DWA Mentoring Program

There are a number of distinctive HR policies and procedures which elevate DWA as a preferred employer by employees. DWA has several mentoring programs which support the development and training of new staff. The programs are an important way to engage new hires into the DWA culture, and this could be their first professional job out of college (DreamWorks Animation, n.d.). In a 2010 interview, DreamWorks Animation’s Head of HR is Daniel Satterthwaite stated, “In a rapidly growing environment, that can be difficult for a new person to grasp because it can all be overwhelming" (Burns & Satterthwaite, 2010). The Animation film industry is a complex business with a lot of "moving" parts. DWA filmmaking is a timely and expensive undertaking
These programs primarily focus on recruitment of mid-level talent, new college graduates, entry level professionals, and the highly specialized (DreamWorks Animation, n.d.). All of the DWA mentoring programs pair the new hire with an experienced staff member. The Henneman (2012a) article, discusses a recent graduate in the DWA mentoring program. The trainee is a Visual Artist, named Zach Glenn, and is coming up on the end of his training (2012a). Henneman (2012a) continues describing, the Visual Artist’s downtime allowed him to be able to help his mentor, who was having difficulties on a "snowball" scene (2012a). The mentor asked for suggestions, and the trainee had a chance to learn more about the scene while helping (Henneman, 2012a). The trainee Zach, explained, "I 'd show him what I 'd come up with, and he 'd show me what he had been doing. So we just kept that process up, and coming over to each other 's desk and showing the progress we had until we merged these little effects into the snowball" (Henneman, 2012a). Mentoring examples like this show how there is a great opportunity for learning from both the trainee and the mentor. This also levels the playing field and allows the trainee to feel they are a
After 90 days the employee is brought in for a meeting with HR to discuss "best practices," and share ideas both on their first few months at DreamWorks, as well as from their experiences elsewhere” (Henneman, 2012b). This HR practice of meeting face to face after 90 days for their feedback, can help improve onboarding, and also relays an important message to the employee. The new employee has a forum for two-way communications and a valued as a new member of the team. This communication forum is important as it is early in their DWA career and will likely set the tone. DWA provides resources for new staff to engage and to better get acclimated. There are also employee training programs to help increase employee knowledge base. For the technologists, they have established in-house digital training and artistic development training programs. In order to recruit and retain talented creative and technical personnel, they have established relationships with the top animation schools and industry trade organizations (DreamWorks, n.d.). Satterthwaite, describes how the mentoring at DWA can forge a “tribal connection” between the new hire and the veteran, when it is done early in the mentee’s employment (Henneman, 2012b). This employee investment at all staffing levels is a way for employers to demonstrate their support of