Braze Learning & Development

In 2021, Braze launched a learning and development program to transform how its people grow around the world. 

It’s called Insights Discovery, a globally inclusive psychometric assessment and training program that encompasses various stages of professional growth, from new hire orientation to leadership development. 

Senior Manager of Talent Development Elisa Chohan helped bring this program to life, and according to her, the initiative reflects the company’s overarching commitment to helping its people succeed, whether that involves mastering a skill or taking the next exciting career step.

“Mobility and career development are consistent priorities at Braze,” she said.

Insights Discovery is one of Braze’s many learning and development opportunities, which are designed to give employees the resources and support needed to pursue their career goals. From a global mentorship program to an annual learning stipend, employees have plenty of opportunities to build out their skill sets and gain insight from others in the industry. 

For Chohan, these opportunities are critical to ensuring everyone at Braze has the chance to excel, and to make that happen, she and her peers on the talent development team take time to understand employees’ needs — and act on them. 

“If we don’t understand their learning needs, we cannot create impactful and dynamic programming,” she said.

Below, Chohan shares more about the role she has played in crafting Braze’s learning and development opportunities and how these initiatives enable everyone to pursue their professional dreams.  

What is your role at Braze, and how long have you worked at the company?

I have been with Braze for nearly four years. My role has evolved over the years, starting with a year-long adventure in sales enablement, working on the internal sales certification strategy and implementation. Since then, I have focused on end-to-end training development with the support of a talented team of learning experience designers and seasoned facilitators. Currently, my main focus is curriculum design and delivery of our largest global programs, like our foundational Braze leadership learning experience, fit for purpose for our newly promoted, first-time leaders. 

My team is also working to complement the early leader program with a more advanced leadership program for our tenured leaders. I also manage our most impactful employee development programs like mentorship, Insights Discovery and LinkedIn Learning. Most recently, my team has been transforming from a centralized global deployment structure to a center of excellence and regionalized deployment structure. I have been leading the strategy for that effort. And of course, as I am a trainer at heart, I still facilitate training weekly.

Which internal L&D programs do employees use the most?

In 2021, Braze made the strategic investment to adopt a globally inclusive psychometric assessment and training program called Insights Discovery. Since then, our team has facilitated hundreds of workshops and continuously maintains about 60 percent of current employees engaging in at least one of the Insights programs: 101 For New Hires, Team Workshops or Insights Discovery for Leaders. 

In 2023, the talent development team invested in building a thoughtful and effective global mentorship program called Forging Mentorship. We facilitate at least two cohorts a year with hundreds of participants each time.

How does Braze fund external courses or certifications?

In addition to supporting a robust internal learning and development team, Braze offers a generous annual individual learning stipend for each employee to invest in their personalized career development. The stipend allows employees to source local technical and non-technical learning opportunities like higher education courses, career certifications or external classes that fit their learning goals. We have seen employees use the stipend to participate in programs like the Harvard Leadership Program, coding camps and the Project Management Institute’s Project Management Professional certification.

“We have seen employees use the stipend to participate in programs like the Harvard Leadership Program, coding camps and the Project Management Institute’s Project Management Professional certification.”

What opportunities do Braze employees have to advance internally after upskilling?

Mobility and career development are consistent priorities at Braze. The people team has made investments across the function areas to fortify our career development programming. Two such programs are our internal mobility team in talent acquisition as well as a grassroots cross-functional program called EDGE, or Employee Development Through Growth Experiences. The People EDGE program is a project- and collaboration-based program that runs twice a year and recruits people team members interested in upskilling their talent by participating in specific projects. The talent development team has helped support EDGE participants with upskilling using our LinkedIn Learning platform to curate skill-based learning paths that complement the on-the-job training they receive from their EDGE coach. As a result of the program, several Braze people teams have pivoted functions, from talent acquisition to people relations or operations to project management.

How does your team leverage employee feedback to shape new L&D offerings?

Our talent development team takes our feedback loop very seriously. We see our success built upon our ability to communicate with our customers, Braze employees, effectively. If we don’t understand their learning needs, we cannot create impactful and dynamic programming. The strength of our loop is based on our two competency models. The first model is designed specifically for our Braze leaders, both those who manage teams and function leaders. The Braze Leadership Model defines the competencies leaders must demonstrate or develop to be successful as a leader at Braze. The second model, the Braze Core Competency Model, defines the six core competencies all Braze employees should demonstrate or work to develop. The models continuously evolve as needs and skills change across the business and serve as the catalyst for our annual training needs assessment. As such, the models serve as our team’s blueprint for creating any new global programs, regional courses and learning experiences. In addition to the models and needs assessment, our team works in tandem with our people business partners to provide collaborative support in identifying and responding to client group training needs.