When companies invest in employee professional growth, the result is two-fold. At the individual level, learning and development opportunities build morale, inspire motivation and instill satisfaction at the office. Meanwhile, the companies forging these initiatives often see increases in employee retention, efficiencies to processes, and financial gain.
Most organizations offer a myriad of opportunities, especially in the tech sector where companies go above and beyond to bolster employee growth. These five from Austin are no different. We connected with five leaders to learn how they are helping employees soar (and stay) through professional development offerings.
To support BigCommerce’s professional growth efforts, all employees have access to formal, self-guided and group programs, including LinkedIn Learning, Learning Agility Training, Insperity training courses, Learning Through Sharing Program, and reimbursement for continued education. Culture and Engagement Specialist Natalie Poulton guides us through each initiative.
I’ve had the opportunity to be in three different roles, grow in my career and figure out what motivates me.”
What are some of the most exciting professional development opportunities at your company?
Our learning and development team recognizes there is no greater investment than in our most important resource, our people. LinkedIn Learning includes more than 13,000 courses created by industry experts on a breadth of topics, available on-demand with customized learning paths for specific departments and roles. The Learning Through Sharing Program enables employees to share knowledge by leading a class on a topic of their choice to present to fellow employees, allowing them to learn something new and to practice their presentation skills. Employees have access to Insperity’s Skillport, which offers an extensive library of resources to meet a wide range of learning goals, from formal training programs to “just-in-time” training to address real-time issues.
Walk us through your professional development journey. How has your company played a role in shaping your career path?
Throughout my BigCommerce journey, I’ve had the opportunity to be in three different roles, grow in my career and figure out what motivates me. I began in an entry-level HR position that equipped me with a great foundation of industry knowledge and best practices, then supported our downtown office facilities, built a culture committee dedicated to growing and nurturing the culture and discovered culture was my passion. With the support and encouragement from empowering leaders, I stepped into my current role as the culture and engagement specialist, where I’m continually challenged to step outside of my comfort zone to develop new skills. With support, feedback, and available resources, I continue to become more comfortable and confident and am grateful I have the opportunity to grow personally and professionally.
RetailMeNot supports their employees career growth through ongoing initiatives like tuition reimbursement and new manager training, as well as new opportunities like online courses through Udemy for Business. Katie Johnson, who started on RetailMeNot’s operation team and now leads as organization development manager, highlighted what else is available for employees while sharing a bit about her own career path.
RetailMeNot is a place that has rewarded my curiosity and grit with new and unique opportunities.”
What are some of the most exciting professional development opportunities at your company?
Our goal is to put you in the driver’s seat of your career; when you take the initiative, we help you take the next step. We do this by consistently testing and offering our team members new opportunities to flex their knowledge. Most recently, we’ve introduced employee-led book clubs, executive-led, problem-solving groups focused on management and unlimited access to Udemy for Business, coupled with a variety of ways to engage with their e-learning content. Additionally, we have evergreen learning opportunities like our tuition reimbursement program, new manager training, and functional skill-building.
Walk us through your professional development journey. How has your company played a role in shaping your career path?
A little over five years ago, I started at RetailMeNot on the operations team. It was an incredible place to start; I deeply learned the site, product suite, and business. I was approached by the head of university recruiting at the time about an opening on her team. Initially, it was just to see if I had any friends that may be interested, but after learning more about the role, I felt it was a good fit for me and my ambitions. It was people-focused with ample room for creativity, problem solving and testing. I raised my hand and made a smooth transition over the next few months from operations to people. Since then, I’ve bounced from recruiting to learning and development and now to organizational development to broaden my skill set and deepen my knowledge base. For me, RetailMeNot is a place that has rewarded my curiosity and grit with new and unique opportunities.
MongoDB’s SVP of Worldwide Corporate Sales Sean Andrew said they invest in their sales reps’ development at a rate seven times higher than the industry average. This investment covers resources like online learning, solution architect sessions, a week-long bootcamp and more. Andrew walked us through the impact this makes for the sales team, and ultimately, the business.
We place a huge emphasis on continuous feedback, coaching, and development...”
What are some of the most exciting professional development opportunities at your company?
We believe that sales enablement helps lift up the entire team. You no longer need to be dependent on your high-performing sales reps as more reps will be hitting their numbers and you will have broad-based performance. Due to this belief, MongoDB invests seven times more in our sales reps and leader development than the industry average. We place a huge premium in ramping our people fast and ensuring they are best equipped to overcome challenges when engaging with their prospects.
Our development spans online learning systems, peer groups, solution architect sessions, a week-long bootcamp in New York, advanced training, leadership training, quarterly in-region training and more. We honestly believe if you are interested in joining a world class team and earning your MBA in sales, MongoDB is the place to be.
Walk us through your professional development journey. How has your company played a role in shaping your career path?
I started my career in sales 20 years ago. I have had the benefit of working for some exceptional companies all who have placed a large emphasis on personal and professional development. As a rep, I focused and gravitated towards development that helped me more effectively do research, discovery, qualification, as well as build strong champions and follow a proven and tried sales methodology to affect a positive outcome for both parties. By doing this, I ensured I was consistently executing against quota and put myself in a position to explore leadership opportunities. As a leader, I have focused on how to continually hone myself and my leadership team to be effective across recruiting, developing and executing in a proven and consistent manner. MongoDB has demonstrably helped me in these three areas across the leadership team and company-wide. We place a huge emphasis on continuous feedback, coaching, and development in these areas and more.
Through her own professional growth journey at Spreetail, Elizabeth Berrick unlocked her passion for helping her colleagues reach their full career potential. Berrick leads the company’s learning and development department, overseeing a number of programs including leadership development, career development and manager development opportunities.
Spreetail has not only ‘indulged’ my need to constantly be challenged but has also helped me realize what my real passion is.”
What are some of the most exciting professional development opportunities at your company?
Our leadership development program is designed to take individuals currently making an impact in their role and expose them to leadership principles and project work, which allows participants to turn learning into action to prepare them for their first leadership role.
Our career development team works one-on-one with key talent to coach them toward their next role, set developmental goals, and provide experiential learning opportunities within other departments by way of skill apprenticeships and rotational programs.
We’re also currently expanding our manager development offerings, tailoring development opportunities designed to support not only new Spreetail managers, but also experienced managers who experience different sets of challenges in their role.
Walk us through your professional development journey. How has your company played a role in shaping your career path?
I started out a writer, but my curiosity about how people consume content led me to pursue social media management and public relations. I enjoyed the content strategy, but my curiosity about how my people and department were developed led me to crave opportunities where I could create teams and infrastructure from scratch. Spreetail has not only “indulged” my need to constantly be challenged but has also helped me realize what my real passion is: how to develop Spreetailers and help them achieve their career dreams.
It’s addicting; working next to people with such insatiable appetites to develop themselves, and it can’t help but rub off on you.
Saidi Granados, a QA specialist and product assistant at Adia, said one of the biggest advantages of working at a smaller company is the opportunity to regularly collaborate with colleagues of all experience levels. This setup creates a natural environment to learn new skills and consistently receive feedback from peers.
We’re always communicating with one another and developing each other professionally through collaboration.”
What are some of the most exciting professional development opportunities at your company?
It’s nice being a small company because it allows for, and encourages, hypergrowth. Feedback is so critical and necessary; our team is tight, so we’re always communicating with one another and developing each other professionally through collaboration. We’ve got some smart people with lots of experience, so learning new skills and ways of thinking from the best happens naturally. I love it.
Walk us through your professional development journey. How has your company played a role in shaping your career path?
When I joined Adia, I was ready for a career change, but I was having trouble identifying what I wanted to do. In my last job, I loved hiring and creating new teams, so I decided to try recruiting. But, during the interview process and in my first month here, it became clear that I’d be doing much more than just that one role.
So far, I’ve been able to help in different areas, but best of all, my curiosity and technical background led me to the product team. For the last four months I’ve been in my dream job.
