Yandex Employees

If not for our team, there would not be where we are today. It is the combined effort that translates into growth and bold decisions. We value every member of our team, respect their differences and strive to build unity around passion for technology and innovation. Together, we navigate crises, ambiguity and have the courage to embark on the most ambitious projects.

Workforce Data

Our Team

Our Team Stats, Employees Worldwide Bar Chart. Including full-time and part time employees as of December 31. Not including interns. 11389 employees in 2019. 11864 employees in 2020. 18004 employees in 2021.
Including full-time and part-time employees as of December 31. Not including interns
Our Team Stats, Inters Bar Chart. 1604 unique interns during 2019. 630 unique interns during 2020. 1706 unique interns during 2021.
The number of unique interns during the year
Our Team Stats, New to the Team Bar Chart. New hires from January 1 until December 31. Not including internship positions. 4677 new employees in 2019. 3662 new employees in 2020. 8858 new employees in 2021.
New hires from January 1 until December 31. Not including internship positions

Women's Representation

Women’s Representation States, Women in Workforce Pie Chart. The percentage of women of all unique employees during the year. 35% of women in workforce in 2019. 36% of women in workforce in 2020. 36% of women in workforce in 2021.
Calculated as a share of all unique employees during the year
Women’s Representation States, Women in Management Pie Chart. The percentage of women of all unique managers during the year. 30% of women in management in 2019. 30% of women in management in 2020. 32% of women in management in 2021.
Calculated as a share of all unique managers during the year
Women’s Representation States, Women in STEM roles Pie Chart. Includes women in technical and tech-related roles such as developers, computer engineers, QA, analysts, web designers, product and project managers. 22% of women in STEM roles in 2020 23% of women in STEM roles in 2021
Includes women in technical and tech-related roles: developers / computer engineers, testers, data analysts, web designers, product and project managers
87%
87%
Actively engaged employees according to annual engagement surveys

Diversity & Equal Opportunity

Yandex values professionalism. And does believe that the equality of opportunity is the key to success. Here are some actions we take to increase representation of employees from diverse backgrounds.

How we hire

We use a uniform procedure to assess all candidates applying for the same position.

How we invest in education

We invest in cultivating passion for applied sciences and tech among the youth.

How we bring talent from different regions

Our relocation assistance program provides an opportunity for talent from various regions to join the company.

Developing Leaders

We encourage continued learning among all our employees, throughout their entire career paths at Yandex. We also invest in developing strong leaders.

Training programs

Leadership development programs are available to managers at different seniority levels, as well as to those who only plan to move on to managerial roles.

Bets and Experiments

We have introduced the program of bets and experiments in various business units, which focuses on upscaling product ideas developed by employees.

Bets and experiments 
that are now full-fledged businesses

  • Yandex Cloud
  • Yandex Drive

Ongoing bets

  • Devices
  • Toloka

Employee Wellbeing

A happy worker is a good worker. At Yandex, we put a lot of effort into learning what makes our employees happy, and intend to provide the resources that meet the needs of our team members.

Finances & Benefits

Compensation package

We provide a competitive compensation package that consists of fixed salaries and performance bonuses, which are paid based on the results of semiannual performance appraisals.
To ensure fair pay, we carefully monitor the labor market and incorporate advanced analytics of employee profiles: their level of skills, knowledge, responsibilities and efforts. In addition to that, over half of our employees receive stock-based rewards in a form of restricted share units (RSUs)*. Subject to vesting, RSUs appear to be a good incentive that aligns employee performance with shareholder interests.

*The crisis in late February 2022 affected prices of Yandex shares and made it impossible to exercise options. As a result, we decided to temporarily freeze the vesting of equity-incentive awards and convert a portion of RSUs subject to vesting after February 2022 into cash payments denominated in local currency based on the stock price as of the RSUs grant date. Under this system, new RSUs granted after February 2022 will be replaced by deferred cash payments. This will remain in effect until the end of 2022, but it may be reconsidered at an earlier date. Employees can choose to either take advantage of the new system or continue receiving RSUs.

Private medical insurance

We want our employees to have access to best-quality medical services, at all times. While healthcare is free in the national markets of our major presence, we offer private health insurance package to all full-time employees on top of that. It covers a wide range of medical services, including dental care, extended maternity care, laser vision correction, in-office medical assistance, therapy, as well as international travel insurance. With the outbreak of COVID, a number of medical services were added to cover expenses associated with hospitalization, post-COVID health screens and rehabilitation, PCR testing, and vaccination.

Mental health benefits

Mental health is vital for leading a happy life. We continuously monitor employee sentiment and work to ensure that they have access to professional help and self-care tools to cope with stress and uneasy situations.
Our private health insurance covers a variety of mental health services, including counseling and crisis support at covered offices and clinics. We also reimburse the costs of up to 10 counseling sessions not covered under the employee’s insurance policy. We invite highly qualified therapists to hold internal stress management webinars that focus on building resilience during times of hardship, quarantine or uncertainty.

Parental benefits

The birth or adoption of a child is a special milestone in an individual life. Yandex employees in Russia who have a new addition to their family can take up to three years of parental leave. This benefit is available to all employees who look after a child, including parents, adoptive parents, guardians, and caregivers. On top of benefits provided to working mothers by the local legislation, Yandex offers a one-off bonus payment that equals two full salaries.
We also support employees who would rather get back to work right after the birth or adoption of a child. There are nursing rooms in our offices. Employees can take advantage of flexible work hours after consulting with their supervisor. They can also take out health insurance for children under the age of 19 at discounted corporate rates starting from their first day at work, with Yandex covering 80% of the policy cost.

Other benefits

These include home buying assistance and numerous special offers across various services, such as education, travel, childcare, legal services, insurance, beauty, real estate, pet care, an many more.
Under the home buying program, employees can apply for a short-term loan that is issued at no interest rate, or for a long-term loan that is offered at only 3% per annum.

Comfort & Convenience

Rotation

At Yandex, everybody has an opportunity to find the best application of one’s skills and pursue passions. Employees who meet certain requirements (have good performance results and have completed at least one year at Yandex) can rotate to a different division or business unit.
We have found that rotation is among the factors that help improve employee performance and accelerate professional development. It is also an effective staffing strategy that allows us to fill vacant positions with experienced talent familiar with our business and corporate culture.

Flexibility

We value the time of employees, respect their other obligations, and are open to discussing flexible hours as well as preferences to work on-site or remotely. If the nature of a job does not require an employee to be working on premises and at a certain time during the day, they may negotiate preferred working hours and switch to all-remote or hybrid-remote format. All that matters is that the team stays well-connected and in sync, and that the job is getting well-done on time.
Yandex has all the resources to ensure the engagement of those who choose to work remotely – from in-house services that run online to virtual work meetings and leisure activities.

Office life

We design our offices to reflect the culture of open doors and informality. And to make employees feel safe and taken care of, too. All our employees are encouraged to have well-deserved fun in the office and take advantage of various facilities, including gyms, libraries, music rooms, game rooms or relaxation zones.

Food allowance

All our employees are entitled to food allowances when working from the office. The allowance can use in a number of restaurants and supermarkets in the vicinity as well as when ordering delivery from Yandex Eats and Yandex Lavka to the office.

Sports

We are pro-active. Yandex has an in-house instructor, offers a variety of free functional workouts, stretching classes, yoga, dance and running lessons, reimburses participation in certain sports events, and provides discounts for sportswear.
Over 95%( of surveyed employees enjoy working at Yandex and believe Yandex cares about the team)( According to annual engagement surveys held between 2019-2021. 73-78% of all employees participated in surveys during the specified period. )