Al Kinnear
On today's episode of Return on Intelligence, we speak with Britni Warner of Sony Electronics. We discuss the Sony development studio and how Sony identifies and supports their future leaders through learning and development. Welcome to Return on Intelligence. Today's guest is Britni Warner, head of talent development and engagement at Sony Electronics. Welcome, Britni.
Britni Warner
Thank you. Glad to be here.
Al Kinnear
Yeah. So happy that you joined us today. today we're going to explore a bunch of of learning and development. that you're in charge of it at Sony Electronics. But before we do that, I would love to let our guests or our our viewers know that you have a PhD. And, I want to really talk about that.
Al Kinnear
You've got a PhD in organizational psychology, and I just, I, I just can imagine how powerful that education must be, you know, in working with learning culture and learning and development. So if you don't mind, could you just share how you came down the path of education and how that led you into an L&D career? I think it's fascinating.
Britni Warner
Sure. so I was actually thinking about being a teacher, at some point. So that's how I started out, got a little bit of experience in a classroom and realized it wasn't for me. I actually had a mentor, one of my, former bosses and she suggested to me that, perhaps I should go into industrial organizational psychology.
Britni Warner
I actually didn't even know what it was at the time. And as I explored it a bit more, I realized that it was something that was for me. I was always taking a look at things and saying, you know, this doesn't make sense. How can we do it better, more efficient? so it really aligned with what my interests were.
Britni Warner
And as I got into that coursework, it was really exciting and fun, and I just kept going.
Al Kinnear
That's so great. And so when you're doing your PhD, like, are there any topics you could share with our listeners or viewers that you know that you just remember? Right? Like the top of mind fascination? And is there any particular topic that you could share that, that maybe others would be interested in just reading about?
Britni Warner
Definitely. For me, it was always the courses where I was active and doing something, working with rail companies. so we had a class on consultation and facilitation. so in the consultation class, we were able to go in and actually work with a company, do some consulting and learn about what their pain points were, and then come back with some ideas and solutions.
Britni Warner
And then in the training and development, course that I took, we were able to actually create our own content, facilitate, to our colleagues. So it was really fun to just get in there, do the work, and be able to see how that could translate into our real working lives.
Al Kinnear
Yeah, sounds very hands on. Sounds like a great training program as we switch gears and talk about, your, your, you know, career path at Sony. Can you just give us a bit of background of how you started, where you started in corporate learning and development and how you've arrived at your position today?
Britni Warner
Sure. I actually feel very lucky. This is my first corporate job. I was actually, working for a government organization, and I got a call from a recruiter, and they asked if I'd be interested in working for Sony. So I started as a contractor, got my foot in the door, so to speak. and I was very lucky because I got a lot of products and I was able to really, you know, show what I could do.
Britni Warner
And Sony hired me shortly after, I started that contract position. So I've been here for about six years now and just gotten to do a lot of really, you know, fun projects here.
Al Kinnear
Wow. I can imagine that. Calls pretty exciting. Sony Worldwide is, an amazing entity. Let's be honest. And to get that call would be, quite exciting. So Sony has published, you know, in their, in their annual reports that, you know, they have over 100,000 employees worldwide. Which group are you focusing on in your learning and development efforts?
Britni Warner
Sure. So I work for Sony Electronics. but we do work closely with our other sister companies.
Al Kinnear
How do you organize the learning and development? within that group and then within the umbrella of Sony Corp, you know, what does that look like? Is it centralized, decentralized? You know, just give us a little bit of background on that as well.
Britni Warner
Yeah, we're really lucky because we're able to have a lot of, say in what we're going to do here for our training and development. so we do partner with other sister companies. We have regular meetings with them. We learn about the things that they're doing. but here, we're able to create our own talent management plan.
Britni Warner
So we have development opportunities for every employee. and then we also have some specialized content for managers or for, folks that are key talent. So we have a lot of different, opportunities here. And then we get to share that with our sister companies. And sometimes we share content back and forth, or might utilize some of the same vendors and services as other groups.
Britni Warner
But we are able to create our own talent management strategy here. which is really great.
Al Kinnear
You mentioned that you work with other partners. If you wouldn't mind sharing. Some of you know who those partners are and really what the benefit is in working with them. in a group scenario, of course.
Britni Warner
So being Sony, we're really lucky that we have other sister companies like Sony Music, Sony Pictures, Sony PlayStation, and on a quarterly basis, we actually meet with other folks from those companies who are also in learning in development. And we'll talk a little bit about, you know, what we're doing, what we're focused on, like maybe we're doing some diversity training, and we might share some of that content.
Britni Warner
And if that's something that piques somebodies interest, we might share the presentation with them. We may also invite them to sit in on the training that we're doing, and we're able to share resources across those companies. and it's it's really awesome to have that ability to do that. We also meet with our friends in Sony Europe as well, and talk a little bit about what's going on with them and what they're working on.
Britni Warner
And it's really cool to see, you know, the differences and the challenges that they have, maybe in other countries that they're working with. so there's a lot that we can share, even, you know, across the ocean sometimes.
Al Kinnear
Yeah. That's great. Like the strategy that I used to refer to it as cross-pollination when you're working with other divisions for the benefit of of all, even though you're a little decentralized in, in your learning and development, it's really a centralized, look, when you're working with peers, too. So it's kind of the best of both worlds, wouldn't you agree?
Britni Warner
Yeah. There's no reason to reinvent something that's already there. so if somebody's already having a success and, you know, really getting good traction with their participants, we love to see it. and then maybe we just make some small tweaks so that it makes sense for our, participants. So it's really great.
Al Kinnear
Yeah. That's great. And then when you're reporting on your learning and development activity, to Sony and to your, you know, entity, do you like let's talk about reporting a bit. How do you track your, your talent and development journeys and how do you correlate them across the board at Sony? And do you do that?
Britni Warner
Yeah. So that's a great question. a lot of the things that we look at are how many participants we are having, we look at unique participants based on you know, our whole population. we also look at how many things folks are attending. We look at diversity. So for example, if we have a leadership program and maybe there are 100 women that are eligible and only three show up to the program or nominate themselves, then we'd go back and say, hey, we have a miss here.
Britni Warner
So, you know, we're not really supporting the populations that we're trying to support. So it gives us the opportunity to correct and make sure that anybody who needs that development and support is supported. So a lot of different things that we look at.
Al Kinnear
And then in terms of reporting to your management group or, or leadership, leadership chain, like are you sharing information with, with people leaders, in a different, you know, different way than, than you are sharing in terms of looking at diversity, etc.? What kind of information do you share with your people, leaders in terms of outcomes, goals and where you're heading in?
Britni Warner
Yeah, we partner heavily with our HR business partners. so sometimes they'll ask us for reporting on, you know, how many people have attended a leadership program or how many people are using your online, LMS and taking online courses? So they'll ask us for some information and then we can provide that, those stats, and then they might show it in a town hall and their business group, and they're able to kind of cheerlead for some of the folks who are really utilizing our services and congratulate them on, you know, really growing and supporting their development.
Britni Warner
So, lots of different ways that we can accomplish that and partner together.
Al Kinnear
That's great. And and that leads us to, to the next, item that I'd love to discuss is what you referred to as the Sony Development Studio. I think it's just fascinating how you, you know, support your high potential employees. And I'd really like to share that with our listeners and viewers. So maybe tell us about, you know, how did how did that develop?
Al Kinnear
Where does that come from in the, you know, the roots of Sony. And then we can discuss, you know, your involvement with that as well.
Britni Warner
Okay, great. so back in 2018, we started our first program. We actually had one of our business unit leaders here who was looking for some opportunity for folks on his team that were really performing and showing high potential. So we knew these folks were key talent. there were people that we wanted to support that may be the future leaders of our company here.
Britni Warner
So we were looking for some solutions. And, you know, what does that look like and how can we support these folks? So from that grew this, leadership program we called the Development Studio. And there's a few components to it. one of it is some classroom learning. So they go through some coursework on, you know, influence management and managing change and things like that.
Britni Warner
But we think folks really need, they also do some self-discovery. They learn about their own strengths, their emotional intelligence. And then the really big piece of this that makes it, so awesome is they get a business case, and that business case is something that we're trying to solve for here at Sony. so it's varied over the years.
Britni Warner
This year, what we focused on is, you know, what are their what ideas do you have of how we can grow? And we left it pretty vague. and so we got back all kinds of really awesome ideas. And the reason this is cool is they actually get to present their ideas to our leadership team. After six months of, you know, focusing on this business case and a team together.
Britni Warner
So they get some visibility to leadership, they get to do a lot of networking. They get to learn about a part of our business that maybe they weren't as familiar with before. so it's a really great experience, and Sony gets some great ideas that we can potentially implement. And we do we incubate on those ideas. And then sometimes those teams that presented the ideas get the opportunity to maybe partner, or work on the product teams who are trying to move that idea forward.
Britni Warner
So it's a really great opportunity all around.
Al Kinnear
Yeah. Sounds fascinating. And and so is this year's have this year's business case has been presented.
Britni Warner
They have. So they just finished, about a month ago. we had four different business cases this year, and it was really exciting to see the energy, in the room as the leaders were hearing these ideas, saw lots of whispers, lots of excitement. so some of those might be I don't want to give them away, but, you know, maybe some suggestions of other companies that we could partner with or ways to enhance our products.
Britni Warner
Things like that. so we actually have some follow up meetings where those folks get the opportunity to present to additional people and see, you know, what pieces and parts of this case can we actually implement and see it come to fruition here at Sony in the future?
Al Kinnear
Now that's great. So I think basically you would agree that the, you know, when these business cases are presented, you're seeing a broad spectrum of ideas. brought forward from the folks that would actually enact on them and make them happen within the business, perhaps. So, do you have any fun stats that you could share with our listeners and viewers on on the impact of this in terms of leadership development, employee retention?
Al Kinnear
Now, how does that look at Sony based on on the development studio?
Britni Warner
Sure. So we have run five programs. we've had 112 participants go through. and I just took a look this week, and we have had 48% of the folks who went through the program either promote, or rotate to new roles. Since being in the program. So that's a really cool thing to see that about half of those folks have gone on to do, you know, different things, or maybe bigger and better things.
Britni Warner
And considering that includes the current class, who just finished about a month ago, I think that's a pretty good stat because obviously they haven't had time yet. to maybe have some movement. So I'm pretty proud of that. and get to see those folks, you know, really move around the organization and, you know, do some new things.
Al Kinnear
That's great. That's great. So if I were to ask you to just take a step back, though, from your role within the development studio and put your lens on with your educational background, as you know, with your PhD, what would your thoughts be as an outsider if you were looking in on that program? What is the impact on your learning culture based on the success of this program?
Al Kinnear
And and if you could just go down that road a bit, I think it'd be fascinating.
Britni Warner
And to be on the outside looking in. well, I'd maybe want to be a participant in the program. I think it's I think the opportunity is cool because not only do you get to do some self-development and learning, but it's different than your everyday job. It is very challenging. we've had a lot of participants who've graduated tell us that they, you know, weren't too happy with us going through it.
Britni Warner
And it was stressful and frustrating. you know, just trying to to, to do their best. And they didn't want to fail. and of course, we support them the whole, way through. And so afterwards they say it's the best thing that they've ever done for the development. So that feels really good. So I guess on the outside, I would probably want to be part of that program if I could.
Al Kinnear
Well, it sounds like the feedback that you received from these participants, you've had 112 of them. Like, is there a broad feeling of empowerment at the end of it? It or what is the feedback that you've received as you've, you know, progressed since 2018 on this program?
Britni Warner
I think what they realize is they're presented with a challenge. It's above and beyond their daily work, and they realize that they can do it. they get to see the excitement of leadership. They potentially get the opportunity to, you know, be part of future projects. so it expands their network, their thinking hopefully. And I think, I mean, I guess you you use the word empowerment.
Britni Warner
I mean, I think that there's nothing but, you know, good feeling coming out of that, and great opportunity and knowing that, you know, I accomplish this and I have that, that visibility from leadership and, you know, I can do other hard things going forward. So I think it's all positive, I hope.
Al Kinnear
Yeah, it is, it it certainly is. And up the 112 participants you've had in this program, do you ever invite any of them back to kind of steer the next peer group. How does that look?
Britni Warner
Oh, I love that question because yes, we do. so one of the things that we have going for this program is when they're put into groups to start working on that business case, we actually provide them with a couple of mentors. I think this year we actually had three mentors that supported each group, because we had so many people that wanted to be involved in this program and what the mentors roles are, they're generally people who are either higher level in the organization or former graduates of the program, and what they do is they help that group process that business case.
Britni Warner
And so if they're getting stuck, which they often do, they might point them in a different direction. They might suggest people that they could talk to. They might help them brainstorm a little bit. So they're just there to kind of guide and support. sometimes they end up meeting with folks, you know, one on one to talk through things with them.
Britni Warner
So they're just there to be that extra person. And especially for the graduates who are part of it, they can say, hey, I've been in your shoes. I know what you're thinking and feeling and you know, this is how I move forward. So it's a really cool thing to see our graduates come back and want to be involved in the program.
Al Kinnear
Yeah. That's it. It's an amazing program, there's no doubt about it. And my last question about it is just more brass tacks and organizational. When do you when do you decide who will participate. Like what is the timeline look. And then when do you assign the business case and what does that you know, what's the feedback loop. And then when do you discuss the business case.
Al Kinnear
So you mentioned it. It just happened. But when does that process actually begin. Yeah. What does that look like.
Britni Warner
So it's actually a nomination process. So you can't self nominate. You have to be nominated by a leader. So we kind of come up at that in a couple directions. We talk about the program amongst the organization. We tell people if you're interested raise your hand. Tell your manager. So that when it comes time to nominate folks, you know, they're thinking of you as a potential for this program.
Britni Warner
So then leaders then nominate folks that they think would really excel in the program. We're looking for people who are performing, who are energetic, who really want to grow with the organization and be future leaders here at Sony. So you can be, you know, anywhere in the company. So, you could be a individual contributor all the way up to a senior manager.
Britni Warner
We even have had some directors who raised their hand and said, you know, I'd really love to be in this program, and they get nominated into the program. so there's a lot of opportunity, no matter where you're at, in the organization, to be part of it. So once we go through that nomination process, we look at diversity.
Britni Warner
We look at the individuals, potential. We actually have managers, you know, kind of, tell us, you know, who's your who's your number one, who's your number two is your number three person that you want to be in the program. and then if people don't make the cut, we would put them on a waiting list for the next year.
Britni Warner
we also, before we even start the program, we tell people, congratulations, you've been nominated. There is a lot of work that comes with this program. So do you want that nomination? because we want the folks to want to be there. And sometimes people will say, this isn't a great time for me in my life. And, you know, I don't want to move forward and then we'll take somebody out of the waiting list.
Britni Warner
So there is a whole process. when they start, they start with instructor led training. We really take the time to think through the skills that they would need to be successful and the things that will help them as they're working through that business case. It also gives them a time to get to know each other, be able to learn about each other's strengths and how they can utilize each other as they move forward into that business case.
Britni Warner
And then about halfway through the program is when it gets assigned. And then we go through that whole team process where we tell them to talk to each other. What are your strengths? What do you bring to the table? What are you going to do to help solve for this business case? and then they start working on it.
Britni Warner
We meet with them regularly to check in. We have them, you know, present to us because we want to make sure that they are successful and they feel prepared and ready to go in front of leadership. So the whole thing is, you know, probably an eight month process if you go from beginning to end. And then the actual program is about six months.
Britni Warner
So we usually start in the spring and we conclude in the fall. Okay.
Al Kinnear
So very that's what I was getting I was the duration. Yeah. So it sounds like you've got a nomination process. You've got some base training. Then the assignment and a final presentation in Q4. So it sounds like it's kind of a Q2 operative. Is that correct? Like maybe beginning of quarter two. You're looking at the nominations?
Britni Warner
Yeah. Actually for us, it's Q1 because our, quarter one kicks off in April. so it's kind of Q1, Q2 kind of ending in in Q3.
Al Kinnear
Got it. And is this woven into the annual review process? Is that where the nominations come from?
Britni Warner
When we're going through our talent management and succession planning process, we'll connect with leaders and we'll talk through all of the development opportunities that we have available. And we actually asked them during that process, you know, what are the needs of individuals? what are some opportunities for them? What are some skills that they need to focus on?
Britni Warner
And then through that conversation, we started to take note of folks who, you know, it'd be really great for them to go through this program or that program. And so we already kind of have a pool of folks that are potentially identified for the development studio and other programs, through that process. So when it comes time to call for nominations, we're able to remind folks that we have some of that information.
Britni Warner
of course, there may be other folks that pop up as stars that we want to nominate as well. but we're constantly talking about our talent here at Sony and looking for ways to support them. You know, Development Studio is just one program out of, you know, many opportunities that we have here. but it's one of the ones that we're pretty proud of.
Al Kinnear
That's so great. honestly, congratulations that you got Sony is clearly you are leaders in identifying and working with your future leaders. And this program, although challenging, I can see, is very rewarding, to many, many of your future leaders, just with this stats that you've mentioned already today and, you know, just the fact that people want to be part of this.
Al Kinnear
I think it's just amazing. So congratulations on that. Would you have any advice for someone wanting to start a program similar to this? are there any not false starts or missteps? But, you know, what? Would you what would you think about if you were reengineering a program like this? as a listener, a viewer.
Britni Warner
I think the biggest thing is you have to have leadership support, and you have to have somebody who is championing the program outside of HR and talent development. You know, we have a lot of great ideas, within talent development and a lot of things that we want to focus on. but if it isn't supporting our business and if they don't see the value, it's not going to work.
Britni Warner
so the unique thing about this program is the business leader that was looking for a solution. he was interested and willing to champion it. we're lucky because we have a lot of leaders here who really see the value of development, and they're willing to get involved at any level and for any program. So we may ask them, hey, will you, you know, come to this program and share a little bit about your development journey, and you know, what it took for you to get into your role?
Britni Warner
And they're always willing to do that to help out, to support programs. and development studio was was no different. And kind of a cool story is that business leader who was searching for that solution. He is now our president, here at Sony Electronics. So, we definitely have a champion for development and somebody who, you know, really supports our programs and wants our talent here to grow at Sony.
Britni Warner
And so that's always been the support that we've had. And that's really been able to make our programs great here.
Al Kinnear
That's amazing. I think it's very true that that leadership is key. It really is key in in guidance and development of of learning and development. If you've got executive buy in from the top, you know, please see that. And you know, they they want to be part of programs that that the executive believe in. in one of our earlier interviews with, Devin Hastie at Anheuser-Busch, he mentioned a learning moment when the CEO actually, you know, presented to a group of learners at a conference and challenged them and gave them permission to think differently.
Al Kinnear
And it really changed the outcomes of that learning and development event, but also the learning and development, process and, and growth at Anheuser-Busch, simply because a leader stood up and asked people to think differently and help them create a better learning and development culture. And I just think it's fantastic when leaders stand up and in this case, someone who is looking for a program to identify and foster talent moves up the chain and becomes your president.
Al Kinnear
I mean, what better story within the story could you ask for?
Britni Warner
Yeah, and I love that. That's exactly what we're trying to do here. you know, we really want our future leaders to think differently. you know, no future for any company is guaranteed, right? So we always have to be thinking about, you know, what's going to change in electronics and entertainment in this, this business that we're in in five years, ten years, 20 years.
Britni Warner
So having a program like this where we're able to tell them, you know, no idea is a bad idea. and we support and kind of help them to cultivate that idea. it's really fun and it's very supported and, wanted here because some of those ideas might come to fruition and could totally change what we do here as a company.
Britni Warner
So it's very exciting. Yeah.
Al Kinnear
Just it's it's amazing. Very well crafted and thought out at Sony. Circling back to your PhD in, organizational psychology. I just want to ask you, you know, how do you feel that that education has contributed and what role is that played in your success to date as a learning and development leader?
Britni Warner
I think that you don't have to have a PhD to do what I do. However, I feel like it gave me the extra knowledge, confidence that I needed to really propel my career forward. when you are going through a formal education program, you get pushed to do things that are uncomfortable. you have to work with, you know, all kinds of folks from different backgrounds and even just the process of learning and the skills that you go through and that time and having that continual motivation and persistence to get through it.
Britni Warner
I think that those things really helped me to just grow as an individual. and to be able to be a little bit more, humble maybe, and know that I don't know everything, and I'm not the smartest person in the room. and know that I should, you know, kind of sit back sometimes learn from other people.
Britni Warner
and when you learn from others and collaborate, you end up with a better final product. So all of those things that I learned in school certainly translate to my work here at Sony. And it's a valuable experience that, you know, I'm so proud that I pushed myself to do over time.
Al Kinnear
Well, I think it's fair to say that, you know, leadership is very important at Sony. And, your answer just tells me what an amazing learning and development leader you are. So congratulations yourself and Sony. I have thoroughly enjoyed this discussion on the development studio. I think it's just a wonderful program, and I want to thank you for joining us today on our podcast.
Britni Warner
Thank you so much. It was great talking with you.
