The most egregious con is the fact that upper management is not held accountable for their poor decision making. In the past two years, a number of C-level execs and VPs that were once lauded as game-changers for the business have been let go by the same execs that hired them, and while the turnover is high beneath the highest level of executive management, the Board and executives at Match do not hold the top execs accountable for their poor judgment in hiring under-performers. This ethos is pervasive across the company.
The feedback culture is toxic: there is no guidance on how to deliver effective feedback, and while feedback is encouraged to be given directly to a recipient, it frequently comes via a third party. Annual surveys of HR efficacy show minimal, if any, improvement YOY, yet leadership remains the same, plans to improve are not socialized (or even made transparent), and experienced employees hired from outside rarely last more than a year or two before moving somewhere with a less toxic culture or being managed out. Tinder confuses "culture" with "putting fun events on for employees" and "free lunch."
Opportunities for personal and professional growth are entirely at the discretion of management. There is no internal learning platform for skills development, and development of essential employee behaviors, like time management, feedback, and even leadership training, are farmed out to third parties who have no experience in the day-to-day intricacies of life at Tinder and cannot draw from extensive, real-world experience some long-time employees can provide. These "learning sessions" are usually just a few hours long and heavily focus on the theory behind the practice, with little time given to role play scenarios; zero follow-up to gauge individual progress; and no method to evaluate the program efficacy within the business.
Finally, most mid and upper management positions are hired externally. There is an internal career ladder, but it's rarely referred to and it isn't referenced as part of yearly feedback. (It's also largely pieced together from other companies' long-published career ladders and has several areas that don't make sense in Tinder's context.)
In general, Tinder talks a big game about being values-driven and having a healthy culture, but the frequent management turnover and mediocre employee engagement results say otherwise. Tinder has, for a long time, tried to rebrand itself away from being "the hookup app," but last year leaned into a "single not sorry" campaign that's essentially celebrating hookup culture. That's perfectly fine, but change comes from within: if Tinder has given up trying to change its external reputation, it's obvious that changing the internal culture is not a priority.
