What's the Company Culture Like at Zapier?

As an organization that truly loves its people and takes care of its people, I feel like we are that first step to bringing the right people to the right jobs.

How would you describe your company’s approach to remote-first work? What have been the greatest successes thus far and what obstacles have you overcome in building a remote team?

Zapier has operated as a fully remote company since the beginning, but our approach has evolved as the business has scaled. Today, we take a highly intentional, outcomes-driven view of remote work. Two beliefs guide us: talent is global and in-person connection becomes more important (not less!) during periods of reinvention. Rather than “hire anywhere,” we now take a more strategic approach to where we build specific capabilities while honoring our commitment that no one relocates. This gives us talent advantages while still enabling operational excellence. We’ve also refined how we bring people together. Traditional retreats have been replaced with customer-centered Summits where connection happens through co-building. And for deep, cross-functional collaboration, we run “solution sprints” — short, targeted missions sponsored by executives to drive specific outcomes. Our biggest success is proving that large-scale global teams can move quickly and stay aligned without relying on an office. The challenge has been building systems that scale with us — but standardizing how we run work (DRIs, single-page specs, metrics, timelines) has turned remote from a constraint into an advantage.

How does your team stay connected in a remote-first office? Are there specific tools you rely on to communicate and collaborate together?

Connection at Zapier isn’t left to chance. Slack functions as our virtual headquarters, where work, culture and communication all happen in the open. Channels keep teams aligned, automations streamline the operational heartbeat of the company and async updates ensure decisions never get bottlenecked by time zones. Coda is our system of record. Every project, spec, goal and decision lives there, which means context is never trapped in someone’s head or a meeting. Teams collaborate asynchronously, build shared visibility and move faster because the information architecture supports remote work rather than fighting us. Together, Slack and Coda create a balance of real-time connection and structured documentation. They’re the backbone of how an 800-person global team collaborates as one cohesive organization, without needing an office to hold us together.

How does your company build culture in a remote-first office? What specific rituals or initiatives does your team use to create a more inclusive, engaged environment?

Culture at Zapier is built through shared purpose and intentional rituals — not physical proximity. Every initiative is designed to foster inclusion across 42 countries and dozens of time zones. Our weekly all-hands alternates meeting times so everyone has equal access to live content and leadership visibility. And instead of traditional company retreats, we now host Summits where customers join us to co-build products. When teams collaborate on real outcomes, connection forms naturally. For more targeted collaboration, we rely on “solution sprints” — five to 18 person cross-functional missions with clear DRIs and executive sponsorship. These create alignment, accelerate learning and deepen relationships through meaningful work. Day-to-day culture shows up in Slack through interest communities, recognition rituals and programs like Zonut chats that pair teammates randomly for conversation. These small, consistent touch points strengthen belonging and help people build relationships outside their immediate team. By blending purposeful in-person gatherings with robust remote rituals, we’ve created a culture that’s inclusive, engaged and firmly rooted in shared ownership of our mission.

How do you build inclusion into everyday decisions, not just events?

At Zapier, we call our approach “DIBE as DNA.” It's a proactive approach to embedding diversity, inclusion, belonging and equity into how decisions get made across the company, rather than reserved for adhoc moments. The goal is for DIBE to be present wherever important decisions are made before outcomes are already set. This approach is reflected in how we build inclusion into everyday work. DIBE subject-matter expertise is integrated into processes like AI transformation, impact reviews, recruitment, engagement surveys and other culture cornerstones. Our four employee resource groups are activated not just as places where community is built and fostered, but in skill development, AI fluency and to provide input on various companywide initiatives. Getting DIBE into touchpoints like these consistently is what makes the difference between DIBE as DNA and a one-time practice.

What ERG or initiative has made the biggest impact on your culture?

Last year, Zapier updated its ERG vision, specifically committing to connect ERG membership to AI and product skill development alongside the always important community-building and connection opportunities that are key to our ERG program. When Zapier committed to becoming an AI-first company, ERGs could have been bystanders or left behind in that transition. Instead, we updated our ERG vision to make Zapier product fluency and AI skill development a core part of what ERG membership means at Zapier. ERG members are offered expert facilitated workshops and learning sessions to experiment with and troubleshoot the latest in AI, all in psychologically safe, supportive environments. The outcome of that vision update shows that ERG members reported higher rates of incorporating workflows that meaningfully improve their efficiency or outcomes compared to non-members. ERG members also show higher overall engagement compared to non-members. Those two numbers together tell the story we care about most — that investing in belonging and skill development can go hand-in-hand.

How do you measure progress and accountability on DEI goals?

Our DIBE strategy is our north star. It's what “DIBE as DNA” points back to — a shared commitment that DIBE is not a standalone work stream but something woven into how the company operates and makes decisions. That shows up most concretely in how we set goals. DIBE goals are established alongside company and people team planning, so they're connected to what's most important for Zapier at any given time rather than running on a separate track. This also helps keep our DIBE team agile and adaptive to where we can make the most impact and where we may need to de-prioritize. Additionally, belonging is measured through our engagement surveys as a regular signal rather than a periodic check-in and ERG leaders build their strategies in partnership with the DIBE team each half to make sure they're focused on work that can have the highest impact on their members. The result is accountability that the DIBE team owns but that doesn't live in one place. It is meant so that all Zapiens feel they have a hand in making Zapier a place where everyone can thrive — because the goals were built together from the start.