Hi Marley Employees Share How They Use Their Learning & Development Stipend

At Hi Marley, we encourage continuous learning through investments in our employees’ professional development. All employees are entitled to a Learning & Development reimbursement for professional learning and development expenses.

“Hi Marley’s Learning and Development benefit provides flexibility to use it in whatever way best furthers individual growth and knowledge, whether through courses, books, conferences, or other opportunities,” said Stefanie Bishop, Chief People Officer at Hi Marley. “We intentionally keep the definition of ‘learning and development’ broad, because growth looks different for everyone. By empowering employees to own their learning journey, we reinforce our culture of curiosity and care, which in turn drives engagement and retention.”

We spoke with Hi Marley employees across departments to learn how they’ve used their stipend to build new skills, explore emerging fields, invest in their personal and professional growth and find creative ways to make the most of this benefit.

Courses, Books and Educational Materials

Hi Marley employees leverage this benefit in a variety of ways, including for courses covering a range of topics, like Cinema 4D, Advanced NodeJS, Algorithm and Data Structure, and the SHRM Learning System for SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP, and more.

“In the past, I’ve used the stipend for a Code Academy membership, but this year I tried something new and took an AI Automation Certification course,” said Tres Moore, Manager, Customer Support. “I had the opportunity to build an AI Agent for support, which gave me hands-on experience that’s helped me navigate ways to approach using AI features to automate certain customer interactions.”

Several Hi Marley employees have also used their stipend to purchase books and educational materials on programming, blockchain development, linear algebra, self-development, leadership skills, and other related topics.

Shawn Buckley, Onboarding Project Manager, used her benefit to complete a Project Management Professional course and also purchased an Audible membership to listen to an assortment of professional development audiobooks.

“I’ve maxed out my Learning & Development benefit every year,” said Shawn Buckley. “I’ve worked for other companies that offered a similar benefit, but I never used it as much as I do at Hi Marley.”

Workshops and Conferences

Other Hi Marley employees have used their Learning & Development benefits for admission to workshops or conferences.

For example, Allison Paraskevas, Manager, Product Marketing, uses her stipend to attend the Product Marketing Alliance’s Product Marketing Summit in Boston every year.

“I love attending the Product Marketing Summit,” said Allison. “It’s a great opportunity to network with other product marketing leaders, and I always learn something new about the latest trends and strategies that I can apply to my role.”

Certifications and Memberships

One of the most popular uses for the Learning & Development benefit is for certifications and memberships. Employees have obtained certifications for Scrum master, AWS Developer, CPA, Risk Management Associate, and more. And other employees have secured memberships for Executive Coaching, Professional Networks, LinkedIn Premium, and Babbel, among others.

Senior Account Manager Laurie Jones uses her stipend to keep her insurance broker’s license active. “I’m required to take continuing education classes to earn credits that must be reported to the Department of Insurance, renewing it every three years,” said Laurie. “It’s been very helpful knowing I’ll get reimbursed for the classes and the post-class exams I need to pass to earn the credits towards my renewal.”

When Kevin Roller transitioned from a Senior Integration Analyst to a Senior Solution Engineer Role earlier this year, he looked for recommendations to increase his insurance industry knowledge.

“I completed a Coursera course from Liberty Mutual called ‘Foundation of Insurance’ that covers insurance basics,” said Kevin Roller. “It was a quick win. It took less than two weeks to complete and helped strengthen my understanding of different lines of business when I’m speaking with prospects.”

Now, Kevin is working on obtaining his Associate in Insurance (AINS®), an industry-recognized certification that requires the completion of four courses.

“The certification will give me a deeper understanding of the industry and more credibility when going into pre-sales conversations,” said Kevin Roller. “It’s a little pricey, but Hi Marley’s Learning & Development benefit makes it possible.”

Ongoing Learning

As a growth-minded organization, Hi Marley’s is committed to the professional development of our talent.

As Stefanie Bishop explained, this benefit also connects to Hi Marley’s values. “It takes max courage to stretch into new skills, humility to acknowledge where we can grow, and Ubuntu to recognize that as each of us develops, our whole team becomes stronger.”

She continued, “We chose to include a learning and development stipend in our benefits because we radically care for our people. By investing directly in their learning and growth, we’re showing that we want them to thrive not only in their roles today but also in their long-term careers.”