How Twitter University Scaled Peer Learning for Engineers
With Aleksandar (Saša) Gargenta
As technology advances, institutional knowledge sharing across organizations has become vital in the race to keep up with the pace of change.
In July, PlusPlus hosted a lunch and learn with Saša Gargenta, co-founder of Twitter University, to explore how the organization helps engineers get up to speed faster through live, instructor-led peer learning at scale.
Here, Saša explains how his team grew to include over 200 engineer instructors who both teach and facilitate learning – historically ranging from 10 to 20% of the engineering workforce.
Twitter University focuses on building a culture of learning for engineers at Twitter.
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Category: Ideas Author: Marianne Cruzat Date: August 20, 2020 7:01 pm
How Square Set L&D Focus Areas in a Time of Ambiguity with Oliver Liao
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As organizations move towards an uncertain future, effectively navigating workplace learning is essential for all learning and development professionals.
Every month, PlusPlus gathers together leaders working at the intersection of technical training and learning and development for the TechKnowCon Roundtable to explore topics top of mind for the industry.
Square helps millions of sellers to run their business and was one of the two organizations to present their ideas at the July 2020 discussion.
Here, Oliver Liao, learning and development lead at Square, explains how his team found their focus during a challenging year.
Category: Ideas Author: Marianne Cruzat Date: August 11, 2020 9:08 pm
How to Future-Proof Your Org Through Learning Ecosystems with Mike Hruska
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Learning ecosystems within organizations are large and complex, yet critical for working towards innovation.
Every month, PlusPlus gathers together leaders working at the intersection of technical training and learning and development for the TechKnowCon Roundtable to explore topics top of mind for the industry.
Allen Interactions builds adaptive organizations through research-backed learning and technology and was one of the two organizations to present their ideas at the July 2020 discussion.
Here, Mike Hruska, innovation coach at Allen Interactions, shares a series of tools organizations can use to transform their L&D processes proactively.
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Category: Ideas Author: Marianne Cruzat Date: August 11, 2020 9:07 pm
How Twitter Ignited a Culture of Learning: An Interview with Marko Gargenta, co-architect of Twitter University
PlusPlus is a direct result of Twitter University. In this article I interview our founder and CEO, Marko Gargenta, who, alongside his brother Sasa, co-created the platform that enabled Twitter to implement the sharing of knowledge at scale, and which became Twitter University when the company acquired it from Marko and Sasa. While Sasa continues to drive it at Twitter, Marko founded our company with the vision of helping thousands of other companies eliminate the barriers that keep knowledge trapped.
In this interview we explore the genesis of Twitter University from Marko’s unique perspective as the entrepreneur who brought it to them.
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Category: Ideas Author: Joseph Lam Date: July 27, 2020 10:12 pm
Walking the Talk at Airbnb: When Your Product Changes Your Culture
In 2014, Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, wrote a blog article introducing his company’s “Belong Anywhere” mission to the world. It took seven years from when he and his co-founders opened their apartment to the first Airbnb guest ever, to crystallize in those two words what their company and their product stood for. It could be argued, from the story he tells, that their product shaped their mission. He writes:
“We asked ourselves, “What is our mission? What is the big idea that truly defines Airbnb?” It turns out the answer was right in front of us. For so long, people thought Airbnb was about renting houses. But really, we’re about home. You see, a house is just a space, but a home is where you belong. And what makes this global community so special is that for the very first time, you can belong anywhere. That is the idea at the core of our company: belonging.”
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Category: Ideas Author: Joseph Lam Date: July 15, 2020 11:58 pm
How GitHub Brings Community Together During Uncertain Times
with Kristina Norris
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In recent times, connecting with others to learn has become challenging. Around the world, organizations are striving to find new ways to bring their communities together.
Every month, PlusPlus gathers together leaders working at the intersection of technical training and learning and development for the TechKnowCon Roundtable to explore topics top of mind for the industry.
GitHub, the world’s leading software development platform, was one of the two companies to present their ideas at the June 2020 discussion.
Here, Kristina Norris, senior human resources business partner at GitHub, describes how the company prioritizes a remote-first environment and brings their community together to support learning and growth.
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Category: Ideas Author: Joseph Lam Date: July 15, 2020 11:45 pm
How Expedia Group Scales Train the Trainer for Engineers
with Rebecca Shepherd, MAEd
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Creating engaging learning experiences for employees is now crucial to any company wanting to stay ahead and realize their vision.
Yet, understanding how to both design and scale these experiences can be challenging.
Every month, PlusPlus gathers together leaders working at the intersection of technical training and learning and development for the TechKnowCon Roundtable to explore topics top of mind for the industry.
Expedia Group, one of the world’s leading travel companies, was one of the three organizations to present their ideas at the June 2020 discussion.
Here, Rebecca Shepherd, MAEd, and learning architect describes how her team developed an ‘Instructor Academy’ to help scale learning at Expedia Group.
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Category: Ideas Author: Joseph Lam Date: July 8, 2020 9:43 pm
Staying in the Know at Any Distance: 3 actions you can take now to keep your team learning
It takes 66 days to form a habit. A simple calculation indicates that by now, after over 90 days of collaboration via Zoom, your team has cemented a new habit: working from home. Whether you’re planning to go back and activate your office life as before, or you’ve decided the post social distancing work environment will remain partly remote, you’ll have to factor in this new habit and either break or nurture it.
To everyone’s surprise, this socially-distanced way of working has been so effective that the tech world, led by the likes of Twitter, Google, and Facebook, is making it semi-permanent. It isn’t hard to see why. People remained as productive as before and nobody needed babysitting to ensure they performed when in their cozy PJs. It seems like these companies got the best deal ever: lower office costs, no time wasted commuting, tens of millions saved by not serving free office meals, and the same productivity. Right?
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Category: Ideas Author: Marko Gargenta Date: July 1, 2020 7:39 pm
How LinkedIn Reconfigured Their Bootcamp to Remote-First in 3 Days
with Sandi Friend and Rajon Tumbokon
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In the last few months, we all had to adapt to remote working and remote learning. Many companies struggled to adapt their classroom technical onboarding program for new engineers to remote learning. In 3 days, LinkedIn’s technical training team successfully adapted their classroom technical onboarding program to remote learning. During our May 2020 TechKnowCon Roundtable, LinkedIn’s technical training team shared how they did it and all that they have learned from this project.
Here is what Sandi Friend (Sr. Instructional Engineer) and Rajon Tumbokon (Global Manager of Technical Training) had to say about their experience of adapting their classroom technical onboarding program to remote learning.
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Category: Ideas Author: Joseph Lam Date: June 18, 2020 8:52 pm
How Lyft Achieves Classroom Quality in Remote Learning
with Jen Gilbert
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Every month, we gather leaders who work at the intersection of technical training and learning & development to discuss topics top of mind for the industry. During our May 2020 TechKnowCon Roundtable, Lyft was one of the three companies that presented.
Here is what Jen Gilbert (the Tech Learning Manager for Lyft) had to say about creating a classroom quality learning experience using video conferencing.
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Category: Ideas Author: Joseph Lam Date: June 16, 2020 12:01 am
How Visa Redesigned Instructor-Led Training for a Virtual World
with Sravani Tammiraju and Matt Peters
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Every month, we gather leaders who work at the intersection of technical training and learning & development to discuss topics top of mind for the industry. During our May 2020 TechKnowCon Roundtable, Visa was one of the three companies that presented.
Sravani Tammiraju (the Product Owner for Tech Onboard Solutions at Visa University) and Matt Peters (the Dean of Tech College at Visa University) explained how they redesigned their ILT for a virtual world.
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Category: Ideas Author: Joseph Lam Date: June 10, 2020 6:58 pm
How Dropbox is Democratizing and Scaling Coaching
with Justin McSharry
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Every month, we gather leaders who work at the intersection of technical training and learning & development to discuss topics top of mind for the industry. During our April 2020 TechKnowCon Roundtable, Dropbox was one of the two companies that presented.
Here is what Justin McSharry, Dropbox’s Global Head of Leadership Development, had to say about democratizing and scaling coaching.
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Category: Ideas Author: Joseph Lam Date: May 1, 2020 7:11 pm
How Microsoft Measures Learning Culture and Barriers
with Chris Shaffer
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Every month, we gather leaders who work at the intersection of technical training and learning & development to discuss topics top of mind for the industry. During our April 2020 TechKnowCon Roundtable, Microsoft was one of the two companies that presented.
Here is what Chris Shaffer, Microsoft’s Director of Engineering Learning & Insights, had to say about measuring learning culture and barriers.
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Category: Ideas Author: Joseph Lam Date: May 1, 2020 7:10 pm
How Twitter Enables Peer Instructors in a Remote-First Environment
with Katie Hawkes & Dennen Hansen
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Over the last few weeks, it has become clear that working from home has become a new reality for many of us. As we started talking to peers at various companies, we realized that everyone was working hard to adapt to this new work-from-home norm and remote-first learning and development. We decided to come together on a virtual Roundtable to compare notes.
Seventy-five leaders who work at the intersection of technical training and learning & development joined in, and Twitter was one of the three companies that presented.
Here is what Katie Hawkes (Senior Program Manager) and Dennen Hansen (Program Manager II) of Twitter University (Technical Learning & Development), had to say about effective peer-to-peer teaching and learning in a remote-first work environment.
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Category: Ideas Author: Joseph Lam Date: April 9, 2020 2:03 am
How Microsoft Promotes a Remote-First Culture
with Duke Nelson
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Over the last few weeks, it has become clear that working from home has become a new reality for many of us. As we started talking to peers at various companies, we realized that everyone was working hard to adapt to this new work-from-home norm and remote-first learning and development. We decided to come together on a virtual Roundtable to compare notes.
Seventy-five leaders who work at the intersection of technical training and learning & development joined in, and Microsoft was one of the three companies that presented.
Here is what Duke Nelson, Microsoft’s Senior Learning and Development Consultant of Global Learning and Development, had to say about the priorities and tactics around promoting a remote-first culture.
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Category: Ideas Author: Joseph Lam Date: April 9, 2020 2:02 am
How Shopify Solves Remote-First L&D Problems
with Andrew Barrett
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Over the last few weeks, it has become clear that working from home has become a new reality for many of us. As we started talking to peers at various companies, we realized that everyone was working hard to adapt to this new work-from-home norm and remote-first learning and development. We decided to come together on a virtual Roundtable to compare notes.
Seventy-five leaders who work at the intersection of technical training and learning & development joined in, and Shopify was one of the three companies that presented.
Here is what Andrew Barrett, Shopify’s Learning Platform Lead, had to say about the tools and processes that are needed to solve remote-first learning & development challenges.
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Category: Ideas Author: Joseph Lam Date: April 9, 2020 2:02 am
Jumpstart Your Training Program with Values-Based Learning
with Kelly Scanlan of Box
When it comes to technical training programs, getting people registered is only half the battle. Such programs need to not only engage and motivate learners, but they also need to provide tangible benefits to participants.
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Category: Ideas Author: Eaming Wu Date: December 5, 2019 6:57 pm
How to Grow Your People: Creating Cultures of Fulfillment with Peer Coaching and Real-Time Feedback
with Nathanael Chawkin
Studies show that 7 of 10 workers would trade their current jobs for a position that offered them more fulfillment and meaning—a third would even take a pay cut for that offer. Businesses have been taking notice of these findings from the science of motivation. According to a study by PwC, 79% of leaders know that employee fulfillment is paramount to business success. However, only 38% of these leaders are actually making business decisions according to this metric.
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Category: Ideas Author: Eaming Wu Date: November 11, 2019 7:59 pm
At the Frontier of Design Thinking for Technical Learning with Ray Kung
To stay competitive and achieve growth in today’s rapidly changing world, nearly every business these days needs to regularly integrate new technologies. B2B tech companies have been responding to these market demands, growing and scaling as they empower other businesses with new platforms and solutions.
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Category: Ideas Author: Eaming Wu Date: October 14, 2019 7:40 pm
Three Steps to Launching a Peer Mentorship Program
It’s no secret: growing organizations grow their people. The surprise is ‘how’ and ‘where’ you find and build the ‘personal growth culture’ for your organization.
Your organization’s ‘personal growth culture’ is in the people you currently employ. Enabling your people to learn one-on-one creates a culture of learning. This happens today, often informally. All you need to do is identify who, train them, and deploy them. Developing the person(s) who are doing the work scales the company.
Welcome to ‘re-seeing’ your organization’s greatest assets: the development of your people.
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Category: Ideas Author: Marko Gargenta Date: March 18, 2019 3:47 pm
Democratizing Coaching at Shopify
How Shopify built and scaled Coaches Corner, with René Moortgat
Shopify has one of the most democratized internal coaching programs. Unlike executive coaching at other companies, anyone at Shopify can sign up for coaching at any time. To enable this at scale, Shopify has a team of full-time coaches.
René Moortgat, Talent Development Operations Specialist at Shopify tells us how he supports the team of coaches in delivering coaching to employees.
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Category: Ideas Author: Marko Gargenta Date: December 18, 2018 4:23 pm
So You’ve Built a Peer-to-Peer Learning Program… Now What?
Katie Hawkes & Simeon Franklin of Twitter Have 3 Tips to Keep the Momentum Going
Let’s say you’ve created a successful peer-to-peer learning program at your company. Congratulations! If you’ve been up and running for a year or so, you’re likely learning that this is not a once-and-done accomplishment, but a process that will require a fair amount of care and nurturing over the years.
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Category: Ideas Author: mary_grace Date: December 12, 2018 9:23 am
3 Steps to Drive Adoption of a New Cultural Concept
How Haidee Thanda & Andrew Barrett Introduced PlusPlus and Peer-to-Peer Learning at Shopify
Introducing a new technology or piece of software across a large company is a difficult endeavor. Complexity increases when the company is experiencing hyper-growth and exploring new approaches to promote learning at scale This is exactly the challenge that Haidee Thanda, Learning Platform Architect, and Andrew Barrett, Learning Platform Lead, are tackling at Shopify.
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Category: Ideas Author: mary_grace Date: November 29, 2018 12:46 pm
Balancing Peer-to-Peer Learning with External Conferences at SSENSE
Over the years, companies have tried various strategies to boost employee performance in an overall effort to increase company growth and retention. From bigger paychecks to the prospects of corner offices and 401k plans, all of these can prove to be healthy motivations. But the most important thing in any career path is learning.
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Category: Ideas Author: mary_grace Date: November 21, 2018 12:21 pm
Inclusion & Economic Efficiency Go Hand-in-Hand for Jen Gilbert, Tech Learning Manager at Lyft
It’s no longer a question whether a diverse workplace is beneficial. Article after article has proven that a more diverse and inclusive team results in better products as well as a healthier work environment. But what if catering to a diverse audience is also economically efficient?
Jen Gilbert, Tech Learning Manager at Lyft, has spent the past year creating a strong onboarding program that sets their entire engineering team up for success.
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Category: Ideas Author: mary_grace Date: November 1, 2018 8:35 am
3 Ways to Foster a Learning Environment in Your Engineering Team
With Ron Lichty, Consultant and Author
Learning is an essential part of any career path, but especially that of a software engineer. As people responsible for continually building something new, they need to enjoy and be motivated by the challenge of always learning on their feet.
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Category: Ideas Author: mary_grace Date: October 24, 2018 8:35 am
How to spin up and scale up learning in your organization
Learning as a means to an end
First thing first: We are not implementing learning opportunities solely for the sake of learning. Instead, we’re focused on enabling our people to do their best work. This is our promise to them. To that end, learning is a means to removing impediments and helping people have the right skills at the right time so they can get the job done.
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Category: Ideas Author: Marko Gargenta Date: October 17, 2018 2:28 pm
Why is Creating a Learning Environment Essential for Technical Teams?
With Ron Lichty, Formerly of Apple and Berkeley Systems
Companies are shifting away from hiring for specific programming skills and know-how in lieu of finding candidates who are adaptable and quick to learn on their feet. But once you find these individuals, it’s crucial that you maintain that learning environment, for the sake of the software engineer as well as the company.
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Category: Ideas Author: mary_grace Date: October 10, 2018 12:35 pm
How to get experts to share their knowledge
People naturally want to share their skills with fellow coworkers. Often, they don’t think they know how. It’s the equivalent of the blank-page syndrome that causes the writer’s block.
It turns out that a bit of a system can help. Here’re a few ideas:
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Category: Ideas Author: Marko Gargenta Date: July 10, 2018 12:05 pm
Empowering the organization with Nazhat Salim of Credit Karma
Nazhat Salim, Talent Development Specialist at Credit Karma, shares how the Talent Development team created and continues to evolve Credit Karma University. A centralized learning program that includes classroom teaching, mentoring and coaching, the goal is to empower the organization and equip teams and individuals with the knowledge and tools they need — not just to do their job but to help others do theirs as well.
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Category: Ideas Author: Marko Gargenta Date: November 15, 2017 4:28 pm
Adult development theory and leadership effectiveness with Jessica Amortegui of Logitech
Jessica Amortegui, Senior Director of Learning & Development at Logitech, created the Leadership Leap program, which offers an innovative approach to leadership development. Drawing on Robert Kegan’s theory of adult development, the program invites leaders to explore the essence of their identity to achieve personal transformation.
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Category: Ideas Author: Marko Gargenta Date: November 3, 2017 3:34 pm
Taking a holistic approach at Twitter University with Simeon Franklin of Twitter
Simeon Franklin, Staff Technical Instructor at Twitter, is a Program Manager for Twitter University — the technical education program for engineers at the social network. That job involves teaching courses, mentoring instructors and occasionally writing tools for Engineering Effectiveness team.
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Category: Ideas Author: Marko Gargenta Date: October 11, 2017 3:37 pm
Applying positive psychology to business with Keith Gatto of UC Berkeley
Positive psychology, the scientific study of strengths that enable individuals and communities to thrive, is a field that you might associate more with personal development than with leadership and business. Here Keith Gatto, The Positive Psychology Fellow for the Fung Institute of Leadership at UC Berkeley, describes how he has applied his research in this area to a practical business context to create positive work cultures where innovation can flourish. His Positive Leadership and Innovation program is part of the university’s College of Engineering Executive Education offerings.
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Category: Ideas Author: Marko Gargenta Date: August 29, 2017 3:40 pm
The power of feedback and metrics at LinkedIn with Rajon Tumbokon of LinkedIn
Keeping an eye on customer pain points, and finding solutions that will address them, is the best way in which we can ensure that a product is relevant and useful for them. Here Rajon Tumbokon, who leads engineering on-boarding, training and development for engineers at LinkedIn, talks about what they learned from feedback and metrics that led to redesigning their new hire ‘bootcamp’. What follows is how they’ve now embraced a new, more hands-on, learning curriculum and a more iterative training design process.
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Category: Ideas Author: Marko Gargenta Date: July 11, 2017 3:42 pm
A new approach to leadership development with Victoria Sevilla of VMWare
In an ever-changing business environment, leadership development is more important than ever. Victoria Sevilla is responsible for Leadership Development on the Global People Development team at cloud infrastructure and business mobility software company VMware. She describes how her team is changing the way that leadership development is carried out, and the success of their award-winning Genius Maker program.
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Category: Ideas Author: Marko Gargenta Date: July 6, 2017 3:44 pm
How L&D can learn from marketing with Ceil Tilney
L&D professionals today face a number of challenges within a fast-evolving business landscape. They need to create consistent, up-to-date and high-quality content that engages learners, while demonstrating the value of their training and getting executive buy-in — all with shrinking budgets and small teams. Ceil Tilney, whose career spans learning roles from Microsoft to Bersin by Deloitte, believes the solution may lie in adopting the marketing model of putting the customer first.
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Category: Ideas Author: Marko Gargenta Date: June 7, 2017 3:47 pm
