Culture Design: An In-Depth Look at Etsy’s Organizational Culture
This past winter quarter, I was lucky enough to enroll in Design 276: Designing Organizational Culture within the d.school at Stanford University. As a design major, I had learned about designing products and experiences but was more curious about designing something that felt as intangible as culture. The course was taught by two incredible professors and culture designers, Kursat Ozenc (VP of design at J.P Morgan) and Martin Gonzalez (Principal of Organization and Talent at Google). When I first began the class, culture was an amorphous, intimidating being. Thanks to the guidance of the instructors as well as hands-on projects, I have come to appreciate how essential culture is, and how individuals can take a hands-on approach to designing the optimal organizational culture.
As part of the course, I got the opportunity to examine a well-known, purpose-driven company’s culture. Etsy, the public tech company best known for being the global marketplace for hand-crafted goods, exhibits a strong culture. Etsy’s culture comes from a dedicated purpose that guides their daily practices.
Etsy serves as a prime example of a purpose-driven organization, since at the heart of their culture lies the mission to “Keep Commerce Human”. The executive team serves as careful stewards of their mission, and make it so that there is no discernible individual solely responsible for their culture. Etsy’s cultural superpower comes from their ability to motivate their entire base to engage with their values, enabling their whole base to become culture ambassadors.
Designing Organizational Culture: Quick Summary
Culture is an integral component to an organization. A lack of harmony amongst the founding team or indifferent employees have the ability sink even seemingly infallible ideas. During class, we defined culture as “a living system that defines how people work together toward accomplishing collective goals.” The key word being “a living system” as culture is made up of inhibitors, drivers, visible forces, and invisible forces that work to establish an equilibrium. Culture within an organization derives from the culmination of human behavior (Ozenc & Gonzalez, 2024).
We learned about successful culture programming and the wide range of practices that help shape a company’s culture. Organization rituals, such as celebrations for new employees, act as quick ways to introduce an individual to the company’s culture. Similarly, companies that leverage communication tools regularly can help their employees feel connected. This communication takes the form of newsletters or Slack check-ins. Something as small as newsletters can go a long way in assisting individuals to connect. Setting positive norms within a company is also beneficial, as having whole teams with desks on the same floor or everyone eating lunch together allows for extra opportunities to bond. Companies can also utilize culture-defining events. These events can be like all-hands offsites, summits where the whole company can come together, or retreats. These offer opportunities for the group to engage in different locations and in a different setting. More of our exploration around culture can be found here, nicely summarized in our instructor’s past Medium article.
Culture at Etsy
Etsy takes an incredibly intentional approach to crafting and upholding their culture. Etsy’s own name points to their unique culture, as the founders described wanting “a nonsense word” allowing them to craft a specific environment from the ground up. The company has grown considerably since its 2005 launch, with over 7.5 million dedicated sellers and over 95 million buyers inhabiting the platform. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Etsy became a lifeline for individuals. The platform allowed many people to make a living during the pandemic.
For the project, I interviewed three employees. They requested to remain anonymous for the interviews, so their names have been removed. One employee was located at one of Etsy’s international offices, the other two were remote workers. During the interviews, I asked questions revolving around their daily work life and how they interact with culture at Etsy.
Etsy makes a conscious effort to make its values and beliefs visible to its employees, upholding a virtuous cycle, since their values clearly govern the behaviors within their organization. Despite being a public, large tech company, Etsy honors its value of “Keep Commerce Human” at the forefront of its practices. As Etsy describes, in the growing world of AI, they want to keep humans at the center of commerce.
Keep Commerce Human. It’s hard to miss what Etsy values. They prominently and proudly display their mission. As the interviewees shared, “Keep Commerce Human” is displayed in bright neon lettering in their offices, both at the Brooklyn and international locations. Etsy’s mission, the driving force behind their organization, and the goal at the heart of their practices is kept at the forefront of their actions. A visible mission statement helps effectively guide employees. When asked, even remote employees felt connected to Etsy’s goal. They described how seeing the mission statement helps them be more intentional with their work. When walking through decisions, they stop and consider the impact to their sellers. They also describe spending more time considering programs, benefits, or initiatives to help sellers. Etsy creates a virtuous cycle, as a well-defined value helps guide employee behaviors.
Connection in Every Setting. Etsy’s dedication to keeping human connection alive is not only relevant to their e-commerce platform, but also guides interactions between employees. The rituals Etsy employs places extra emphasis on maintaining connection between individuals. One ritual, “Eatsy,” is a lunchtime ritual that encourages everyone to come together for family-style meals in a big cafeteria. Etsy redesigned a common experience, eating lunch, to become a shared experience within their own organization. “Eatsy” demonstrates how creating a ritual does not always mean creating something entirely new. Sometimes, redesigning a common experience can provide an opportunity to promote a greater sense of community. Even among Etsy’s remote teams, connection remains a priority. The remote interviewees discussed how they open Slack rooms so that their teams can work in the same virtual space. Employees real-time collaborate to work out issues, discuss projects together, and feel less lonely while doing so. Again, Etsy redefines the work from home experience to promote a better community experience. At the same time, they allow for a better, more efficient working environment, since remote teams can work together quickly to build and innovate. When asked, remote workers described associating strongly with Etsy’s larger mission, despite only visiting the headquarter location a handful of times.
Display Values. Etsy’s intentionality stretches beyond their rituals. For starters, the design of their headquarter space echoes their company mission. The artwork and furniture in their space all comes from Etsy sellers. As one interviewee described, seeing the artwork from their own base helps them connect to “Keep Commerce Human” even more. When walking into their office, they feel reminded of the larger purposes of their organization. Etsy also has multiple maker spaces within their office, encouraging every individual to tap into their creative side. When discussing the maker space with one interviewee, they had never previously thought of themself as a creative person but felt excited and encouraged to try new things. Etsy’s grander values such as sustainability practices and inclusivity are evident in their office as well. In their cafeteria, employees can find plaques with information on where the food is sourced, or the sustainable practices Etsy follows with respect to disposal of trash. Etsy has also switched to gender-neutral bathrooms and implementing resource groups to promote inclusivity. With their in-office resource groups, the interviewee described feeling supported and working within a supportive system. Etsy’s executive team makes their commitment to promoting community known through their actions. The most common culture-defining event that was discussed was the Etsy headquarter event after the pandemic. Once the COVID pandemic had settled, the company flew out their base to the headquarter office. Anyone interested got the opportunity to visit the Brooklyn headquarters. A great investment, the executive team demonstrated their dedication to helping their community connect with each other. The interviewees described finding their willingness to fly out their entire community as a clear demonstration of their care about their employees. Etsy also celebrates their employee’s mistakes. Unlike previous organizations they had worked for, the interviewees described how Etsy was not only tolerant of mistakes, they celebrated them. Employees that had made the biggest mistake were awarded the “Three Armed Sweater” award. This celebration helps makes employees feel safer and more comfortable within their organization.
Pain Points. While Etsy gets many things right, there are a couple of pain points that were discussed during the interviews. None of the interviewees I spoke to were based on the Brooklyn office. They discussed how Etsy feels very headquarter-focused, with extra attention placed on the team located in Brooklyn. They mentioned how meetings are regularly scheduled with only the Brooklyn time in mind, instead of consulting other locations as well which makes for inconvenient meeting times. Etsy holds multiple events at their Brooklyn office, without a hybrid option for remote/international employees. The interviewees discussed how they wish there were more hybrid options for them, since they wanted a chance to participate in those events.
Recommendations
For anyone looking to establish a strong organizational culture, Etsy provides an important example to learn from.
1. Encourage connection in small settings
Etsy isn’t always hosting large company-wide events. Their connection comes from encouraging everyone to eat lunch together, hosting small events each day, and facilitating remote employees connecting with each other virtually. Etsy’s executive team cares about human connection, within their own company and their larger platform. They work to foster this value in each of their events. Visibly modeling that belief helps shape behaviors and allows them to work towards greater connection.
2. Create a foundation of safety and inclusivity
Etsy recognizes and celebrates that everyone is human. They award their employees for the biggest mistakes made, choosing to celebrate difficult moments instead of making them harder. Etsy also cultivates a supportive environment, where employees are encouraged to ask for help and collaborate. A spirit of collaboration and innovation helps the organization reach their mission.
3. There is a great benefit in clearly defining your values
Simple, yet immediately indicative of the company’s value of connection “Keep Commerce Human,” acts as an important reminder for employees. Having a value that is visible creates harmony within the organization, and it unites employees scattered across different locations. Etsy is not afraid to remind its employees why they are there, which helps foster a greater sense of purpose. Defining a clear mission statement is a key first step to helping employees connect with their organization. Etsy doesn’t just value inclusivity, it actively creates an inclusive environment. Rather than saying they care about sustainability, they share how they are fostering sustainable practices within their own organization. Making their values known for purpose-drive organizations is especially important for inspiring employees, creating intentional behaviors.
Etsy’s culture utilizes both visible and invisible forces well. With a clear set of values, especially with human connection at the core of those values, Etsy can drive a culture that celebrates community. The organization has been able to create a set of behaviors that culminate in a warm, supportive culture. Etsy demonstrates the power of good organizational culture within a purpose-driven organization, since they are able to work towards keeping commerce human, a belief their whole team happily embodies.
