaving room for colleagues to pursue new adventures elsewhere (of which some find their way back to us). Culture isn’t merely words on a page—it’s played out in the way each of us shows up for one another, our consumers, and the clients we serve every day.
The Culture team strives to make Yelp a place where all lived experiences can be embraced, and for everyone to have a place where they belong. Our team represents a wide swath of the intersectional identities that exist within Yelp, and those rich perspectives influence our daily work. We embody diversity, both in visible characteristics, as well as through our varying lived experiences. The common themes shared among our team include cross-functional operational excellence and an abiding passion for scholarship on the topics of diversity, inclusion, and belonging (DIB).
We organize the nature of our work into these four pillars:
Although research has repeatedly demonstrated that diverse, inclusive organizations reap the benefits of improved business outcomes, we pursue DIB for its own sake—because it’s the right thing to do, and it’s how we’d want to experience work ourselves.
At Yelp, our diversity efforts focus on cultivating a culture that represents the communities Yelpers belong to—a diverse employee community that’s equipped to tackle the myriad business challenges we face as a company. We champion inclusion by working to ensure everyone has the same opportunity to succeed. Core to our efforts is fostering belonging— this is what it takes to truly cultivate a workplace where we all have a sense of home at Yelp.
We approach our work with the same intent as we do when solving any other work-related challenge: by creating visibility, measuring outcomes, and holding leaders accountable for progress. These programs manifest themselves in several forms, including diversity task forces, learning and development, and employee resource groups.
We strive to cultivate an inclusive and welcoming environment for everyone, from the moment they sign their offer letter and beyond the day they embark on their next post-Yelp adventure.
We design and deliver regular opportunities for our people to be surprised and delighted—all through the lens of our mission and values. These programs include delivering care packages featuring minority-owned small businesses, virtual events co-hosted by our Yelp Employee Resource Groups (YERGs), and in-person gatherings to enrich online relationships by bringing them offline.
We don’t just talk about our work, we are about it. Not only do we take accountability for our role as a conscientious corporate citizen, we educate and empower our people to be stewards of the communities we serve by encouraging philanthropy and volunteerism, virtually and in person.
Additionally, we partner with internal and external stakeholders to drive our environmental efforts, communicate our social impact priorities, and maintain transparency in how we successfully operate a responsible business.
Yelp operates in a fully distributed remote work model. With over 5,000 employees spread across all 50 U.S. States and several countries around the globe, we take concerted steps to maintain the vibrant fabric of our culture, especially since we don’t see our colleagues in person day-to-day.
Our internal communications channels run the gamut from monthly employee newsletters to company town halls, from internal executive memos to pre-fabricated presentations for leaders. By operating as a central clearinghouse for employee communications, we’re able to infuse all of our messaging with Yelp’s mission and values. Not only do we champion what we’re achieving together at Yelp, we also celebrate how we go about it.
At Yelp, we believe that diversity is an expression of all the unique characteristics that make us human: race, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, and education — and those are just a few. We recognize that diverse backgrounds and perspectives strengthen our teams and our product. The foundation of our diversity efforts are closely tied to our core values, which include “Playing Well With Others” and “Authenticity.”