Netflix's HR practices are almost as revolutionary and amazing as its video streaming services. The company has done a great deal to ensure that its employees are happy, and its HR department plays a huge role in that.
The first step was creating a unique solution for paid time off. According to Fast Company, founder Reed Hastings was curious as to whether he had to offer formal vacation time and then determined he could do something that his staff would like better than the traditional model.
"Are companies required to give time off? If not, can't we just handle it informally and skip the accounting rigmarole?" Hastings wondered before finding out that there's no law for it. "Salaried employees were told to take whatever time they felt was appropriate. Bosses and employees were asked to work it out with one another."
Departments would track employee requests instead of the HR department. Hastings noted, "Rather than formally tracking these days, they opted for an honor system, with employees tracking their own off days and informing their managers when appropriate".
The news source notes that Netflix decided to take a common-sense approach to HR: Treat employees like adults and everything will work out just fine. In an interview with the Huffington Post, Patty McCord, Netflix's former chief talent officer, noted that the enterprise only really cares about productivity.
"It seemed kind of ridiculous to have all these policies about what whole days you could take off when … people work at home, they work on their phones, they're involved in their activities that are about what they accomplish all the time," McCord said.
This type of understanding and common sense is almost astounding. Many businesses mire themselves in red tape, thinking that there has to be an intricate system for everything. The prevailing philosophy is that employees can't be trusted to do their jobs without HR and management watching over their shoulders.
Even when it comes to compensation, Netflix goes well off the beaten path. The enterprise tracks what their competitors offer employees.
"Many HR people dislike it when employees talk to recruiters, but I always told employees to take the call, ask how much, and send me the number – it's valuable information," McCord said, Fast Company notes.
Netflix's approach to HR serves as a prime example that traditional practices may no longer be effective. Businesses and HR departments need to reflect and determine whether new strategies and a bit of common sense could have a hugely positive impact.
It should be noted that this approach isn't for every business. Most enterprises could benefit from advanced HR software that tracks vacation requests so the HR department and management has visibility on attendance. Further, many software solutions include an approval feature so that supervisors can accept or deny requests when necessary.