Was the Netflix culture deck...fine?

In case you haven’t seen it, Netflix recently dropped a new and updated version of its legendary culture deck. Whether you agreed with it’s ethos or not, it inspired a decade of copycats (and sports analogies) in tech. The update isn’t too much of a departure from the original; for example, they’re still keeping the controversial “keeper test”, where if a manager feels they wouldn’t fight for a team member if they quit, they’re expected to terminate them. And, they’re sticking to their guns on branding themselves as a spot for only ultra-high performers. The original deck (you can view it here) gathered a lot of haters at the time for being too harsh. Surprisingly, I was not one of them. While I don’t agree with it line for line, I admired their clarity. Mostly, I took issue with those who tried to emulate Netflix without having the chops to back it up.

Of course, everyone wants to attract and retain high performers. The problem was, most of the companies copying the Netflix ethos weren’t actually set up to enforce it. Is high performance actually defined and measurable? Are we encouraging it by rewarding people for the right decisions and behaviours? Do we support the aforementioned high performers when they occasionally stumble, have a big life change or event, or otherwise need a moment before they can go on well, performing?

Netflix, while demanding, does have a lot of these frameworks in place. They define high performance with clearly laid out jobs and career paths that link directly to hiring structures and compensation bands, and have a strongly developed performance review process. They also have the will (and the cash) to provide top-tier benefits, including unlimited parental leave (unheard of in the USA) and extensive employee mental health support. If you are going to demand the highest performers, this is how you back it up.

I also admire the forthrightness in which they declare and define who they are. No bland career site with the same corporate-speak as everyone else’s, no having to maneuver and observe for months to find out how a place “really” works; they just lay it out for you. While the culture you (or I) design might not be the same as Netflix’s, I do encourage organizations to be bold and transparent in sharing who they are and how they work. Clarity is not just kindness; it’s culture.

-Nora

PS: We currently have an open role on our own team, and the job posting is closing tonight. If you know an amazing HR practitioner who wants to work with cool organizations to build their own incredible working cultures (or, if you want to check ours out), the posting is viewable here.

Bright Reads:

• While we’re on the topic of hiring, check out our Bright + Early Guide to Crafting Better Job Postings. An oldie but a still-relevant goodie!

• Remote employees with big-brother style employees are using “mouse jigglers” to pretend to be actively online. Now, those employers are catching (and firing) them.

• Other, more ambitious remote employees are outsourcing parts of their job to appear to be ultra high performers.

• Should you ditch the idea of having friends at work?

• Tech couples are working out their issues with off-sites and performance reviews.

Happening in July:

• Muharram is July 6 - August 5

• International Non-Binary People’s Day is on July 14

• Ashura is July 16 - July 17 (folks might be fasting for this one)

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