"“For us, we see huge benefits in recruiting. We now have employees in all 50 states, whereas before we had them only in a handful,” Wacksman said on the Fortune Leadership Next podcast in 2025. “There is talent everywhere in this country.”"
"“We leaned in early. And, again, we really pivoted the company. We didn't start the company this way. And what that means is you have to rebuild the cultural norms around that,” he said."
"“Although the approach, like any, isn't perfect, Wacksman said, being transparent about both the benefits and drawbacks is a must. In the end, Zillow found a remote-first approach best fit its mission, size, and unique workforce.”"
"“Being remote-first has also helped Zillow improve its systems to drive conversations about performance and collaboration, forcing it to measure and act on new data. On the downside, not being in-person every day has presented a challenge for colleagues wanting to bon”"
Zillow’s CEO supports a remote-first workforce model and seeks talent regardless of location. The company’s “CloudHQ” approach has increased job demand and expanded employee presence to all 50 states, compared with a smaller footprint before. This strategy contrasts with many corporate return-to-office mandates, including in tech where several major companies require multiple in-office days. Zillow shifted after the pandemic from a strong in-office culture to a deliberate change that required rebuilding cultural norms. The remote-first model also drove improvements in performance and collaboration systems by relying on new data. Challenges remain, including difficulties for colleagues who want more frequent in-person interaction.
#remote-work #talent-recruitment #return-to-office-mandates #workplace-culture #performance-management
Read at Fortune
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]