Learning And Development at TextNow

At TextNow, we have some lofty ideals. Our mission statement is to help people connect with technology for free or as close to free as possible. But inside TextNow, we also have some lofty goals for our workplace and, crucially, our employees. Simply put, we want to make TextNow the best employer in the industry. And key to that strategy is encouraging growth and development for our fellow TextNovians.

We’ve talked a lot about personal growth at TextNow for both our people and the company, but today let’s talk about how TextNow can help grow your career and your skills.

First: It's time to admit we need to get rid of old training methods. Never-ending lectures or death by PowerPoint just doesn't cut it anymore. In 2021, it's all about empowering employees with the tools they both want and need to be successful in their current role, and to help move to the next career step.

Second: Live our core values and Take Action & Ownership. At TextNow we want all TextNovians to own their career development.

We don’t want employees to have learning and development be an unchecked box on their to-do list. We want them to be engaged in their learning journey, to be part of it, and to get what they need to grow their skills and career.

We encourage learning, development, and personal growth for every TextNovian to succeed and thrive at TextNow through online and in-house leadership development courses and programs, coaching & mentorship opportunities.

What’s our formula for success?

• Leadership coaching. Every people leader is set up with a personal leadership coach, allowing leaders an opportunity to explore their strengths and areas of growth. Coaches also help leaders define and move towards critical goals and shift behaviors.
• Whether you’re a seasoned leader, or an up-and-coming leader, we’re developing a foundational leadership program that will provide leaders across the organization with the skills that will allow them to lead others with an inspirational approach. That’s why we’re calling this program INSPIRE, to unlock performance. (INSPIRE launches summer 2021.)
• Learning and development isn’t mandatory. We believe that voluntary participation always works better than compulsory attendance. We want TextNovians to own their learning & development journey and we truly believe that they are the best ones to know what they need and the best time to do it. We encourage all employees to take a course, or attend a conference, or get a book if it will help them in their role and career --- and we’ll pay for it!

But we’re not stopping there. We’ve got some more plans for career development strategies in the coming months:

• Coaching and mentoring for individual contributors (ICs). A coaching and mentoring program for ICs to grow, clarify goals, deal with potential stumbling blocks and improve their performance.
• TNTalk series. A bi-monthly series of inspirational talks to start this fall. The TNTalk series will bring energy and inspiration to us all with a diverse range of topics. Have an idea for a TNTalk? Let the Culture Team know!
• Living Our Values. A new course on our values this fall, Living Our Values, will guide you through the process to identify your personal values through a series of activities. Once we know our own values, we can better understand and implement both TextNow values and our personal values into our decision making.

A learning journey is just that, a journey that leads you in several directions to learn and grow personally and professionally. We’ll continue to launch new programs, courses, and opportunities for TextNovians, and support them on this journey. It’s all part of our own journey to become the best employer in tech.

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If this sounds like a place you want to work, then we’ve got some good news! Head over to our careers page and learn how you can join our team.