How Netflix Reinvented HR
‘It’s better to have a hole in your team than an a**hole in your team!’Apple's Dan Jacobs on working with the right people.

There is nothing more important than recruiting the right people; this statement from an old manager empowered me as I entered the world of recruitment.
Richard Branson demonstrates the importance of Talent Attraction and Management. No matter how big or successful Virgin has become, he believes talent is the number one driver of success and states there nothing is more important in business than hiring the right team.
Together with Patty McCord, formerly the Chief Talent Officer at Netflix and author of ‘Powerful; Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility’ they are all saying the same thing:
The best person for the job might not always be in front of you, so be strategic on how to find them and set the right culture for them to thrive!
If you are interested in how people are motivated to be better, then this article and presentation by Patty McCord is a great read.
Patty McCord used the following five principles to help shape Netflix’s approach to talent:
- Hire, Reward, and Tolerate Only Fully Formed Adults - Adultlike behaviour means talking openly about issues with your boss, your colleagues, and your subordinates.
- Tell the Truth About Performance - if you talk simply and honestly about performance on a regular basis, you can get good results—probably better ones than a company that grades everyone on a five-point scale.
- Managers Own the Job of Creating Great Teams - recruit people with the right skills, thinking to the future and the specific results and differences you want to see compared with today.
- Leaders Own the Job of Creating the Company Culture - Patty's foosball (table football in UK) example reminds me of a clip of Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO and co-founder of digital agency VaynerX stating ‘A lot of companies believe that having a foosball table, open seating and free pretzels mean that you have a great culture, but that doesn’t work’.
- Good talent managers think like business-people and innovators first, and like HR people last.
https://hbr.org/2014/01/how-netflix-reinvented-hr#
Enjoy!
For all of your outsourced HR needs, and advice on setting the right company culture through the recruitment process and beyond, please get in touch: david@dandhrassociates.com




