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As Facebook Austin prepares for an eventual return to the office and the end of the coronavirus pandemic, the company’s Austin operations director sees “huge opportunities” for Facebook to continue growing in central Texas.
Despite the pandemic, Facebook Austin director Katherine Shappley said the company’s Austin team is busier than ever, a trend that will only continue to grow and invest here.
Facebook’s presence in central Texas has grown rapidly since opening an office in Austin in 2010 with just seven employees, a number that rose to over 125 employees by the end of its first year.
The quick hiring has continued ever since. Just six months before the pandemic broke out, Facebook was employing more than 1,200 people here and was on course for hire when it opened a second location in Austin, brand new 256,000 square feet of downtown office space in a building called Third & Shoal with capacity for up to 1,500 employees. With more than 2,000 employees in more than 100 teams, Austin has become Facebook’s fourth largest hub.
Facebook continues to grow in Austin; now surpasses 1,200 employees in central Texas
Shappley, head of Facebook’s North American Global Business Group, has been running the Austin operations since 2016, initially attracted by his work with small and medium-sized businesses. The Facebook Austin office has become something of a microcosm of the entire company, working on everything from small business technology to emergency management tools.
“I’d say we’re the only location, maybe one of several, outside of our headquarters (in Menlo Park, California) that has such organizational diversity and gives us a truly unique dynamic,” Shappley said.
It’s a dynamic that she said has helped the Austin office overcome challenges ranging from moving to remote working during the pandemic to the company’s continued growth in the city.
“It’s been an incredibly exciting time for us over the past 10 years. If I look to the next 10 years, I would say that the future is incredibly bright for us and Austin,” said Shappley. “We’ve had success for the past 10 years thanks to hard working people calling Austin home, and given our presence today, we’re really proud to call Austin home for Facebook. We’ve done a lot of hard work.” but I would say we are incredibly optimistic and hopeful about the future of what Facebook Austin is doing and will be doing in Austin. ”
Shappley spoke to the American statesman about the pandemic, the future of Facebook in Austin, and the importance of connecting with the community in central Texas. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Statesman: What was it like navigating the pandemic and leading a remote team?
Guiding through the pandemic has been a uniquely challenging and uniquely inspiring because people are handling this idea of work-life integration in a whole new way that we have never done before. I have two little boys, one of whom could jump through the door at any moment, and everyone you’ve come in contact with carefully takes care of that balance.
As a leader, I talk a lot about the importance of being human first, because nowadays one of the hardest, but probably most important things to stand up for one another can be. And it’s critical if we want to grow as leaders.
Before I start my meetings, I always consciously asked my colleagues how are you today? And then I listen. I really, really, really listen. Because you ask, “How are you?” and not accepting the answer, “I’m fine, I’m fine” can be daunting in getting people to tell you the truth about how they are doing. But if you don’t, if you don’t make that connection, we won’t have the opportunity to really support each other, to connect and grow together. We have to look for them. And then, most importantly, listen and learn. I think my leaders and I talk a lot about the importance of creating space and time for emotional empathy, to recognize and support people as they deal with things big and small around them. And I’ve seen firsthand the importance of just taking this opportunity to connect, and building empathy is incredibly important during these times.
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What is your vision for Facebook Austin when we’re out of the pandemic?
We are always growth minded and we still believe that there is an immense opportunity for Facebook Austin to continue to grow in this city and be a big part of the community and be connected to the community.
I think everyone realizes that COVID has had a deep and profound impact on all of us. And it gives everyone, especially executives and companies, the opportunity to think differently about how and where we work. Because I hear from some of my employees: “I can hardly wait to get back to the office, I have to be in the office” and for others remote work offers a new way of working and working well. That’s why we try to think very carefully and to take into account the needs of everyone in the community, because everyone sees it differently and has different preferences.
At Facebook, our longer-term vision of remote working is a big one. And after all, we expect tens of thousands of people around the world to work remotely. And that’s important because working remotely can help us find new talent, retain employees who prefer to work from home, spread economic opportunities, support diversity and greater representation in our organizations, and it can also be positive Have an impact on the environment. It’s a big, bold vision, and we strive to meet the members of our community, our professionals on Facebook, and their professional goals. But again, I think we don’t have all the answers yet, and we’re just really thoughtful and considerate and thinking about how to approach that balance.
How could Austin tech workforce growth affect Facebook Austin?
We keep growing. If you take a look at our careers page you will find that we have over 300 open positions today and they really span all of our teams. In other words, roles that range from our practice for small and medium-sized companies through hardware engineering to software engineering and business development. And so we have more to do on Facebook Austin than I think we ever were.
It has not escaped me what a privilege it is. I think we are incredibly grateful that we were able to persevere and be successful in a uniquely challenging time, especially for other companies in the community. So I just want to emphasize that this idea of connecting with the community becomes even more important as we grow. If you look at our mission, connections and community are at the heart of everything we do on Facebook. It’s part of our mission, and that really includes the connections we have with our local Austin community and all the places we have offices around the world.
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We have seen the tech ecosystem in Austin boom in recent years, and the pandemic has only accelerated it. Where do you see the future of technology in Austin and how do you think Facebook fits in?
We’re now one of the tech capitals in the country, and arguably the world, and as the tech ecosystem continues to grow, we’re really focused on building connections with other companies in the city. I recently met with the Google leadership team. Your office is right across from ours. And we recognize together that for technology to play a positive role in our city, we need to come together to make sure we focus on community initiatives, community organizations, and priorities that really matter in Austin.
One initiative we’re really proud of is the establishment of Austin’s African American Leadership Institute. It’s a new program designed to raise civic awareness and leadership opportunities for our black professionals, and really focused on creating a better quality of life for the black residents of Austin. We know this is vital to the future of our city and we work with Google and other companies like Bank of America and EverlyWell to do so. And we are on a sponsorship council with the other companies where we focus on how we can better approach our work on diversity, equity and inclusion internally and externally.
I think the connections with other tech companies are important, but we’re not just focusing on those companies. We are also in discussion with UT Austin and Huston-Tillotson about how we can better serve their communities and students. (Also) we work very closely with the Chambers of Commerce, we work with a lot of nonprofits in the city, especially those that work with underserved communities.
We feel it is important to work with organizations that really understand their communities best. And that was a central part of our strategy and how we can become a better neighbor to Austin. We just need to realize that it will bring us all together to develop and create a future for Austin where everyone can live and thrive.
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