Tom Walker joined Help Scout's support team in 2026, but in this episode he recalls his time at Zapier. Tom chats with Mat about his role in improving Zapier's support team diversity, what changes enabled them to hit their goals, why an interview process that never changes isn't neutral, and how improving diversity also improved camaraderie.

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Some key moments

  • (5:24) Tom's allotment in the UK, and companion planting as team building

  • (7:26) Zapier's project to make their team reflect their wider country

  • (13:33) Creating a more accessible and fair interview process

  • (19:11) Culture fit is a signal, not a deciding factor

  • (20:44) Camaraderie was built by diversity

  • (29:43) Everyone already has a hiring rubric, even if it's unwritten

Too long, didn’t watch? Here’s a concise version

  1. Diversity creates better support. Zapier's effort to reflect the broader population helped them create a team who could better serve people from all over the globe.

  2. Your rubric exists, but you should write it down. If it's only in your head, you don't know where it needs to be improved. Define what people actually need to do, then write your job description and interview questions to draw out that information.

  3. A more varied team makes the team you already have better. Tom found his existing team benefited from their new colleagues too, becoming mentors and building camaraderie.

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Mathew Patterson
Mathew Patterson

A veteran support leader, Mat spent years teaching better online support at Help Scout before founding More Human Content. Subscribe to The Supportive or find him on LinkedIn.