At GitLab, team members have access to the Growth and Development benefit to access external resources to develop their career.
The Growth and Development benefit is managed in partnership with the Total Rewards and Learning and Development team.
| Question Type | Contact |
|---|---|
| Administration of the benefit, reimbursements, approvals, and questions realted to the application issue templates | Total Rewards team via the #people-connect Slack channel |
| Qualified programs, suggested courses, conferences, etc, and feedback from your learning | Learning and Development team via #learnignanddevelopment Slack channel |
| Other | #people-connect Slack channel for support in determining the best team |
These situations will be discussed on a case-by-case basis.
Examples of requests that may be approved:
Examples of requests that may be denied:
The Growth and Development policy is meant to further team members' learning and growth. Company-directed learning opportunities, such as mandatory conferences or training that are required to fulfill their job duties, are not within the scope of the Growth and Development policy and should be budgeted for outside the policy. Such expenses will not be deducted from the team member's annual Growth and Development limit and should be paid for by GitLab rather than reimbursed to the team member.
Step 1: Have a career development conversation with your manager to discuss the learning opportunity. It's important to discuss timing, team member capacity, and application timeline for both the program and benefit processing. This conversation should allow time for you to apply for program/benefit and your manager to ensure team budget capacity.
Step 2: Create a new Growth & Development issue using one of the issue templates below. Please create your issue within the notification timeframe set out below.
| G&D Issue Template | Notification Timeframe |
|---|---|
| Academic Study | 30 days before the commencement date |
| Other G&D Types (Under $300 USD) | 7 days before the commencement date |
| Other G&D Types (Over $300 USD) | 30 days before the commencement date |
| Coaching Right Now (GitLab's coaching vendor of choice) Learn more about Coaching Right Now below. | 30 days before the commencement date |
| Your 4th Trimester | For Your 4th Trimester applications, please notify Total Rewards that you would like to participate in the program by sending an email to growth-development@gitlab.com. |
Step 3: Request approval on the issue. Manager approval is needed for all applications and Executive Leader approval is needed for applications above $1000 USD.
Once the manager has approved, there is no further action to be taken by the manager. They can unassign themselves to the issue if they wish. Total Rewards will update the labels on the issue.
Step 4: Claim for reimbursement:
Once the appropriate approvals are provided on the Growth and Development issue, proceed with claiming reimbursement and close the issue. You do not have to wait for approval or further action from Total Rewards.
If the cost is $1,000 USD or less
If the cost is over $1,000 USD
growth-development@gitlab.com once you have signed up.growth-development@gitlab.com.growth-development@gitlab.com.growth-development@gitlab.comIf you voluntarily terminate employment with GitLab prior to completing twelve consecutive months of active employment, academic study or tuition expenses of $1,000 USD and over will need to be refunded to GitLab.
In some countries, the Growth and Development Benefit may be considered as taxable income and can be (partially) exempted from personal income taxes or subject to employer withholding taxes. Check the tax table for any tax implications in your country.
For example, in the United States 2021 tax year, if GitLab pays over $5,250 for educational benefits for you during the year, you must generally pay tax on the amount over $5,250. GitLab should include in your wages (Form W-2, box 1) the amount over $5,250 in income.
Please contact Payroll for any tax-related questions in your country.
Please note the reimbursement section above before proceeding. The training budget does not include the cost for traveling to and from an event.
Description: GitLab supports team members who wish to continue their education and growth within their professional career. The benefit will cover only the tuition and enrollment related fees. Additional fees related to parking, books, supplies, technology, or administrative charges are not covered as part of the program. Tuition will be validated by receipt showing proof of payment.
The course must be from a credentialed college or university and must be relevant to your career development goals and development. If the education provider does not allow for tuition/payment deferment and this would cause financial strain, you can request to receive 50% of the reimbursement up front and the other 50% upon successful completion of the course/program. The relevance of the classes taken for each semester will be subject to the approval of the manager. The grade must be equivalent to a “B”.
Eligibility for Reimbursement: A final grade report or transcript is required to receive reimbursement.
Approver (above $1,000 USD): Manager, E-Group Member
Description: Your 4th Trimester is a 90-day coaching program with Broad Perspective Consulting. The purpose of the program is to help parents (regardless of gender) be as prepared as possible to be a working parent through coaching and development. The cost of this program is $2,300 USD.
Eligibility for Reimbursement: Team members returning from Parental Leave. The provider will invoice GitLab directly.
Description: Professional coaching is available for managers and leaders job grade 8+ to support development in their professional area of interest. Team members job grade 4-7 can receive external coaching from Modern Health and internal coaching from our internal resources. Team members are expected to know their confidentiality obligations and are responsible for keeping coaching conversations SAFE.
Coaching Right Now connects team members with GitLab-vetted coaches - read their coaching bios here. Team members can book 4, 6, or 8hrs of coaching. Availability is first come, first served. Pairing with a coach via Coaching Right Now saves time and energy looking for a coach that is aligned to GitLab values and way of working.
Hear what GitLab team members are saying about Coaching Right Now:
My coach was thoughtful and insightful. He took the time to learn about me, my wants and desires. He was able to provide actionable feedback and made the last 4 months of GitLab much better.I can tangibly see how this (coaching) investment has made me at least 20% more effective in my role, delighted in my role, and a more human leader.This was a great (coaching) program and I'm really happy I got to be a part of it. I have two of my managers who have signed up to work with coaches now as well.Apply for a coach via Coaching Right Now by opening an issue using the coaching template.
The specifics of your coaching sessions will not be communicated to GitLab. While not required, we encourage you to share your experience, learnings, reflections, and discoveries with your manager for further support.
Eligibility for Reimbursement: Managers or Individual Contributors job grade 8+. Coaching Right Now will invoice GitLab directly.
Coaching Right Now is our preferred and vetted coaching partner. If for some reason the coaches offered via Coaching Right Now do not fit your needs, please open an issue using the Other G&D Types (Under $300 USD) template. After approvals, team members will provide a paid invoice to GitLab as proof for reimbursement.
Approver (above $1,000 USD): Manager, E-Group Member
Description: As GitLab expands globally, we want to support our team members where English may not be their first language. Managers are encouraged to recommend this benefit to team members whose engagement as a part of GitLab and/or performance may be improved by further developing their English language skills.
Examples of English Language Courses:
Eligibility for Reimbursement: Courses offered in-person or online by a credential college or university or an English language school are eligible for reimbursement. Invoice/receipt when submitting through Navan Expense.
Approver (above $1,000 USD): Course amount aren't likely to exceed $1,000 USD. If this does exceed $1,000 USD, the academic study criteria would apply.
Description: Any certifications/licenses that you and your manager think will be relevant to your development.
Eligibility for Reimbursement: Certifications and licenses related to your career development goals. For reimbursements above $1,000 USD, a final grade report or satisfactory certificate of completion will be required to receive reimbursement.
Approver (above $1,000 USD): Manager, E-Group Member
Description: Any professional development membership or dues that will be relevant to your growth and development.
Eligibility for Reimbursement: Professional membership to an accredited organization that aligns with your role. Professional dues needed in order to continue members in an accredited organization. An invoice for the dues/membership is required.
Approver (above $1,000 USD): Manager, E-Group Member
Description: Work-related conferences including registration, lodging, and meals. The costs for travelling to and from an event should be expensed separately from the training budget following the existing travel expense policy, with your manager approval. We encourage people to be speakers in conferences. More information for people interested in speaking can be found on our Corporate Communications page. We suggest to the attendees bring and share a post or document about the news and interesting items that can bring value to our environment.
Eligibility for Reimbursement: Before scheduling any travel or time off to attend a conference, please discuss your request with your manager. The manager will approve the request if the conference is work-related and the timing doesn't interfere with GitLab deliverables. After manager approval, the team member needs to submit a Growth & Development form for expenses either over $1,000 or under $1,000. Once all parties sign the document, they can schedule travel. Please review current GitLab travel policy for the most up-to-date information about booking and planning conference travel and determine if travel is business essential during Covid-19. Reimbursement for the workshop or conference fee, and for related expenses will be processed once proof of attendance is provided. Attach a copy of the Growth & Development Benefit Form to your expenses.
Approver (above $1,000 USD): Manager, E-Group Member
Description: GitLab supports team members who wish to continue their growth within their professional career. The course must be related to your career development goal, Individual Growth Plan (IGP), and/or serves the mission of GitLab as a company.
Eligibility for Reimbursement: A final grade report or satisfactory certificate of completion are required to receive reimbursements over $1,000 USD.
Approver (above $1,000 USD): Manager, E-Group Member
Description:The company will pay for courses related to learning how to code (for example Learning Rails on Codecademy), and you may also allocate work time to take courses that interest you. If you are new to development, we encourage you to learn Git through GitLab, and feel free to ask any questions in the #git-help Slack channel.
Eligibility for Reimbursement: The course must be related code based learning. A final grade report or satisfactory certificate of completion are required to receive reimbursements over $1,000 USD.
Approver (above $1,000 USD): Manager, E-Group Member
Before using your Growth & Development Benefit for a LinkedIn Learning license, check in the #learninganddevelopment Slack channel if there are any L&D allocated licenses available.
Description: The Learning & Development team have an allocation of LinkedIn Learning licenses that can be assigned to team members, but their may be periods of time when the license limit is reached, which may cause long wait times for one to become available for new team members. In these instances we encourage team members to utilise their Growth & Development benefit to purchase their own license, which will help facilitate participation in L&D initiatives.
Eligibility for Reimbursement: When there are no company LinkedIn Learning licenses available. Invoice/receipt required when submitting through Navan Expense.
Approver (above $1,000 USD): N/A as an annual license cost does not exceed $1,000 USD.
The Learning and Development team delivers the Crucial Conversations training internally to team members. The training is a hybrid format, including self-paced learning and live learning practice sessions. Read more program details in the Learning and Development handbook.
Crucial Conversations charges per-learner to deliver this content. Each license costs $273 per license. The following section outlines how the team member G&D benefit can be used to participate in this training.
The L&D and Total Rewards teams will collaborate to purchase the course license on your behalf and the cost will count towwards your Growth and Development budget. Please plan to complete the Crucial Conversations self-paced training and attend at least 4 live training sessions within 3 months of starting the training.
In some instances, mentorship resources provided by GitLab might not fit team member's needs. For example, a team member might be unable to find a mentor at GitLab with the specific experience, identity, or role they are looking for. In these cases, the Growth and Development benefit can be used to cover the cost of meeting with a paid, external mentor.
Examples of where to connect with mentors:
The following programs have been contributed by leaders across the organization. These programs may be approved under the Growth and Development policy. If you know of a specific course or program that you or a team member has benefited from, please open an MR and add to this page.
| Department | Program | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Any | Crucial Conversations | Crucial Conversations skills represent the standard in effective communication and the marker of high-performance individuals and organizations everywhere. |
| Any | MIT Cultural Awareness for Global Business | help professionals improve their intercultural and global leadership skills so that they can succeed in today’s multicultural business environments. |
| Any | MIT Leadership and Innovation | MIT Professional Education has created the online Leadership & Innovation program, which merges the development of leadership skills with the vision needed to address innovation processes in organizations. |
| Any | MIT Professional Certification Program in Digital Transformation | designed reskilling and upskilling solutions, to help organizations build a culture of continuous education providing their employees with the knowledge and skills needed for the 4th Industrial Revolution. |
| Any | Codecademy | Review their course catalog for all programs offered |
| Any | O'Reilly Technical Training | O’Reilly learning provides individuals, teams, and businesses with expert-created and curated information covering all the areas that will shape our future—including artificial intelligence, operations, data, UX design, finance, leadership, and more. Currently, O'Reilly licenses are available for Customer Success Team Members (Professional Services, Solutions Architects, and Customer Success Managers.) Access will be given automatically to these team members through a role-based entitlement. Team members in other groups can leverage the G&D benefit to purchase a subscription at our discounted rate by contacting our sales rep, Jason Baca (jbaca@oreilly.com). |
| Any | Udemy | Online courses in a variety of content areas |
| Any | Coursera | Online courses in a variety of content areas |
| Any | LinkedIn Learning Certification Prep and Continuing Education | LinkedIn Learning offers on-demand courses to help individuals prepare for professional certification exams and earn continuing education units (CEU's) |
| Any | Toastmasters Membership | For those looking to practice public speaking, improve communication and build leadership skills, joining a local Toastmasters group is a great opportunity to develop these skills in a supportive environment away from work. Recommended for those interested in Becoming a Speaker |
| Sales/Technical Sales/Marketing | MIT Cloud and DevOps Online Program | MIT Professional Education is proud to announce this new, practical program that will explain the vast technological transformation that has occurred in recent years. Content and activities are designed to allow participants to become part of this transformation through technologies such as DevOps and Cloud Computing. |
| Engineering Managers/Directors | 7CTOs | Executive coaching for CTOs |
| Engineering Managers/Directors | PlatoHQ | Leadership mentorship for engineering teams |
| Finance/Accounting | Licenses and CPE Credits | Program Examples: Certified public accountant, Certified financial analyst, Certified management accountant, Enrolled agent, Certified internal auditor, Certified fraud examiner, Chartered global management accountant, Certified Payroll Professional, Fundamental Payroll Certification |
| Development and Product | Certified Agile Leadership | Scrum Alliance certified agilists who teach Certified Agile Leadership demonstrate years of real-world experience and success coaching agile teams and supporting agile transformations. |
| Security | Defcon Conference | Our security department has a history of meeting yearly at this conference. Attendence is optional. Lodging, food, and ticket costs will be covered under the growth & development benefit. Airfare may be covered by our travel budget - check with your manager. |
| Security | Defcon Trainings | Two-day courses that are held immediately following the normal Defcon conference. |
| Security | Black Hat Trainings | Two to four-day courses held on a schedule not connected to the yearly conference. |
| Security | SANS Trainings | Remote and in-person trainings and certifications. |
| Security | Offensive Security | Rigorous and specialized infosec training. |
| Any | The Power of Habit | 3-5 hours of self-paced learning. Read a review from GitLab team member here |
Reimbursements for over $1,000 USD will be processed by the following:
GrowthDevelopment::Logged.growth-development@gitlab.com a copy of the transcript/proof of completion/invoice.Payroll Notified.barbara@your4thtrimester.com outlining the expected leave date, expected return to work date and date of birthing event. Barbara will conduct the intake with the team member and communicate directly for any coaching throughout the program.Billing: Your 4th Trimester will bill GitLab for this benefit quarterly with 50% at intake and 50% at the completion of the coaching program per participant. If there are more than 5 participants in a quarter, there will be a discount on the bill. If there are any tax implications for the GitLab team member, Total Rewards will work with payroll to ensure this is reported compliantly.
Process for Total Rewards Analysts for recouping Growth & Development reimbursements of over $1000 USD: