How can HR Leaders Build a ‘Dream Team’ like Netflix?

Since Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings delivered a 125-page powerpoint presentation on the company’s culture in 2009, the streaming service's self-described ‘unusual’ approach to talent has often been cited as a unique vision for modern talent management. 

The manifesto has been revised several times since then and, in 2026, exists as the company’s ‘Culture Memo’, designed to encompass the experiences of around 14,000 Netflix employees globally. 

Discussing the company’s latest iteration of its Culture Memo, Sergio Ezama, Chief Human Resources Officer at Netflix, says: “As Head of Talent, I’m often asked, why do we place so much emphasis on the culture memo?” 

“We believe that our culture is key to our success and so we want to ensure that anyone applying for a job here knows what motivates Netflix – and all employees are working from a shared understanding of what we value most.”

Developing a culture of high performance

One of the biggest aspects of Netflix’s culture is cultivating a team of high performers – a group the company refers to as its ‘Dream Team”. 

Building this, the company explains, is akin to managing a sports team – a process in which Netflix says it has decided to “focus on performance and picking the right person for every position, even when that means swapping out someone they love for a better player.”

This act of swapping and tweaking refers to Netflix’s well-known ‘Keeper Test’. 

Developed by Reed, the keeper test is a tool used by managers to assess employee suitability, with managers being encouraged to ask “If X wanted to leave, would I fight to keep them?”, or “knowing everything I know today, would I hire X again?”.

If managers would not fight to retain an employee, Netflix advises that “it’s fairer to everyone to part ways quickly.”

Netflix explains that decisions like this are made based on an employee's whole record, rather than one isolated incident, saying that it will “stick with employees through short-term bumps”, because “on the dream team, you need people who challenge the status quo and try new things.”

While this may seem like an extreme approach, Netflix – with an average tenure of just over three years – has higher rates of employee retention than Meta (1.3-2.02 years) Google (1.9 years) and Apple (1.7-1.85 years).

The average tenure for a manager at Netflix is even higher, at 5.8 years, while board members remain, on average, for 11.7 years. 

Avoiding unnecessary processes to remain agile

By nurturing high-performing, capable talent, Netflix has been able to create the work environment it has today – where many standard rules and regulations are much more lenient. 

In its culture memo, the company explains that it expects managers to “practice context not control”, by “giving their teams the context and clarity needed to make good decisions” instead of assigning all work.

For Netflix, this means keeping rules as minimal as possible. Its holiday policy is simply “take vacation”, employees are not required to follow a 9-5 workday and there is no real expense policy.

This attitude stems from the initial 2009 culture presentation, which criticised company models that are too process driven saying that, while they may deliver near-term results, the lack of agility causes the company to “grind painfully into irrelevance”. 

Instead, Netflix has strived to create a team that can perform well with a lack of boundaries, so it can easily adapt and remain competitive. In particular, this means prioritising talent that is “self-motivated, self-aware and self-disciplined”. 

Sergio says: “You might think that this kind of freedom leads to chaos. While we’ve had our fair share of failures – and a few people have taken advantage of our culture – our emphasis on individual autonomy has created a very successful business.”