Vanessa Black with Tanium

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for Learning Insights. Brought to you by TrainingPros. When you have more projects than people, TrainingPros can provide you with the right L&D consultant to start your project with confidence. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:28] Lee Kantor here. Another episode of Learning Insights. And this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, TrainingPros. Without them, we could not be sharing these stories. Today on Learning Insights, we have Vanessa Black with Tanium. Welcome, Vanessa.

Vanessa Black: [00:00:44] Lee, thank you for inviting us to your show. Very happy to be here.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:47] Well, before we get too far into things, tell us about Tanium. How are you serving folks?

Vanessa Black: [00:00:51] Yeah, it’s a great question. So, the Tanium is a technology company. We were founded in 2007 by David and Orion Hindawi. And the Tanium platform provides endpoint management and security built for the world’s most demanding IT environments. So, I got a little technical here, but our approach decentralizes data collection, aggregation and distribution right down to the endpoint to deliver real-time visibility, comprehensive control and rapid response.

Vanessa Black: [00:01:17] So, just to give you a little bit of example of who’s using us, many of the world’s largest and most sophisticated organizations, including half of the Fortune 100 top retailers, financial institutions, and all of the branches of the US Armed Forces. They’re relying on Tanium to make confident decisions, operate efficiently and effectively, and remain resilient against disruption.

Vanessa Black: [00:01:40] And then, if you just think about the scope of these mission-critical organizations, the result is that through our technology, we’re safeguarding a way of life. And that’s something we’re really proud of. But, Lee, to that end, our founders also recognized that one of the most important things besides just putting technology forward is to build a company that, at its core, has a deep understanding of people, processes and technologies in order to deliver the best product to our customers. And I think that’s probably why you asked us here today.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:12] Now-.

Vanessa Black: [00:02:12] We’ve been … yeah, sorry. Go ahead.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:14] Can we talk about your role? Like, what is your role with the organization?

Vanessa Black: [00:02:18] You’ve got it. Head of people, programs and engagement.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:21] And then, what does that mean for the layperson and to every company has, I guess, somebody in charge of those type of things, but they all call it something a little different? But tell us how Tanium deals with people, programs and engagement.

Vanessa Black: [00:02:35] Yeah, yeah. So, our job, Lee, it’s to create a high-purpose, connected environment where people do the best work of their careers. And that can show up in a lot of different ways. Like you said, most companies have roles and functions like this, but a few of the ways that we think about it at Tanium, so a few examples, the launch of our company’s global social impact program that we called Pledge 2%, the creation of a high-profile showcase of diverse leaders in our Tanium Unstoppable Speaker series. We have volunteer time-off for all employees. And every year, we have an annual yearbook called Life at Tanium. But I guess it’s not always earth-shattering stuff. So, for example, right before hopping on here with you, we just had a virtual festive mixer for all of our employees. So, the bottom line is we’re interested in anything that makes for a magical employee experience and working collaboratively across the business to bring that to life.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:28] Well, let’s talk a little bit about it and maybe we can help some other folks out there that are listening in their own worlds and maybe are trying or aspire to do some of the work that you guys are doing. Now, let’s take that global social impact program, Pledge 2%. Talk to me about how that idea first comes about, because I’m sure there was lots of choices of what initiatives to pursue. And then, somehow, you landed on this one. And then why did that resonate? And why was that something that you all decided to kind of put some attention to?

Vanessa Black: [00:04:00] Yeah, I’m so glad you asked because this one’s near and dear to my heart. And I think the really important thing and why we decided to put such an emphasis on giving back is the tech sector, generally speaking, we’re doing pretty well, but the question is, how do you take that success and add a greater sense of purpose to it? So, that’s what was really important to us and everyone has core values. We’re unstoppable. We win as a team when we do the right thing. And this is a big part of us doing the right thing, taking our privileged position in tech, and giving back to the societies that we work in our communities and something that we all feel great about.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:48] But when it came time to choose what initiative, like what were some of the things … You don’t have to name the ones that didn’t make it, but what was the thought process of? Because you could have picked anything, right? As long as it fit kind of that umbrella of kind of social impact, but you landed on that as the cause. How did you narrow down? What was kind of the thinking? And what was kind of the strategy behind that?

Vanessa Black: [00:05:15] So, I’ll give you, there are a few parts. The first is I mentioned the program is Pledge 2%. And so, as part of that, we have all our employees, two percent of their time dedicated toward giving back. So, that’s about five days per year. And then, we also pledge two percent of our profits annually to select organizations.

Vanessa Black: [00:05:36] And those select organizations, which I guess is probably part of the other part of your question, it’s not hard to just cut a check and mail it out to whichever organization, but what was important to us is that we were more than just philanthropic partners, and we actually spend a lot of time finding organizations where we had strategic and skills-based synergies, so that we can be partners, truly partners, and not just supporters on the sidelines. So, we work very, very closely with each of the partner organizations that we selected. And that’s been a couple of years since we launched the program. So, I’ve been privileged to be able to see those relationships grow and those routes getting deeper. And more of our employees feeling connected to each of their missions, we’ve been focusing a lot on creating opportunity through education. So, that’s a big part of our work. And yeah, I guess, did that answer your question?

Lee Kantor: [00:06:39] Sure. Now, is this something that you kind of have a measurement associated with this? Like how do you know if it’s working the way you’d like it to work?

Vanessa Black: [00:06:51] Well, there’s lots of ways. I mean, I think … And probably lots of folks listening in on your call, there are multiple stakeholders who you want to make sure that you’re checking in really closely with. The first is, obviously, our employees. So, we check in with them regularly through our engagement surveys and ask them point blank, “How are you feeling about the way that our company is giving back?” And people are really excited about it. Lee, if I can show you the Slack channel I have opened right now, it’s #taniumgivesback, the outpouring of employee interest and activism in that space shows us that we’re on the right track.

Vanessa Black: [00:07:32] And then, on the flip side, when it comes to the partner organizations that we’re with, I mentioned, it’s a relationship. So, on, what was it, Tuesday night, I was in a late-night meeting with one of our partners. And then, tomorrow, I have a panel of folks from Tanium who are going to be part of a series for, I guess, I can name the organization [indiscernible]. It’s an incredible organization, and we’re all going to be taking part tomorrow. So, I think it’s less of a check the box, “Did we do good?” Ana more of a relationship where we’re always checking to make sure that we’re doing the right thing by all of our stakeholders.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:10] Now, you mentioned earlier that part of the culture is you want Tanium to be the place where people do their best work, something that I would imagine that goes beyond the actual work that they’re doing there, but to kind of work in the world outside of the walls of Tanium, right?

Vanessa Black: [00:08:27] Sure.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:28] Now that the world has kind of gone remote, has that changed anything or were you always a remote organization?

Vanessa Black: [00:08:38] Well, so, we have around 1500 employees around the world, 13 countries. And before, I mean, let’s call it March, 10 months ago, before March of last year, around half of our employees were already working from home. But I think it’s a little bit more complicated than just being all remote right now. And so, when we’re thinking about it, living through a global pandemic, kind of the first and most important thing that we’ve been thinking about is how to be incredibly supportive, empathetic and tuned in to how our teammates are experiencing a tough year.

Vanessa Black: [00:09:17] I think we’ll get into what’s a remote first workforce after the pandemic ends because, certainly, we’ve doubled down on our commitment to being remote first, and we want our employees to have flexibility to live where they want and work however they’re happiest and most productive, but we’re still in that middle stage where it’s been a tough year. And so, we have things like, Lee, all employee days off, and programming for kids of Tanium because kids have become a mainstay in our Zoom meetings, virtual yoga, virtual meditation, subscriptions for all our employees to – I’m not sure if you’ve heard of this – Calm. It’s a meditation mindfulness app. And then, obviously, a regular drumbeat of information. It’s transparent, it’s honest, it’s to the point from our leadership team to take as much uncertainty out of the system as possible. And so, that’s been our first leg of the journey in terms of all being in this kind of forced all-remote posture.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:19] And then, do you find that by moving to this all remote kind of workplace that a lot of companies are kind of navigating that you find that the employees are giving each other a little more grace maybe than they had pre-pandemic, where people are it’s okay that their kids walk by or the dog kind of wanders into the frame, and people are kind of giving each other a little more slack in terms of kind of accepting that, “Hey, we’re all in this together and we don’t have to kind of be all business when it’s business. Everything’s kind of bleeding together”?

Vanessa Black: [00:10:59] Yes. Well, the answer is yes. And I think there’s something really special about that that I don’t think we’ll ever go back. Now that you’ve seen it, you’ve seen this executive sitting at their desk with a dog barking and a kid on their lap, it’s just you get to see your co-workers and your team in a different way. And I think that the net of it is we all feel closer, more accountable for each other, more empathetic, and I think more focused on how not only can we help Tanium succeed and our customers succeed but how we can help each other succeed. So, that, to me, if there’s a silver lining in any of this, it’s really getting the opportunity and our teams having the opportunity to come together like this.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:52] Now, have you had any kind of surprises in terms of just kind of the humanity of the surprise of, “Hey, look at how well we rose to the occasion here. Look at how much people are giving back and want to help in this area”? Is there anything that’s kind of surprised you as these initiatives kind of roll out?

Vanessa Black: [00:12:13] Well, it’s funny, Lee, because I mean, everything was happening so fast, but one of my instincts was folks are probably feeling a little overwhelmed. Let’s not push too much extracurricular stuff for them. And so, each year, we have this, we call it our Month of Giving. And it is we all get together, team-based, and contribute to local organizations. So, this is a little bit different from our Pledge 2%, which is kind of from the top super strategic. This is more grassroots. Our employees come together in groups, and we all count the number of hours, we share what we’ve done. And so, we’ve done this annually.

Vanessa Black: [00:12:54] And I didn’t know if people are going to have the energy for it this year. And I wondered if having the risks of engaging with other organizations and other people in the pandemic would hamper some of the enthusiasm. But my gosh, I was blown away by how our team members came together. One, they sourced all of these incredible remote volunteering opportunities. They got together and wrote letters to senior citizens homes. They gave how to make a mask sewing classes, and put them all together, and then shipped them off to different organizations. And even a couple of times, there is something that’s called Walk My Workday, where we just had a global virtual walkathon, and everyone kind of pitched in, and donated, and then contributed to charity.

Vanessa Black: [00:13:50] But I guess, to answer your question more specifically, what has amazed me is that unstoppable spirit and the desire to just keep giving even when it’s tough and how folks will come together, even if it’s not something that we’ve handed them on a silver platter, gosh, they’re just doing it anyway. I think it’s because it’s part of who we are as a Tanium culture.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:13] Now, are you having a more difficult time kind of onboarding new people into the culture remotely as opposed to when there was a mix of in person and people can kind of look over someone’s shoulder, sit in, and kind of have those collisions, accidental collisions that happen when you are in person?

Vanessa Black: [00:14:34] Yeah. And I think that’s probably true across the board, but we’re not doing it same old, same old. We’ve been really intentional around completely revamping our onboarding programs, so that, obviously, it’s virtual but much more interactive. Folks, when they join, get assigned a buddy. There’s a cadence of how often they’ll meet up and check in. And then, of course, we have tons and tons of … they’re optional, but they’re there, tons and tons of programming for our employees. So, on any day of the week, if you wanted to get involved in something and, of course, it’s screen-to-screen, so it doesn’t quite give you that same feeling, but lots of opportunities for people to get to know one another in that virtual setting. And a lot of people, though, I’m sure, are looking forward to the day when we can see each other in real life, but when they see people in real life, I don’t think it’s going to be like, “Hi, nice to meet you.” It’s going to be like, “Wow! We finally get to see each other in person.” We certainly haven’t lost that team and connection aspect.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:42] Now, are you finding that, like for mentorship, that you’re finding more people wanting mentors and mentees, or is there kind of more engagement in that area because people hunger for those kinds of connections?

Vanessa Black: [00:15:54] You’re spot on. I think what typically happened really organically is now happening in a very much more intentional and structured way. So, we have a Tanium mentorship program and guidelines. And we didn’t even launch it with the pandemic but, previously, I think people took it as a “Well, it’s here. And I can take a look at it for pointers,” but what we’ve seen are people really adding that structure in regard to the program, making sure that they have their meet-up times, being really clear with their managers about their individual development goals and how they can achieve that through these really different times. And then, we complement that with a ton of new learning and development opportunities for people both on the leadership development side and, also, some just brand new. We really need to be able to communicate effectively in a virtual world of training courses. So, the answer is yes. Definitely yes.

Lee Kantor: [00:16:56] Now, how do you see things when you forecast into next year? I guess, you plan for some version of at some point the pandemic will end, and then there’ll be a new new normal.

Vanessa Black: [00:17:09] Right, right.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:10] How do you kind of plan for that when there are so many unknowns out there?

Vanessa Black: [00:17:15] So, I don’t know that there are so many unknowns anymore. I mean, we just got through – I mean, all of us, including you and your team, but I think we all deserve a little pat on the back for the last 10 months of our lives. But at some point, it’s just going to go back to a world where if we choose to, we could go back to normal. I don’t think we will ever go back to normal. I think the Overton’s window has shifted. And so, the way that I think it will be different in the future, one, remote first doesn’t mean everyone’s remote but it does mean that you build programs to support remote as the default way of working as the new normal. So, that will be different, but it’s certainly something that we’ve already kind of put in place.

Vanessa Black: [00:17:58] The big thing, I think, is the flexibility. Flexibility to center work around supporting our team members with choice. So, if I want to go into an office, I should do that, I can do it every day if I want to. If I want to go in one day a week, okay. If I want to pop around to different countries where we have an office and work in that office sometimes or work from a coffee shop sometimes, that’s okay too. And I think flexibility is actually going to be the thing that takes us to the next phase of work.

Vanessa Black: [00:18:31] More than anything else, it’s the recognition that we can trust our employees to do the right thing and trust them to know the ways in which they’re most productive, the ways in which they contribute best to our mission and, also, allowing them to center their experience around their needs while still delivering on the things that are critical for their job roles. I think that will probably be the biggest change and I think biggest net benefit moving forward.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:59] So, you think that your employees could be anywhere in the world, really? And then, as long as they’re doing what they got to do, it’s not going to matter as much. Like there isn’t going to be that everybody’s got to move to New York, or Chicago, or San Francisco in order to make this go. They can live in Omaha, and they can be just as good as anybody else that’s in San Francisco.

Vanessa Black: [00:19:24] I mean, the future is here. And I don’t know, Lee, if you read the news, we’ve actually moved our headquarters from the Bay Area to Kirkland, Washington to allow us to tap into a part of the country that offers significant livability and flexibility in favor of a positive business climate, amazing talent and just a completely different pace of life.

Vanessa Black: [00:19:50] So, one of the things that was really important to us. So, this, the pandemic, we keep talking about it, but when we realize just how well our team was working together, especially under these conditions, you saw probably some big names make similar announcements, but we said, “Look, if you want to leave the Bay Area and go set up shop someplace else, we support you. We want you to do the thing that works best for you and your family.” And so, I think, yes, be where you want to be.

Vanessa Black: [00:20:21] And I think that is going to become … we might be in a little bit of a downturn right now. I know Tanium is hiring like crazy, but when we get back to talking about that war for talent, which is kind of cliche, but we talk about it all the time, I think this is one of the things that is going to differentiate a forward thinking, progressive company from people who are following the model that has been disproven as essential. We don’t all need to be co-located. But I will say, some savings that we’ll have kind of inevitably on real estate, we’ll be reinvesting that in some really amazing in-person events, team-building experiences. And I think we’re all really looking forward to that.

Lee Kantor: [00:21:04] Right. I think I agree. I think that that’s the future is kind of we’re all leaning into this world is flat though. That means that people can be anywhere. And as long as they’re getting the job done, and you do mindfully kind of put in these initiatives that encourage getting together online or in real life, and create those events that are memorable, that’s what people are looking for. I mean, we hunger for in-person but it doesn’t have to be every day.

Vanessa Black: [00:21:32] Yeah, exactly, exactly.

Lee Kantor: [00:21:35] Well, congratulations on all the success. You mentioned the war on talent. So, you’re hiring, I would imagine, pretty aggressively.

Vanessa Black: [00:21:42] Oh, my gosh, we are.

Lee Kantor: [00:21:42] How do people get your attention? Like, what kind of skills are you looking for right now?

Vanessa Black: [00:21:48] So, here, I would love to give you a handful of things that we’re looking for, but I will say kind of just the top of the line, we look for people with with three main things – intelligence, integrity and passion. Those are the three big screens. Everything else, I mean, we hope that you have the experience. We hire based on job competencies, not just charisma. Can you whiz by a question? But really looking for behavioral examples of a time where you demonstrated some of these core competencies for our business, but it’s those three things – intelligence, integrity and passion.

Lee Kantor: [00:22:25] And Lee, we’re hiring right now. We’re hiring so much, and it’s making our collective head spin, but it’s sales and go-to market, partner development, channels and alliances, technical account management, software architects, technical writers, technical solutions engineers, technical sales engineers, cloud security engineer, software engineers. There are hundreds of roles, like I just mentioned. So, if anyone’s listening to this, and they’re interested, our careers page has everything there. And I should add, we’re already accepting applications for our summer 2021 internships. So, that’s something that we’re really pleased to be offering as well.

Lee Kantor: [00:23:02] Good stuff. Well, congratulations on all the success, Vanessa. And thank you for sharing your story today.

Vanessa Black: [00:23:08] That’s great. Thank you so much for having us today.

Lee Kantor: [00:23:10] Now, the website for the folks that want to get a hold of you or learn more about what’s out there at Tanium?

Vanessa Black: [00:23:18] Tanium.com.

Lee Kantor: [00:23:22] All right. Well, thank you again for sharing your story.

Vanessa Black: [00:23:24] Yeah, it was great talking with you.

Lee Kantor: [00:23:26] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Learning Insights. And remember, this show could not be done without the support of our sponsor, TrainingPros. Please support them, so we can continue to share these important stories.

Outro: [00:23:41] Thank you for listening. For more information about TrainingPros, visit their website at training-pros.com.