Match Group Inc. will "streamline operations,” invest in growth areas and set up a confidential channel for its employees to share ideas with the executive team to improve its dating apps, said the company’s newly appointed chief executive officer charged with executing on a turnaround.
"Too often, our apps have felt like a numbers game rather than a place to build real connections, leaving people with the false impression that we prioritise metrics over experience,” CEO Spencer Rascoff wrote in a note to employees that he posted to his LinkedIn profile Thursday. "That needs to change.”
In addition to expanding on the use of artificial intelligence in its biggest dating apps, Tinder and Hinge, the push will include setting up a channel for employees to share "unvarnished feedback.” The company will also "streamline operations” to drive efficiency, as well as increase "expectations around in-office collaboration so we operate with the speed and focus needed to execute on our mission,” he said.
A spokesperson for Match declined to comment on whether the remarks were in reference to job cuts or raising the number of mandatory in-office days.
"To reach our full potential, we must confront a hard truth: We haven’t always met the high standards we set for the user experience,” Rascoff added in the Thursday note.
Match has been under pressure from three activists – Elliott Investment Management LP, Anson Funds Management LP and Starboard Value LP – to reverse a persistent decline in paying Tinder users. Anson Funds, which owned roughly 0.6% of Match at end-December, plans to nominate several directors to the company board and urged management to refine its corporate strategy, Reuters reported earlier this week. A company spokesperson on Tuesday declined to comment on the report, but said Match is focused on "growing our business and generating shareholder value with the oversight of our skilled and experienced board.”
The company has struggled to return the brand to growth since the pandemic amid frequent executive changes and a broader generational shift in how younger people approach dating. Rascoff took on the CEO role at Match Group last month, replacing Bernard Kim, who served at the helm for less than three years.
Tinder CEO Faye Iosotaluno told investors last December that Tinder will prioritise user experience over monetisation to strengthen the business in the long run but warned that the brand won’t return to growth until 2027 as it experiments with new features.
Tinder has been focused over the past year on improving its app ecosystem to retain women and younger users, including rolling out more safety features such as ID verification in certain markets. It’s also working on a double-dating feature, which it said will be tested in the second quarter.
"Trust is the foundation of real connections, and we are committed to rebuilding it with urgency, accountability and an unwavering focus on the user,” Rascoff wrote. – Bloomberg
