EQ Office’s Post

As I reflect on my almost 12 years on the Talent team at Netflix, one of the things I still believe we were the best at was hiring incredible people. Case in point, working at Netflix has connected me with some of the most talented and truly wonderful people, many of whom have become life long friends. Today, I am a big believer that talent density is one of the most important competitive advantages a company can have. 🚀 Here are the top 5 things I’ve found most effective in scaling Talent Density… 1️⃣ Define what "great" means, aligning on cultural values that ACTUALLY matter to how work gets done and how promos and raises are given. Most importantly, DEI needs to be at the center of this. This should include the boundaries too. For example, you want people who believe in radical candor and thrive in a feedback environment, but that feedback should always be role/company centered and always respectful. 2️⃣ Make it every Manager’s job to be champions and bar raisers for Talent Density. Include it in their onboarding and performance reviews, host ongoing trainings and discussion forums about it. When leaders own Talent Density for their teams from the top, and empower those below them to do the same, there is a flywheel effect. 3️⃣ Align employer brand and interview practices to attract and engage high performers effectively. Nothing is worse than deciding you want to hire someone and they don’t want you back. Interviewing should be a two way street, and you should be willing to throw out the playbook for the right people to make it happen. 4️⃣ Implement explicit retention and growth strategies. High performers generally don’t tolerate stagnation and will evolve with the company. Simply put, you are squandering the investment you made to hire them if you don’t invest in them meaningfully longer term. 5️⃣ Swiftly address unhealthy team dynamics by making tough decisions on underperformers. In particular, jerks. You might be thinking “What if they’re really good and I can’t afford to lose them?” In my experience, toxic people bring down the performance of the rest of the team, and removing them almost instantly increases delivery and performance by the remaining team. Hope this helps ❤️✌️ Shout out to some of the incredible (and iconic) women who were role models for me on this topic specifically - Patty McCord, Jessica Neal, Nellie Peshkov, Vernā Myers, Marta Munk de Alba, Kabi Gishuru #TalentDensity #HighPerformanceCulture #NetflixTalent

The age-old adage "people don't leave companies, they leave managers" rings true in many cases. It's often not the company or the role itself that drives an employee to seek new opportunities, but rather the direct supervisor or manager they work with. A manager's leadership style, communication, and ability to support and develop their team members can make or break an employee's experience. When an employee feels undervalued, unheard, or unsupported by their manager, they may begin to feel disconnected from the company as a whole. On the other hand, a great manager can foster a sense of belonging, growth, and purpose, leading to increased job satisfaction and retention. It's a reminder that effective management is crucial to building a happy, productive, and loyal team.

When Reed Hastings and Patty McCord (along with some colleagues) wrote a PowerPoint deck explaining how they shaped the culture and motivated performance at Netflix, where Hastings is CEO and McCord was chief talent officer from 1998 to 2012, they had no idea it would go viral. People find the Netflix approach to talent and culture compelling for a few reasons. The most obvious one is that Netflix has been really successful: During 2013 alone its stock more than tripled, it won three Emmy awards, and its U.S. subscriber base grew to nearly 29 million. All that aside, the approach is compelling because it derives from common sense. 🎬Hire, Reward, and Tolerate Only Fully Formed Adults - Adultlike behavior means talking openly about issues with your boss, your colleagues, and your subordinates. It means recognizing that even in companies with reams of HR policies, those policies are frequently skirted as managers and their reports work out what makes sense on a case-by-case basis. 🎬Tell the Truth About Performance - Building a bureaucracy and elaborate rituals around measuring performance usually doesn’t improve it. They kept them fairly simple: People were asked to identify things that colleagues should stop, start, or continue. In the beginning they used an anonymous software system, but over time they shifted to signed feedback, and many teams held their 360s face-to-face. 🎬Managers Own the Job of Creating Great Teams - They continually told managers that building a great team was their most important task. Great teams accomplish great work, and recruiting the right team was the top priority. 🎬Leaders Own the Job of Creating the Company Culture - As leaders build a company culture, they need to be aware of subcultures that might require different management. 🎬Good Talent Managers Think Like Businesspeople and Innovators First, and Like HR People Last - Instead of cheerleading, people in people function should think of themselves as businesspeople. What’s good for the company? How do we communicate that to employees? How can we help every worker understand what we mean by high performance? HBR Article reference in comments hashtag #highperformanceculture hashtag #talent hashtag #hr hashtag #netflix hashtag #culture

HR's Rising Stars is one of my favorite Human Resource Executive projects to work on, and this year's winners show why! Dayana Falcon at ESPN, for example, has created more than a dozen talent experiences that are now being scaled across ESPN and parent company Walt Disney Co. Here's more from my recent conversation with this HR standout:

At the heart of every #transformation lies a catalyst, a #changeactivist, and a clearly defined objective. This was precisely the case at #netflix circa 2010, where the #hrtransformation journey began under the stewardship of CEO and Co-Founder Reed Hastings and the innovative Chief Talent Officer Patty McCord. The Catalyst: What sparked the transformation? It was not one but two pivotal moments that, while not unprecedented in the corporate world, struck a chord with Patty McCord. The first was a piece of candid feedback from an engineer regarding his team recruitment. The second was the tough decision of parting ways with an employee whose skills were no longer fit for the role. These events underscored an essential truth: the importance of recruiting exceptional talent and the necessity of gracefully releasing individuals whose growth had diverged from the company's path. This epiphany set the stage for a hiring philosophy favouring excellence and a dynamic workforce over tenure-based retention. The Visionary: Who spearheaded this revolutionary shift? Patty McCord, alongside Reed Hastings, crafted a groundbreaking 127-slide presentation on Talent and Culture that took Silicon Valley by storm. This manifesto detailed how the team shaped the company's culture and motivated employee performance. McCord was the change activist who led the transformation. The Objective: What did the transformation achieve? Netflix's policy overhaul focused on cultivating a culture steeped in 'Freedom and Responsibility.' It underscored that hiring top-tier talent naturally begets a workforce cognizant of their responsibilities and capable of autonomous decision-making for the company's greater good. In such an environment, the typical constraints of meticulous performance reviews, rigid vacation rules, and investing in the retraining of mismatched employees became obsolete. The Impact: How did these changes redefine HR's role? The strategic overhaul transcended HR from administrative taskmasters to strategic architects, prioritising the acquisition of 'A' class players over the mundane tallying of performance metrics and leave balances. This shift not only elevated the role of HR but also propelled the company towards a trajectory of consistent growth. The outcome was tangible: The attrition rate in Netflix is below the tech industry's norm, and it is officially the best place to work. Legacy and Evolution: What has become of these #hrpolicies ? Post-Patty McCord's tenure, the foundational policies she implemented continue to serve as a reference, albeit they have been adapted to align with Netflix's evolving needs and the ever-changing business landscape. The Continuous Journey: Is transformation ever truly complete? Transformation in business is not a finite event but an ongoing pursuit of excellence, a perpetual cycle of refinement and advancement.

🧏 𝐇𝐑 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧? Loren Hudson, SVP & Chief Diversity Officer at Comcast Cable, gave our attendees some key insights on how to empower employees to be themselves and create supportive spaces that make everyone feel included, impacting talent retention and overall performance. Do you have any questions for Loren? let us know in the comments below!! 👇 🚀 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐫 2024 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐬𝐞𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲! 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞: https://lnkd.in/e4QvFer7 #HR #HRleader #HumarResources #HRprofessionals #TalentManagement

Business Culture: A 'Champion Team' Approach The workplace is where many of us spend a significant portion of our lives. Understanding how to build a remarkable business culture becomes paramount. It evolves over time and takes a different form for each organisation. Just like Netflix's take on their culture as a professional sports team, the analogy opens up interesting possibilities for how to shape our own workplaces: 🏆 "Performance Over Seniority" – Prioritise excellence, not just seniority. Like a champion sports team, focus on results to keep winning. 🤝 "Teamwork & Continuous Improvement" – Cultivate a culture where everyone pushes to be their best, collaborates seamlessly, and grows together. Just as in sports, recognize that not everyone stays forever. 🌱 "Developing Talent from Within" – Nurture your talent from the "development leagues" and create stars for tomorrow. This keeps your team dynamic and motivated. Think of it this way: a sports team is structured to win whether individuals stay or go. It's about creating an environment where everyone strives for excellence and feels valued. Business leaders play a pivotal role in shaping the work-life of their teams. Whether we call our teams family or a sports team, what matters most are the bonds we create, the purpose we share, and the outcomes we achieve. At the end of the day, labels don't define a great culture – the connections we build and the support we offer do. Whether you're a close-knit team that resembles a family or a tightly structured unit like a sports team, what counts is that you're working together to achieve greatness. And remember, "chosen family" can redefine how we see our colleagues, adding a growing network of support. It's about caring for each other, just like my team does. As business leaders, let's work to create a culture that makes employees feel like they're part of something extraordinary. It's not about the label; it's about the unity and the shared commitment to success. What's your take on building a winning business culture? Sports team or family culture? 🏆👥✨ #BusinessCulture #Leadership #Teamwork #Success"

In today's diverse workplace, hiring and retaining talent is more complex than ever. Hiring well means spending 10% of your time managing, while poor hires could lead to 90% management time. Join us at our upcoming Wizly Amplify session with Aki Taha who will real-world case studies on how he tackled hiring challenges head-on at industry giants like Netflix, Uber, and Google. 🎯 WHO'S THIS EVENT FOR Founders, Heads of Teams, HR leaders - anyone looking to hire right, attract top talent, and avoid common hiring pitfalls. 🔍 WHAT YOU'LL LEARN 1. Insights on sourcing relevant, culture-aligned candidates 2. Strategies to differentiate your company and attract the right talent 3. Tips for asking the right questions and effective onboarding 4. Real-life stories from the front lines of team building 📆 SESSION DATE March 19, 12:30 PM (SGT) Don't let hiring risks hold your organization back. Register your interest here: https://lu.ma/evgvpby4 #TalentAcquisition #HR #Hiring #Leadership #TeamBuilding #WizlyAmplify #talentretention

“Work in a place where your team values you.” People want to work in a place where their ideas are valued and appreciated. This phrase talks about culture, attitudes and behaviors of team. Company culture must be one where employees feel comfortable asking questions and expressing their opinions. Culture is not monthly pizza parties or karaoke nights. A company’s culture revolves around three big things: 1. Values. Implied and explicit. 2. Mission and vision. The ability to strive towards a common goal and recognize everyone who helps the company move in that direction. 3. Hiring, firing, and promotion criteria.  It’s not just about hiring talented people; it’s about creating a culture where they thrive. Company should create an environment where employees are able to grow and develop their skills. There are many ways an organization’s culture impacts its ability to attract quality candidates, from salary and benefits packages to advancement opportunities to weekly happy hours. #work_place #company_culture #growth #learnings

I’ve been there, grappling with the same issues of keeping top talent and fostering a thriving work culture. Managing talent and developing teams can be a real rollercoaster ride. One day, you've got rockstar employees knocking it out of the park, and the next, you're scrambling to figure out why key team members are heading for the exit. We've had our fair share of challenges in this department, from struggling to keep our top talent on board to realizing our training programs were more "meh" than motivating. And let's not even get started on the occasional culture clash that can throw everyone off their game. So, what’s the game plan to turn things around? First off, we've rolled out some killer training and development programs. We're talking everything from hands-on workshops to mentorship schemes that really get our people pumped about growing their skills and advancing their careers. We're also all about creating a work environment that's not just positive but downright energizing. Think team-building activities that people actually want to participate in and recognition programs that celebrate wins big and small. Communication is key, so you’re making sure there’s an open-door policy that encourages everyone to share ideas and feedback freely. You’re breaking down those pesky departmental silos and fostering collaboration across the board. And with clear policies in place for talent retention, your goal is to make everyone feel valued and excited about being part of the team. It’s still a work in progress, but you’re definitely on the right track to creating a workplace where everyone feels like they belong and can thrive.