Talent Management - July 2008 - (Page 46)

insight by Kellye Whitney Netﬂix Creates Its Own Script for Talent Management True innovators make their own rules. Those who qualify for that title in the talent management space often employ considerable creativity in their people processes, and the results can lead to another title: industry leader. Few organizations have the freedom to truly invent their talent management strategies. Often they evolve as business demands dictate. But for proactive organizations, and those that lead in their industries, creativity, customization and innovation aren’t just part of a talent strategy — they are the talent strategy. With roughly 2,000 employees, more than 1,500 of whom work in 50 distribution centers around the country, as well as an Oregon call center, online movierental service Netﬂix is in a prime position to exercise creativity in its talent processes. Netﬂix Chief Talent Ofﬁcer Patty McCord likens the organization to a Silicon Valley software company, with one hand in the post ofﬁce and one hand in Hollywood. As the company plans its next big move into the digital-movie-delivery space, she took time to share with Talent Management how an industry pioneer with no product (and only one service) operates a billion-dollar business without a net. I take a lot of time up-front — probably more so than I ever have at any other company — deﬁning what kind of talent the hiring managers and individual departments need to continue to invent what we do. Second, acquiring talent for the company is the responsibility of the hiring managers. The more senior they are, the more they see, it’s not just hiring. It’s constantly searching for great talent, which is different. TM: McCord: Describe Netﬂix’s approach to talent management. A couple of things make us different. One, we only have 400 salaried employees. Second, we’re only in the U.S. Third, we don’t have a product; we’re a service. The other thing that’s different about our culture is there are literally no divisions. There are departments and functions, but we all do the same thing: provide great service to our customers. Our approach to talent is somewhat unique since we don’t have to hire many people, and we don’t have to have a lot of duplicates. When I hire those 400 people, I can be pretty selective about what they do and where they come from. It’s about absolute matching. I have an algorithm for success, a little quote that I tell people, and I use it with managers and with candidates: Is what this person loves to do, what they’re extraordinarily good at doing something we need someone to be great at? 46 July 2008 talent management magazine www.talentmgt.com http://www.talentmgt.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Talent Management - July 2008

Talent Management - July 2008 Editor’s Letter Human Performance Leading Edge Learning Connections Guest Editorial Passive Candidate Recruiting: Evolving with a Changing Workforce How Do They Feel? Sec Regulations and Executive Compensation Performance Management: A Retail Perspective Train the Non-Trainer Management-Go-Round: Developing Future Leaders Netflix Creates Its Own Script for Talent Management Intuit Spotlights Strategic Importance of Global Employee Recognition Make HR a Profit Center: Automate Technology to Gather Tax Credit Data Offshoring and the Impact on Talent Management Advertisers’ Index Editorial Resources Full Potential

Talent Management - July 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.