As the dreary funding winter continues to soar, at e27, we are kickstarting a new article series called: Line of Hire to understand an organisation’s culture and hiring philosophies to empower tech workers with the right growth tools and enable business owners to attract talent.
Richard Yan is the Vice President, Global Head of Talent and Organisational Development at Airwallex. In this role, he is responsible for building a global talent management ecosystem that includes attracting top talent, fostering professional development, and developing teams.
Yan joined Airwallex from Agoda, where he led several People and Talent teams and drove the company’s global growth 4x to more than 6,000 globally. He has had the opportunity to wear multiple career hats, from working in M&A and as an investor to launching products for companies with successful exits and now as a talent/HR leader.
He has experience working across Singapore, Bangkok, San Francisco, and New York.
Yan discusses his company’s culture and hiring philosophies in this candid interview.
What personality traits/qualities do you look for in potential employees?
One of the key reasons I joined Airwallex in late 2022 was the people I met throughout my interview process, and I’m glad it holds true, as I’ve met many others since I started. We have individuals from so many backgrounds, cultures, and identities across our 10+ global hubs; with that, one of the most consistent parts I’ve found is the people.
One of the key reasons why I joined Airwallex is the people. They care deeply about what they do and take pride in their work. Two of the company’s values are “Craftsmanship” and “Make Impact”.
Since joining, I have seen the people at Airwallex live by those values every day worldwide. The great thing is that on top of the drive each person has, there is a genuine sense that we are having fun and are in it together.
Another thing is that we could succeed as a global business because of the different views, perspectives and ideas that people bring. And this is because the team Airwallex has built combines individuals from different backgrounds, cultures, and identities.
If you are open to a fun and challenging environment and want to be part of the Airwallex journey, we are always open for a chat!
How do they fit into your company culture? Tell us a little more about your company culture at Airwallex.
Our culture is embodied by six core values that shape the way we work:
- Customers First
- Intellectual Honesty
- Obsessive Curiosity
- Craftsmanship
- Inspire and Be Inspired
- Make Impact.
However, what is different about our culture is how we encourage our teams to apply it and implement those values daily. This is what we call our winning mindset and differentiates ourselves as a company as we continue to grow and be competent in the market.
How do you foster transparency and encourage achievement at Airwallex?
Transparency is a two-way engagement. There needs to be a constant flow of conversations about where we are, where we’re going, and how we will get there. This two-way engagement is even more heightened and necessary in a global business like Airwallex.
Also Read: A tech worker should be all about improving customer experience: Kim Nguyen of Recruitery
At Airwallex, we are a globally distributed team but quite connected. Working across borders is part of the company’s DNA. Our customer value proposition is built on our ability to support businesses anytime and anywhere worldwide.
I also see how seamlessly our teams work and exchange ideas with colleagues from different offices. From regular, global all-hands meeting with management and fireside chats featuring various leaders to team meetings and 1:1s, whether virtual or in-person, there’s a huge appetite and eagerness to learn from other colleagues, connect, and connect and be a part of an international team.
In Singapore, we host our monthly town halls (called Singapore Symposium). I love hearing about our wins and new member intros (often happening as we continue to grow!). I recently learned we have a serious crossword (Sunday NY Times difficulty) player in our Singapore team and some triathletes in training!
Do you have a mental health policy? What does that look like?
As we grow, we are finding ways to support employees the best we can. That includes empowering our managers, people partners, and health and wellness service partners to support their teams.
WFH or WFO, or hybrid?
We are a rapidly growing company in a very dynamic business, so as we resume normal with various aspects of our lives, we’re predominantly in a work-from-office arrangement.
We just moved into a new office space in the heart of Tanjong Pagar with plenty of meeting rooms and many activities planned to bring people together to nurture our “Singapore team” culture. That’s how I discovered we have a world-class ping-pong player in our ranks. I wouldn’t have known if we didn’t have our office ping pong tournament!
After years of COVID-19 and WFH, people are yearning for that connection, and it’s inspiring to see our Singapore team bond and proactively find ways to engage with each other, which now include weekly after-work run clubs and spinning sessions.
How should a tech worker prepare for the funding winter?
In one of my past professional lives, I worked as an investor in New York during the Global Financial Crisis. Many friends who worked in various industries, storied banks, law firms, and consulting firms were impacted.
They worked hard and were intelligent, but the situation was beyond their control. So I feel for many of those now whose jobs were impacted. What is happening now in the tech space is not something new, and I can assure you that it is not personal, and you will rebound.
Individually, I think about what one can control and encourage everyone to think about embracing new skills and challenges. It’s up to us to keep learning, challenging ourselves and to keep looking ahead.
Also Read: No achievement is too small, no individual is too junior to be highlighted: Zelia Leong of PraisePal
Another angle I think about is to think like an owner, and as an owner, you sometimes need to make tough decisions to last another day/month/year.
I find the book The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz relevant now.
I think this can apply to our personal lives and the companies we may be working at. These cycles happen across different industries occasionally, so it’s up to us to keep learning, growing, and building relationships.
How do you measure the performance of your employees?
To avoid going into specifics, I ensure we are aligned on where we are going and what we want to achieve. The objective and key results (OKR) movement has permeated tech, and we employ them across the company. This ensures we are all focused towards achieving the same goals.
The OKR model might not be something every person is familiar with — I’ve been in organisations where we’ve shifted into the OKR mode, and it had caused some to feel unsettled and a bit scary. But that’s a healthy feeling when we’re trying to achieve new and exciting goals.
When hiring, will you consider a moderately skilled person with great honesty or a highly skilled person with less honesty?
This is an easy one, and I can’t compromise on this when it comes to talent — great honesty and highly skilled. We work in fintech, and there is no room for evil behaviour.
Airwallex deal with our customers’ funds, and they trust us to do what we say we will do, so there is a clear standard. We have to be trustworthy to succeed in this space, not to mention the regulatory and compliance considerations we must meet.
Do you encourage ‘intrapreneurship’ in your organisation?
Yes! It’s a given that being part of a growing organisation presents many opportunities to innovate, whether externally or internally. One of our key values is “Inspire and Be Inspired”, and because we are so diverse and multicultural, we only flourish through the ingenuity of our people.
What we’re doing is innovative, and I’ve seen a lot of great innovation for our internal tools, from our tech teams to being resourceful in driving our customer growth, finding new customers, and building our global hubs.
How do you support upskilling for your employees?
Given our growth and journey — and I think this is similar to many companies in our stage — upskilling and growth occur naturally through one’s journey here. Airwallex is growing rapidly, and I think upskilling happens by being resourceful and identifying voids one can fill.
I’ll admit that we’re early in our journey of building out a learning & development capability, but we have a lot of bright people who help coach and teach daily.
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