Summary
For a rapidly-growing company like Wayfair, scaling in all functions and optimizing at both micro and macro levels, a constant state of change is normal. Wayfair’s hiring landscape has exploded in the past two years with new offices in CA, Austin, Toronto and Berlin, requiring new ways of working, across disciplines, timezone and borders to be effective. In order to ensure connections and best practices across disciplines (product design, user research, content strategy) and end-user teams, strategic ways of working must be put in place to successfully serve our customers, and each other. We not only instituted ceremonies and best practices that have proven to successfully accelerate shared learnings in the last 2 years, we continually optimize those practices, as changes inevitably present themselves. In this talk, we’ll take a closer look at the practices in Wayfair’s Supplier space (also known as Partners), which has 50+ team members.
Key Insights
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The pandemic accelerated challenges in team cohesion and communication for remote workers.
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Wayfair's design team is composed of diverse disciplines and languages across multiple locations.
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Intentional rituals were developed to foster connection and belonging among team members.
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Feedback culture is central to team growth, utilizing tools like one-on-ones and anonymous surveys.
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Community collectives were established to deepen interest and support in specific areas.
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Informal coffee chats facilitate cross-team collaboration and personal connections.
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Bi-weekly show-and-tell sessions encourage visibility and sharing of ongoing work and insights.
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Dedicated growth programs equip team members with necessary skills and confidence.
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A focus on inclusivity ensures all team members feel valued, regardless of location or time zone.
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Continuous iteration on rituals and processes promotes adaptation and improvement in team dynamics.
Notable Quotes
"I love experiences. I love designing them and I love experiencing them."
"There was no choice but to adapt."
"We faced challenges as individuals like human connections and networking."
"We had to put together very intentional and deliberate rituals."
"We have to make sure that we are being mindful and inclusive."
"Sharing ideas and unbaked pots is really central to our process."
"Collectives are communities of practice individuals that have an interest in a particular topic."
"We really encourage wherever you are because those are great connecting points."
"We truly believe that when all of us win together, we can achieve so much more."
"Our work here is not done. This is a journey."
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