As Head of Show Development from 2003 – 2009, John founded and ran DreamWorks Animation’s Outreach program to recruit entry-level animation artists and software engineers from top undergraduate and graduate programs across the U.S., and internationally.
The goal of this program was to seed the next generation of creative and technical leadership at the Studio, and to also offset the rapidly rising salary rates for experienced talent. The Outreach program grew from 7 initial colleges in 2004 to 40 institutions in 2009, ranging from Art, Illustration and Animation programs to Digital Media Studies, Computer Science and Computer Graphics programs.
To service ‘hard to hire’ departments, including Storyboarding, Special Effects and Character Rigging, John and his team initiated and developed special training programs to enable entry-level hires to rapidly acquire the skills they needed to succeed in DreamWorks’ rigorous professional environment.
The success of this ongoing program demonstrates the benefits of active industry engagement with academia:
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Better communication/collaboration on relevant curricula that actually prepare students for the real world
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Ongoing mentorship opportunities, including internships, to discover and nurture new talent
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Using outreach and mentorship as leadership skills training within the company
The results are compelling. In addition to saving the company millions of dollars in staffing and recruiting costs, of the 165 entry-level grads hired in the first 4 years of the program:
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Retention: 93% .
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Program ROI (including all sourcing/recruiting): 300%.
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Training Program Impact: over 25% of ‘hard-to-hire’ departments now consist of Outreach grads.
