Why Tinder's CEO Wants Employees to 'DM him' Their Problems

Spencer Rascoff, CEO of Match Group – the owner of dating sites such as Hinge and Tinder – has said he offers employees across the company a direct line to contact him with any issues. 

In a LinkedIn post, Spencer shared that the company has introduced an internal feedback loop called ‘DM Me If…’, where employees can message him directly to send any feedback, questions or concerns. 

“I read every message,” Spencer shares in the post. “If someone includes their name, I follow up directly. If they choose to stay anonymous, I share responses more broadly with the company. 

“Some of the most valuable insights I’ve received as CEO have come through this channel.”

This feature was brought in as part of Match Group’s push for a ‘culture of transparency’, which Spencer has led since becoming CEO in February 2025 to sharpen the company’s operational focus and improve company-wide collaboration. 

Gen Z as a sounding board

According to Spencer, this direct line to employees has helped the company better understand the needs of its employees and improve performance – particularly in regards to younger staff. 

Spencer shared that one employee messaged him asking if the company’s Gen Z employee resource group (ERG) could be better utilised in company decision-making. 

In a separate post, he said that meeting with this group “quickly became one of the most robust product strategy discussions I’ve had in months.”

Having monthly meetings with this group – the core target age demographic for many of its apps – has allowed the company to rethink its approach to products like Tinder, creating a better experience for customers. 

Spencer said these monthly meetings have helped make Tinder in particular “feel simpler, safer and more relevant to the next generation of people looking for connection.”

Feedback received through this line has also helped the company “remove unnecessary friction” in its slack integrations and create a shared GitHub repository – both developments that have improved collaboration across teams and sped up problem-solving. 

Changes to senior leadership at Match Group

Spencer says new employee features such as these have been brought in as part of “a broader shift towards servant leadership at Match Group”, which encourages managers to be transparent with employees and communicate effectively. 

The company has resigned its LA office to facilitate this, removing private offices and bringing in ‘neighbourhoods’ – dividing the office into zones that can support different work modes to create designated spaces for collaboration and idea generation. 

Match Group has also created a specialised senior leadership course for managers, which is designed to help leaders in the company be clearer with their employees, specifically in regards to sharing the ‘why’ behind strategic moves, says Spencer. 

He says: “Transparency isn’t about oversharing, it’s about giving people the context they need to do their best work.”

Spencer says that this context better empowers employees to share their own views on things, saying that “people won’t speak up unless they see that their input leads to action.”

This senior leadership course has already led to improvements in the employee experience at Match Group. 

In a company employee survey, Match group saw a 13% increase in employees agreeing with the statement ‘the Match Group executive team keeps people informed’. 

By improving internal transparency, Spencer says the company is better equipped to achieve its mission of helping people form meaningful connections – making the company stronger as a result.