Panzura fuels exponential growth by scaling key skills and mindsets

Companies have more unstructured data at their fingertips than ever before, but inefficient legacy systems are preventing them from extracting the full value of it. Operating on the cutting edge of cloud data management and storage, Panzura’s simple and secure platform gives the enterprise complete visibility, governance, and real-time access to all of its unstructured data in one place.

Bringing together distributed data sources into a powerful platform is one thing. Bringing together a distributed team to refinance, refocus, and re-found a company — in the middle of a global pandemic no less —  is an entirely different challenge. To help their team build resilience, prevent burnout, and attain peak performance in the face of uncertainty and rapid change, Panzura partnered with BetterUp in 2021. 

We spoke with Panzura’s SVP of Administration & Culture, Shelby Brush, to learn more about why Panzura sees employee development as their key competitive advantage and how BetterUp coaching is helping their workforce drive the company’s meteoric growth.

BU: Why coaching now? What were the drivers that led you to coaching for your employees?

Shelby: Panzura was refounded in May 2020, during the early stages of the COVID pandemic. With so much uncertainty surrounding us, we recognized that our employees would have to make significant adjustments as their personal and work lives became intertwined. Many were juggling work responsibilities with virtual classes for their children or caring for and protecting elderly relatives. We were committed to ensuring that our employees could bring their whole and best selves to work. Unlike in traditional workplaces, where employees are expected to leave their personal lives behind, we believe in encouraging our employees to embrace their unique personalities and quirks. Given the challenging circumstances of a global pandemic, we understood that coaching was essential for providing our employees with a means of working through challenges, finding opportunities for growth, and developing a resilient mindset that would serve them both personally and professionally.

BU: Attrition, especially in sales, can prove to be hard for both management and teams. How has BetterUp coaching helped Panzura’s sales organization combat attrition in a competitive environment?

Shelby: The impact of BetterUp on our sales team has been immeasurable. When our sales team members actively engage in coaching sessions, the likelihood of turnover drops by half the national average. As an organization, we are able to identify common themes in our sales team's coaching conversations, allowing our leadership team to provide additional training on areas that need improvement. Thanks to our partnership with BetterUp, our sales team has been able to accelerate their learning and become more effective sellers in the field, resulting in a significant boost in sales performance.

BU: Employee benefits span a wide variety of modalities and being able to choose where to invest and see outcomes is key. What tangible changes have you noticed since your investment in BetterUp that allows you to feel confident in choosing this as one of your many investments for your teams?

Shelby: Our initial motivation for partnering with BetterUp was to cultivate a more resilient mindset among our employees. However, we quickly discovered that the program provides many other components that contribute to resilience. As a result, we have seen a significant increase in growth mindset, team communication, constructive feedback, and empowerment within our workforce. By developing these five key skills, we have been able to create a more efficient and agile team that can work smarter, not harder. This has proven to be a crucial investment for Panzura, and we believe it gives us a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

BU: Given the current macro environment resilience and stress management are critical to thriving under change and pressure, what are some of the tactics your team has employed in conjunction with coaching to address this with your population?

Shelby: In addition to the challenges posed by the macro environment, we face a unique obstacle as a remote-first organization with employees spread across different time zones around the world. To overcome this distance, we host two virtual culture and mindfulness sessions each month, covering a diverse range of topics. These sessions include everything from celebrating our quarterly employee spotlights to exploring Intersectionality as an Ally to setting personal intentions. We also recognize the importance of informal conversations and bonding opportunities, which is why we organize one virtual happy hour per month. Our most recent event was a lightning scavenger hunt, which provided a fun and interactive way for team members to share their creative side and get a glimpse into each other's homes. For instance, participants were given points for finding objects that change shape, among other things.

BU: The company has seen 485% growth since 2020. Looking towards the future, how do you see your continued partnership with BetterUp contributing to Panzura’s growth trajectory over the next few years?

Shelby: BetterUp is a vital component of our continued growth as a company. We have already witnessed the benefits of the program, with employees who have been in it for six months or longer working with coaches on topics such as growth, leadership development, and empowerment to acquire essential skills that contribute to their individual success. As we continue to scale, it is crucial that each individual scales with us on this journey. Panzura's progress can only be as fast as that of all its contributors. By partnering with BetterUp, we can ensure that our employees keep pace with the company's growth trajectory and are well-equipped to support our continued success.