Overview
Thanks to a partnership with Hone, Joby Aviation is able to:
- Train new leaders early in their journey, giving them foundational tools and skills they can build on in the workplace.
- Recommend courses that align with business trends, organizational needs, and yearly cycles.
- Develop a common culture of continuous learning and ongoing collaboration.
The company
Based in Santa Cruz, California, Joby Aviation builds all-electric, emissions-free aircraft for aerial ridesharing in urban environments. Founded in 2009, the company has grown to over 2,300 team members and is currently working with the FAA on certification for commercial operations.
The challenge
Joby Aviation identified a critical leadership gap that threatened to slow its momentum. The company attracts brilliant technical talent drawn by the unique mission and complex engineering challenges. Unlike traditional "corner office leaders," executives and managers work hands-on alongside their teams, demanding agility and collaboration.
This unique environment requires nimble people management skills to achieve the speed and results vital to the company's success. Recognizing that a "learn as you go" approach wouldn't scale fast enough for their rapid growth trajectory, Joby partnered with Hone to provide foundational management training in areas like building trust, giving effective feedback, coaching team members, and facilitating meaningful conversations—essential skills that would enable their technical experts to become the collaborative leaders the culture and workload demanded.
The solution
Joby Aviation partnered with Hone in 2022 to build a tailored program for leadership development.
- Offering convenient, “bite-size” classes with flexible timing. One- and two-hour classes enable leaders at the company’s locations around the world to pick up skills quickly. Coursework provides practical, actionable frameworks and models that team members can implement immediately, eliminating the gap between learning and application. Team members see value right away, driving engagement. This just-in-time approach to skill building is particularly valuable for a fast-paced company like Joby Aviation, where leaders need to develop capabilities while also actively managing their teams.
- Fostering engagement and momentum. The Learning & Development team implemented a strategic "use it or lose it" approach to drive participation. Team members who weren't using their learning licenses were placed on a waitlist, while active learners retained priority access. This FOMO-driven strategy proved highly effective, generating a 316% year-over-year increase in engagement. The program also strategically aligns course recommendations with business cycles and emerging needs—such as highlighting classes on conducting performance evaluations during annual review periods. Participants provide ratings after classes, and these endorsements help create peer-to-peer advocacy that drives additional enrollment. Perhaps most importantly, senior leaders participate in classes alongside their direct reports, modeling the importance of continuous learning. This approach has created a culture of shared development. "They're talking about the classes,” says Michele Barker, Senior Manager of Learning & Development. “They're applying them in their team meetings and their one-on-ones. They're recommending the classes to each other."
- Focusing on job-specific development and progressive skill-building. Partnering with Hone allows the learning and development team to spend more time listening to leaders, understanding their challenges, and identifying gaps. “When we can engage with our leaders rather than being behind a computer, we become a better partner to both them and to Hone,” says Michele. The team has tailored programs for individual departments based on specific feedback and needs. They've strategically integrated Hone's four-class curriculum programs into their Joby Manager 101 initiative, catching new leaders early in their journey to build foundational people management skills like trust-building, feedback delivery, and coaching conversations.
“Hone offered everything we needed when we needed it.”
Conclusion
Hone’s courses have proven transformational, helping Joby Aviation team members quickly gain key management skills in a dynamic industry.
- Above-benchmark performance metrics
- Development of a common leadership language with consistent tools and models, promoting a cohesive approach across departments
- A culture of excitement around continuous learning, where leaders recommend classes to each other and managers participate alongside their teams
