Why putting people first is just as important as the tech side of API management
Published: 2021-09-16 16:26:05

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title: Why putting people first is just as important as the tech side of API management

published: true
description: By James Hirst, COO, [Tyk](https://tyk.io)
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cover_image: https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/kvx9dw7vjxcnoj1ibq9z.jpg

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Tyk’s API management solutions have been deployed around the globe. Tyk is used on every continent and even in outer space. But we didn't achieve this with tech alone. A core part of our business is the way we have developed our company culture to value and validate our team. 

Company culture is something that will grow organically if left unattended; you need to work constantly to shape it if you have particular goals in mind, such as delivering the right environment for your team. It requires the investment of time and mental energy. Culture development also needs to be funded appropriately. [Tyk has just secured $35 million](https://tyk.io/blog/tyk-raises-35m-to-connect-every-system-in-the-world/) in a new round of funding and investing it in our people and our culture is going to be one of our top priorities - in particular, ensuring that the culture we’ve nurtured doesn’t change as we grow. 

Our Tyklings are fundamental to what we do and to our success. As such, it’s essential that we do all we can to ensure that they feel valued, respected and appreciated - things like letting our team choose their own working hours and locations, so that each person can get the work/life balance that works for them. 

It’s an approach that seems to be working, judging by the feedback from our team and our awesome ratings on [Glassdoor](https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/Overview/Working-at-Tyk-EI_IE2321465.11,14.htm)

<h3>So, what does work life look like at Tyk?</h3>

First and foremost, we trust our team. This has allowed us to develop a culture of radical responsibility in which creativity is celebrated. We believe that our people will achieve the best results if they have the freedom and flexibility to shape their work life around their ‘life life’. 

To put this into practice, we are a remote first organisation. Our team members can be based anywhere, whether that’s close to one of our regional hubs, in a co-working space, on the beach, in a coffee shop or at home. 

As well as letting our team choose the location from which they work, we let them choose their own hours. We don't dictate the hours that people should work or how they should fill those hours. Instead, we trust each individual to achieve what they need to achieve in their own way. It means that our Tyklings can fit their work around their other priorities and responsibilities, whether that’s collecting the kids from school each day, taking time out to exercise in the sunshine or simply enjoying some time to recharge when they feel the need. 

We believe that by enabling our people to live their best life, they’ll give their best at work. 

<h3>How does Tyk’s culture impact the service we provide?</h3>

We’ve spent a lot of time talking about company culture. In fact, it’s fair to say we’re pretty obsessive about it. But for good reason. 

The culture of a company can influence every other aspect of that organisation, from staff retention rates to customer satisfaction levels. Our API management solutions are awesome, of course, but it’s the quality of our staff team that takes our product to the next level. That wouldn't be possible without the company culture that we have so carefully nurtured. And that’s why it’s so important to keep our people and our culture front and centre of our focus as we grow with our new funding. 

That funding means we have the chance to do things differently on an even bigger scale. At the heart of our growth will be a commitment to those same principles on which we have founded working life at Tyk. We’ll remain remote-first, with our team able to work from wherever suits them best. We’ll continue to encourage creativity, curiosity and empathy in the way that we treat each other and our users. 

It’s hard to put a price on all of this, either in terms of the cost of making it happen or the value of the benefits that it delivers. But our new funding means that we can continue to prioritise our work culture and the work we undertake to maintain it. It means we can maintain our commitment to trusting our team, to doing what we can to enable them to live their best lives and to always striving to make things better. By putting people first, we are enabling Tyk’s tech to shine.