Amidst today’s regular news reports of home foreclosures, sinking corporate profits and high unemployment rates, Netflix breaks away from the pack and posts a quarterly profit increase of 45 percent this week.
So what’s the “secret sauce” that has this company doing so well in a down economy? Well, maybe many people are foregoing trips to the movie theatre and are instead watching DVDs on their couch, but you won’t get a detailed economic analysis from us. What we have seen from the Netflix reviews on Glassdoor.com is that Netflix is mixing their own recipe for success in creating a great work environment. The company is known as a great employer in Silicon Valley and currently has an overall rating of 4.1 on Glassdoor.com with a slightly higher rating of 4.4 at the company’s headquarters location in Los Gatos, Calif.
A culture rich in collaboration and teamwork is one key ingredient to the company’s great work environment, according to many employees. Here’s what an Netflix Engineering Director had to say:
Netflix is a great place to work with an extraordinary group of people - There’s no micro managing here and everyone is allowed to take responsibility for their own projects. There’s an amazing lack of arrogance and people collaborate cross functionally on a regular basis. The people you work with every day will be smart, focused and enthusiastic. The company leadership is not afraid to make bold decisions and take risks which keeps the company exciting and innovative.
A dash of flexibility allows employees to strike their own work/life balance. A Netflix Director writes:
An extraordinary environment creates an exciting work experience. – Whether you’re in the office or away is rarely noticed or even considered at Netflix. All the matters is the quality and consistency of your work, which gives employees great freedom and allows them to enhance the balance in their lives. At the same time, expectations are tremendous, but that’s what makes the company great. For the employees who look for this is in an employer, Netflix delivers.
Progressive benefits also keep things interesting at Netflix. A Vice President had this to say:
I work for a company that changed the way Americans rent movies. – It’s a very open culture with no questions asked if you work from home or take days off. Employees get a free eight-out plan and get $1,000 towards travel expenses to the Sundance or LA Film Festival. You structure your salary as you want, dedicating a percentage or none at all to stock options.
Netflix was also among Glassdoor’s recently released Top 50 Best Places to Work list and CEO Reed Hastings remains one of the highest rated CEOs on our site at 94% with just a 2% disapproval rating. It’s not hard to see why once you read the feedback. How about you? Do you want to work for Netflix?
