Article mentions the shift to "unlimited vacations". Sounds like it worked at Neflix, larger companies are starting to move toward unlimited vacation model, but it appears that it's driven by not having carry accrued paid time off on the books and studies that show that people actually take less vacation under unlimited plans. How is it done at your company?
How Netflix Reinvented HR
31–40 of 53 posts
Re: How Netflix Reinvented HR
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
Article say that big money make things a lot smoother anyway. Do you disagree ? Working at Netflix seems to be a very demanding experience. Will you say that Netflix balance this demand ? In which way ? Reading this article, I have the feeling that Netflix wants the perfect employees, with no bonuses, no awesome perks, an Uncle Scrooge culture (Wow, I can display my $40 SV paid-by-myself poster in the corridor withou…
> Working at Netflix seems to be a very demanding experience. Will you say that Netflix balance this demand ? In which way ? It is demanding, but management sets a good example of taking time off and allowing for a work/life balance. If you're there at 6pm on a weekday, the building is 1/2 empty and by 7pm almost no one is around. People do not work crazy hours. Also, for the most part, no one is around for the next…
Thank you jedberg. You and elq give a much realistic view of what Netflix is.
Re: How Netflix Reinvented HR
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've often wondered whether the structure you describe, which is also used by law, consulting, and investment firms, could be adapted to startups. It seems like it might be a way out of the employee/founder dichotomy. The key concept here is that of partner. I like that word, but would like to know exactly what it means in such a structure. How, besides having high status, do partners differ from non-partners? How ar…
In a (US) Limited Liability Partnership, partners get a share of the firm's profits--while still having their individual liability protected in a similar way to a corporation. In a large firm, you probably have multiple levels of partners. While I'm hardly an expert, I imagine that this structure would probably limit the options for raising capital.
Presumably you could set the details up however was necessary to satisfy investors. What I'm really interested in is the conceptual structure. Joining as an associate, proving yourself, and working your way to a possible partnership seems intuitively like a more rational way to attract and reward talent than the employee model is. I don't like the idea of being someone's employee. I'm fine with the idea of being their partner. In fact, if it's someone I respect, that's a goal worth working for. My thesis is that lots of creative people feel this way and more will.
Re: How Netflix Reinvented HR
#34The author unabashedly claims credit for Neflix's success, but provides no evidence that HR was the source of it.
Re: How Netflix Reinvented HR
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's interesting that your experience is so different from mine (I work at Netflix now). for #1, I've never heard of someone being let go without having any idea. When a manager goes to HR and says "I'd like to let this person go", they ask, "will it be a surprise?" and if the answer is yes, they send you back to have the hard conversation first. for #2, I have lots of friends from Netflix. And some of them have even…
re: friends - I think people are just put off by Patty's "we manage the company like a sports team, not a family" philosophy.
That's probably true, but even the sports guys are friends. :) Even when they get traded and have to play against each other.
Re: How Netflix Reinvented HR
#36I am not sure its all positive though. I only heard bad things about Netflix and the atmosphere. I stay away from it and their recruiters proactively because of that. Just like the "there is no limit on vacation" scam that they pull over their employees got implemented in many startups, I am sure a lot of that "culture" spilled into the startup world as well.
Re: How Netflix Reinvented HR
#37Anecdote time: My wife worked for Netflix customer service (CS) back about 9 years ago - in their formative years. She likens her time there as similar to any other large company. The individuals were great, but the management was your typical bureaucracy. Rankings were heavily based on seniority, not actual individual value. As CS reps were considered to be fully interchangeable (and the first to be let go to mainta…
I think that's true for any Valley company. Customer support is frequently an after-thought for which you bring someone with a title Director of Customer Relations, give them limited budget, and let them figure out how to take care of things.
Re: How Netflix Reinvented HR
#38I am not sure its all positive though. I only heard bad things about Netflix and the atmosphere. I stay away from it and their recruiters proactively because of that. Just like the "there is no limit on vacation" scam that they pull over their employees got implemented in many startups, I am sure a lot of that "culture" spilled into the startup world as well.
Just like the "there is no limit on vacation" scam that they pull over their employees...
Why do you call it a scam? It certainly can be, but it doesn't have to be. We used to have a fixed-PTO policy (3 weeks per year) at my company, and moved to an unlimited policy sometime in 2012. In the 2013 calendar year I've taken about 4 weeks off. I'm actually not sure of the exact number of days I've taken off, as we don't really track it so closely. I'm perfectly happy with this arrangement.
Do you have any evidence that it's a "scam" at a large number or majority of companies?
Re: How Netflix Reinvented HR
#39Simple: http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Netflix-Reviews-E11891.htm
You can filter for just engineers, if that's who you want to pay attention to. Netflix rates very low compared to Facebook, Google, etc. Those companies demand hard work from their employees, but are great places to work. They do a good job with hiring.
Netflix does not, they just grind through people very rapidly .. like they're cheap batteries. Thus the poor glassdoor reviews.
Fact is, Netflix culture is terrible for employees but effective for the Company.
I advise anyone before they apply for a job anywhere to study glassdoor carefully. Ignore ratings, read comments carefully. Reviews which balance positive with negatives are the ones to take as credible.
Re: How Netflix Reinvented HR
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
Article say that big money make things a lot smoother anyway. Do you disagree ? Working at Netflix seems to be a very demanding experience. Will you say that Netflix balance this demand ? In which way ? Reading this article, I have the feeling that Netflix wants the perfect employees, with no bonuses, no awesome perks, an Uncle Scrooge culture (Wow, I can display my $40 SV paid-by-myself poster in the corridor withou…
> Working at Netflix seems to be a very demanding experience. Will you say that Netflix balance this demand ? In which way ? It is demanding, but management sets a good example of taking time off and allowing for a work/life balance. If you're there at 6pm on a weekday, the building is 1/2 empty and by 7pm almost no one is around. People do not work crazy hours. Also, for the most part, no one is around for the next…
Nowadays, building population at 6pm is meaningless. It just means people are smart enough to sandbag and work from home.