At Twilio, empowering our people is how we create better products and experiences for our customers. We believe that having a variety of experiences and perspectives within the business is a key differentiator and a driver of performance and innovation.
Living the Twilio Magic
Want to know how Twilio builds positive change across the globe? By making sure Twilions are able to feel supported, respected, and empowered to do their best work. Our culture helps Twilions to inspire others to do the same.
Twilio Magic
At Twilio, the heartbeat of our organization is the Twilio Magic. The Twilio Magic represents the set of values that embody how we are expected to show up - for ourselves, Twilions and our customers. When you first join Twilio, you immediately sense the power of The Magic - not just in the words on a page, but in the way our team lives and breathes these values to continuously push boundaries and excel.
The Magic consists of four foundational pillars: We are Builders, We are Owners, We are Curious, and We are Positrons. As we look ahead, new horizons and obstacles will undoubtedly appear, but our values will remain a guiding force - shaping how we approach our work, fostering a culture of shared responsibility in driving innovation, and solving challenges together as a team.
New hire experiences
New Twilions are immediately immersed in the Twilio Magic through our New Hire Journey Program. New Twilions are matched with experienced team members who act as mentors to guide them through a seamless onboarding process. This 90-day program is designed to provide a structured introduction to Twilio’s values, culture, history, technology, and products. New hires also have the opportunity to engage with Twilio.org, our social impact arm, and can participate in a volunteer event with Twilio.org within their first 100 days.
The track jacket program
Our iconic red track jacket is highly sought-after by Twilions, and there is only one way to earn one: by building an app using the Twilio platform. Our track jacket workshop allows Twilions to wear our customers’ shoes and share a common experience with them by creating an app using Twilio’s platform and products. Upon presenting their newly developed apps to their teams, Twilions earn their coveted red track jacket.
Twilioversaries
Anniversary milestones are cherished at Twilio, and we take great pleasure in honoring them. Twilions receive heartfelt virtual cards, cheers, and special gifts on their 1st, 5th, and 10th anniversaries, all inspired by significant symbols within the history of Twilio. These symbols include our first year hoodie, the fifth year bronze shoes to reflect wearing our customers’ shoes, and the tenth anniversary silver pizza box which pays tribute to the final checklist used to launch Twilio written on the back of a pizza box.
Thriving in a remote-first environment
Open Work is our approach to enabling our remote-first business and Twilions to thrive globally. Open Work encompasses our programs, policies, and resources that ensure every Twilion can make an impact, find purposeful connections, and embrace flexibility within a framework. It’s not just about being a remote-first company; it’s how we contribute to the business, connect with each other, and make a bigger impact on the world.
How we activate Open Work
Impact, connection, and flexibility are central to our approach. We provide the tools, resources, and opportunities for all Twilions to be productive, make an impact and pursue thriving careers. We sustain healthy teams and communities through purposeful connection and prioritize coming together in meaningful ways. We also recognize there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, so we adopt flexible ways of working within frameworks that ensure alignment and trust across our global teams.
In 2024, we experimented with various new programs and ended the year with 94% of Twilions reporting effective remote collaboration with their teams. Remote work also continues to be the top reason candidates apply for roles at Twilio, validating the impact of supporting Twilions in our remote-first environment.
Initiatives in 2024 included:
Facilitating intentional team connection by enabling Twilions to meet with their team in person at least once and participate in two virtual team building experiences.
Piloting a global co-working space program to enable Twilions to collaborate in person across 38 cities.
Implementing quarterly team pulse surveys, with over 78% of teams utilizing insights for improvements.
Reinforcing our remote collaboration norms including Focus Fridays—a day dedicated to deep focus on meaningful work with minimal meetings— with 92% of Twilions reporting their team prioritizes asynchronous work.
How we see the future of Open Work
As our CEO Khozema Shipchandler shared on LinkedIn, we’re committed to being a remote-first company and we are not implementing a return to office. We're focused on the impact of what we build rather than where we build it. We see Open Work as a continual evolution. As the world of work continues to transform, we will listen, remain curious, and iterate fearlessly to deliver more value for our customers and bring together the best talent from around the world.
Global Impact Week: Providing new avenues for impact and engagement
Following a three-year pause and growing interest in more in-person volunteer and team connection opportunities, we reintroduced Global Impact Week in 2024 to strengthen meaningful social impact engagement among Twilions.
Global Impact Week provides Twilions with the opportunity to amplify collective impact and create intentional connections, regardless of their locations. Throughout the week, over 1,000 Twilions volunteered more than 2,500 hours across 28 cities and virtually. Global Impact Week is a celebration of our collective commitment to making a difference. It brings Twilions together to connect with one another and with their communities, enhancing our year-round social impact efforts. These efforts include virtual and in-person volunteer opportunities, Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and team centered volunteering, giving campaigns, and more. As we heard from one Twilion, “It was great to meet with people from multiple parts of the company outside my team and get to know them better… Global Impact Week help[ed] with both the charitable side of our culture and enable[d] connectivity to build better relationships among Twilions."
2024 employee impact results
of Twilions volunteered or donated (+23 percentage points YOY)14
hours volunteered by employees (+80% YOY)
in donations driven by employees15
Building a high-performing and inclusive experience for all Twilions
Our Twilio Together philosophy is guided by our commitment to make Twilio a globally inclusive environment where all employees are actively valued for their contributions, treated respectfully, and given the opportunity to do their best work.
We believe that being inclusive amplifies Twilio’s global business success, and we strive to create a work environment where all Twilions have equal access to opportunities. By welcoming, encouraging, and respecting each person’s unique experiences, viewpoints, backgrounds, and abilities, Twilions will continue to create and deliver exceptional products for our customers. This approach also makes Twilio a preferred place to grow professionally.
Building communities
We are committed to celebrating togetherness through our employee led Twilio Communities - Regional Hubs, Social Channels, and Employee Resource Groups. These communities are open to all and provide an opportunity to create meaningful connections that are welcoming and cultivate respect. Through celebration, meaningful engagement, and peer support, we foster an experience where everyone can thrive across our remote workforce.
Employee Resource Groups
Our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) cultivate inclusive and engaged communities amongst Twilions through engagements that center around community, culture, and connection.
More than 40% of Twilions are actively engaged in at least one ERG through an online platform that promotes cultural celebrations and social connections. Throughout 2024, our ERGs hosted over 100 community and connection events across five continents. These events included book clubs, art walks, mindfulness sessions, and regional dinners. Our ERGs also focused on giving back by partnering with Twilio.org on volunteer events. From these events, Twilions contributed over 200 hours of volunteer service and supported 21 nonprofit organizations.
“For my part the most rewarding aspect of leading the Family Nest ERG has been observing how the ERG itself rises to meet the needs of its members. Whether someone is a brand new parent who needs assistance navigating the vagaries of parental bonding leave or requesting recommendations on the best product or service for their needs, or someone is a caregiver for a parent or other adult family member, seeing the more than 700 Twilions providing community and support to each other has been enormously inspirational.”
Michael Carpenter, Director, Product Management, Global Lead for Family Nest
Hubs Program
Twilio’s Hubs Program connects Twilions in cities where we have large employee populations (>75 Twilions) through social and volunteer events. There are currently 27 global hub locations in 14 countries across five continents.
In 2024, each of our Hubs hosted at least two gatherings and two volunteer events. This led to over 119 social events, 19 Hub-led volunteer events outside of Global Impact Week, 1,100 Twilions participating in Hub-led volunteer events, and 4,000 attendees at Hub events throughout the year.
2024 workforce representation data
Each year, we collect representational workforce data16 based on voluntary self-identification.
Building for the future
We believe that by building a globally inclusive experience, all Twilions have the opportunities, systems, and resources to do their best work and build the best products and solutions for our global customers.
Our Twilio communities play a crucial role in bringing our Twilio Together philosophy to life, and strengthen our commitment to an inclusive experience where Twilions have equal access to opportunities.
As we look ahead, we will continue to prioritize global collaboration, meaningful connections, and engagement across all Twilio communities through partnerships, events, sharing best practices, resources, and tools.
Prioritizing employee wellbeing and growth
We make comprehensive healthcare and leave programs available to all Twilions and their families globally. Twilions have access to paid medical, maternity, paternity, adoption, and family medical care leave plus an inclusive family-forming benefit that supports Twilions in choosing their route to parenthood (via fertility, surrogacy, and/or adoption).
We also provide mental health support to all Twilions with access to free mental health provider visits through our robust program with Lyra as well as regular mental health workshops that raise awareness on risk factors and provide prevention strategies like stress management. Training is available for our managers and HR staff about how to recognize and respond to an employee struggling with their mental health.
Taking time away from work is also critical for good mental health; eligible Twilions receive competitive paid time off annually, paid holidays, company breaks, flexible and remote-first work, and other opportunities for time away to rest. To help employees settle in when returning from leaves of absence, we provide a four-week flexible return to work program.
Twilio provides country-specific retirement savings opportunities with company matching contributions in some cases. In an effort to support employees’ financial wellbeing, we invite experts to provide regular education on savings and investing, among other financial topics.
Our approach to employee health and safety
Twilio’s Corporate Security team is responsible for proactively identifying, mitigating, and managing safety and security risks for Twilions. Our team leverages a variety of different resources to help create a safe and secure work environment. By fostering a culture of safety and security, we empower Twilions to work confidently and effectively.
Resources that spark learning and professional development
In 2024, we offered Twilions access to learning resources and content - including curated external resources and internally developed, business-specific training on topics such as leadership development, career development, living the Twilio Magic, and more.
To support our people managers, we launched our new Leadership Expectation Framework, delivered manager-focused workshops, offered a quickstart program for new managers, and introduced new manager resources in our management portal.
14 Twilion participation encompasses volunteering, giving, and/or social impact education.
15 Includes employee donations, Twilio’s matching donations, and volunteer and giving rewards from Twilio.
16 In the US, we follow US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidelines in how we track employee data. In all other countries where we operate, we follow region-specific data privacy guidelines in how we track employee data. All employee data is pulled from Twilio’s Workday system as of December 31, 2024. All employee demographic data is self-reported by Twilions. This data includes regular and fixed-term employees only. This data includes employees that are fully integrated with Twilio and will exclude non-integrated employees until the year that they are integrated. “Other” denotes additional employee-defined categories. “Undeclared” denotes employees who selected “Do not wish to declare” as their self-ID selection. This data excludes employees who did not make any self-ID selections. Director+ includes employees who are Director-level and above. This group does not include our Board of Directors. Demographic data is based on the most recent self-identification on the day the record was accessed; therefore 2024 totals are based on employee self-identification as of December 31, 2024.