Our Employee Talent Strategy

TRAINING AND EDUCATION ASSISTANCE

Textron’s employee training strategy uses a learner-centric approach to determine skills gaps and address them with appropriate development programs. Alongside on-the-job training, a wide variety of skills-based training is also offered to our employees through Textron University. This internal corporate function provides facilitated face-to-face professional and leadership development programs, web-based general and specialized functional and technical courses and an online portal to access advanced skills technical training, manage recertification of existing qualifications and other career planning tools and resources.

Our larger facilities sponsor career development events where employees can speak to representatives to broaden their knowledge of other functions, raise awareness of developmental tools and resources and learn about open job positions. Each business unit provides tailored functional training to match the needs of its business to its workforce such as leadership training programs, educational training for human resources professionals, and career and team development planning.

In addition, Textron’s Education Assistance Program reimburses employees for expenses from approved degree or certification programs from institutions accredited by the U.S. Department of Education. Expenses eligible for reimbursement (up to an annual limit) include costs for tuition, books, registration fees, laboratory, College Equivalency Programs and administrative fees. Textron also offers specialized programs, such as the CPA Incentive Package which reimburses employees for study materials, exam and certification fees and offers a financial incentive for passing the CPA exam.

TALENT REVIEWS

The current and future talent needs of each of our businesses are assessed annually through a formal talent review process led by our CEO to enable us to establish leadership succession plans and provide our employees with potential new career opportunities. In addition, leaders from functional areas within each business belong to enterprise-wide councils which conduct annual talent reviews. These processes enable us to fill talent needs by matching employees who are ready to assume new responsibilities and leadership roles with opportunities that best fit their career path in other businesses within the enterprise.

DEVELOPING OUR TALENT PIPELINE

While a focus of Textron’s talent strategy is promoting from within, another important element is developing an early-career talent pipeline for the future.

Working closely with colleges and workforce development programs, we identify talent through internships, apprenticeships and other career development initiatives. Upon successful completion, participants may be offered entry-level positions within the Textron family of companies.

SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

As a testament to its dedication to early career development, Textron hosted an in-person summer internship program for nearly 700 interns, taking every precaution to maintain the health and safety of the college students who participated. We shortened the program from 10 to 6 weeks, keeping interns local to their home states when possible and reassigning interns to different locations to limit travel. Recruiters and managers worked diligently to change intern plans quickly and ensure their workload could be completed in a shorter period without compromising the depth of the project.

Though the timetable was shortened, the interns still enjoyed a meaningful experience as evidenced by an intern conversion rate to full-time positions or second internships greater than 65% for 2020—higher than that for 2019.

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

Community- and educational-based workforce development programs are additional sources of talent. A few examples include:

• Textron Systems ELEVATE Program: Textron Marine & Land Systems in Louisiana works with local school districts to provide vocational training, internships, co-ops, materials and job placement opportunities within the skilled trades to graduating high school students.

ELEVATE increases awareness of careers in the trade industry while helping students advance their skill sets.

• Manufacturing Day in a Box: Textron Aviation’s K-12 engagement efforts focus on developing the workforce of the future by exposing youth, educators and parents to opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics (STEAM).

Due to COVID, Aviation had to create an alternative to the large on-campus National Manufacturing Day event held annually. In its place, colleagues developed 1,200 Manufacturing Day in a Box kits and distributed them to employees at all locations. Within the kit, employee families found three STEAM activities, career path information, a list of K-12 opportunities at Textron Aviation and a note from Textron Aviation CEO Ron Draper.

• Manufacturing Academy: Bell supported the Canyon Independent School District in Canyon, Texas in the development of a manfacturing academy, and worked with the district to develop an appropriate curriculum. This skilled-based learning program is intended to provide students with the opportunity to learn the manufacturing process, particularly welding and machining. Participants who complete the three-year program can earn certifications, such as the OSHA general industry safety certification and the American Welding Society DI welding certification. The academy prepares students for extended training at Amarillo College and for the opportunity to have a career at Bell.
• Reaching Potential through Manufacturing (RPM): A Partnership with the Community A joint initiative of Textron Specialized Vehicles (TSV) and the Richmond County School System (Georgia), RPM is a unique cooperative learning initiative to help high school students who are at risk of dropping out to earn their diplomas. Through a combination of job training, mentoring and classroom instruction, the students continue their education while gaining valuable employment experience in an environment that is half-schoolhouse, half-manufacturing plant. The students’ instructional day includes a paid four-hour shift on a manufacturing floor, where they produce components and subassemblies for E-Z-GO golf cars and Cushman utility vehicles. Since its inception, there have been more than 250 RPM graduates. Of those graduates, more than half joined TSV as full-time employees with others finding paid employment at other companies or continuing their education.

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

At Textron, we believe feedback is a gift. To understand our colleagues’ perspectives about our business and work culture as well as their connection and engagement with the company, we conducted an enterprise engagement survey.

Approximately 21,000 employees responded, providing over 46,000 comments. Overall, the survey results showed that employees find their work meaningful, have strong relationships with their managers and feel encouraged to innovate.

We are working on turning feedback into meaningful actions. Leadership teams and managers at all levels of the organization in Textron’s businesses are implementing action plans and communicating results as milestones are reached.

CHAIRMAN’S AWARD FOR INNOVATION

Textron’s businesses, functions and facilities have various employee recognition and incentive programs to recognize excellence. The highest level of employee recognition is the annual Textron Chairman’s Award for Innovation which rewards employees who have made significant contributions to innovation, growth, productivity or customer service. In addition to other rewards, each winner is recognized on the Chairman’s Award Wall of Fame at Textron’s World Headquarters.