Comprehensive Analysis of Netflix's HRM: A Focus on Key Strategies

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Netflix's Human Resources Management (HRM) practices, examining key areas such as learning, development, and training, as well as reward and performance management. It explores the distinctions between learning, development, and training, detailing Netflix's training processes and methods, including gamification, personalized programs, and guest lectures. The report highlights the benefits of these learning and development activities, such as improved employee performance, increased innovation, and enhanced employee satisfaction. Furthermore, the report delves into reward and performance management, defining reward management, discussing the importance of extrinsic and intrinsic rewards, and explaining the concept of performance management. The report emphasizes the relevance of these systems to Netflix's profitability, productivity, and overall competitive advantage, concluding with an assessment of the company's strategic approach to HRM.

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Contents
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................3
Learning, Development and Training......................................................................................................3
Difference between Learning, Development and Training......................................................................3
Training Process and the different training and development methods used by Netflix..........................4
Benefits of Learning and Development activities....................................................................................4
Reward and Performance Management..................................................................................................5
Concept of reward management, importance of extrinsic and intrinsic rewards......................................5
Concept of performance management.....................................................................................................6
Relevance of reward and performance management system....................................................................7
CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Human Resources Management can be defined as an approach developed for the
effective management of people within an organization in order to gain a competitive advantage.
It is an important aspect in an organization and ensures that right people are hired for the right
jobs. It also creates various opportunities within the workplace so as to motivate and individuals
and teams to perform efficiently and advance their career (Armstrong and Taylor, 2020). This
also helps the organization in attaining its goals and objectives in an effective manner.
Organization chosen for this report is Netflix, an American media services company
headquartered in California, US. The company was founded by Reed Hastings and Marc
Randolph in the year 1997. The report evaluates the different HRM areas which includes an
explanation of learning, development and training, along with their benefits. The report also
explains the concept of reward management and its relevance to the organization’s profitability
as well as productivity.
Learning, Development and Training
Difference between Learning, Development and Training
Learning can be defined as the process of acquiring understanding and knowledge of new
behaviors, skills and attitudes. Within an organization, learning can be defined as the process of
creation, retention and transfer of knowledge among employees. Learning helps the organization
to improve overtime by gaining relevant experience and using the same to create knowledge. On
the other hand, development can be defined as the process that helps organizations in building
their capacity to enhance their overall effectiveness through development, improvement
strategies and structures. Development involves the use of resources available with the
organization to improve its overall productivity and efficiency (Bratton and Gold, 2017). Netflix
takes care of the overall development of the organization by providing different opportunities to
the employees in order to make them feel more empowered and valued. The company views
training to be an important component for the enhancement of its overall productivity and thus
ensures that the employees are well trained.
While both learning as well as development is about the individual, training is about the
organization on the whole (Training versus Learning and Development, 2020). Learning and

development are more concerned about equipping an individual with skills that will not only help
him in the organization today, but also will be beneficial for their future endeavors. On the other
hand, training primarily focuses on the overall development of new skills and knowledge. Netflix
wants its employees to be creative so that any problem or issue within the company is resolved in
the most efficient way. Training is basically meant to teach employees new skills and knowledge
as to how they can perform their tasks effectively without any frequent supervision. Therefore,
learning, development and training are not same to ach other and differ in many ways.
Training Process and the different training and development methods used by Netflix
Going through the training process is absolutely necessary not only for the newly hires,
but also for the existing employees (Brewster and Hegewisch, 2017). It comprises of different
steps that should be followed in a structured and systematic manner so that the overall process of
training is carried out efficiently. The process involves an assessment of needs of the employees,
setting appropriate objectives so that it becomes clear as to what the training is for, designing of
the training program, implementation of the same and evaluation. When the training is complete,
all employees at Netflix are asked to provide their feedback regarding if it was helpful and useful
or not. This helps the management in determining the weak points of the training program and
rectifying them so that the same problem do not arise in future training sessions.
Netflix has reinvented HR by incorporating training and development methods that are
not only creative but also ensure that the employees are engaged to their jobs. The company has
incorporated different elements of gamification in its training and development methods. This
combines learning with some element of fun wherein the employees are interested in learning
and acquiring new skills. Gamification also ensures that employees are motivated to finish the
course. Not only this, the company develops training programs that are personalized as per the
preferences of employees and they can complete the course as per their convenience. Regular
guest lectures are conducted wherein highly skilled experts interact with the employees and
therefore, help them in enhancing their knowledge about the latest trends of the industry
(Chelladurai and Kerwin, 2018). Lastly, interactive software guides are used so that the level of
engagement of employees is high and they are keen on acquiring new skills.

Benefits of Learning and Development activities
Incorporating different learning and development activities in its workplace has helped
the media-services giant Netflix to not only conduct its business operations effectively, but also
make sure that its employees are equipped with the latest knowledge. Learning and development
activities ensure that qualified and skilled employees work for the company. It has helped in
improving the overall performance of its employees. This is because they have a greater
understanding of their responsibilities and are thus engaged in their respective jobs. Since the
company offers a lot of opportunities wherein the employees can enhance their knowledge and
learn new skills, their level of satisfaction is high. This has led to an increase in the overall
productivity of not only the employees, but the company as well. Learning and development
encourage innovation and creativity within the company and as a result, employees share new
and innovative ideas (Benefits of Learning and Development in the Workplace, 2016).
Not only this, incorporation of learning and development opportunities at its workplace
has helped Netflix to build a work environment that is not only enriching for the employees but
also fosters creativity among them. This is because employees today demand opportunities that
can help them learn and grow in their respective careers (Tang and et. al., 2018). The company
considers its employees to be the greatest assets and thus, keeps making efforts to empower as
well as encourage them to perform better. This has helped it gaining a competitive advantage
over its competitors like Hulu, amazon and YouTube. Netflix is aware of the fact that if its
workforce will not be properly trained, it can put the company to risk and also affect its overall
performance in the market. Therefore, skilled and qualified staff is hired to that the customers are
satisfied from the services being provided to them.
Reward and Performance Management
Concept of reward management, importance of extrinsic and intrinsic rewards
Reward management within an organization can be defined as a practice that is
concerned with formulating and implementing strategies as well as policies that primarily aim to
reward employees who perform fairly and consistently (Guest, 2017). The main objectives of
reward management are to enhance the motivational levels of employees as well as support the
organizational strategy. Having an efficient reward management system within the workplace
helps in keeping the employees satisfied as well as loyal towards the company. Employees at

Netflix Inc., who put in efforts and don’t mind going an extra mile to get a particular task done,
are rewarded or provided benefits. Rewards can be offered in the form of a bonus or profit
sharing. This impacts the overall organization in an efficient manner and results in an increase in
the overall productivity of the company.
Rewards provided by the company can either be extrinsic or intrinsic. Extrinsic rewards
are tangible and visible rewards that an organization offers to an employee for achieving
something. Extrinsic rewards usually have a monetary value such as a hike in the salary, bonus,
awards or recognition among other employees. These rewards help in motivating the employees
and inspiring them to work more consistently. On the other hand, intrinsic rewards are those that
motivate an employee from within (Jensen, 2017). Examples of intrinsic rewards can include
satisfaction, a sense of achievement or positive experience on the completion of a task
successfully. Intrinsic rewards are important because they help in developing an effective
motivational strategy within the workplace which further leads to offering long-term benefits that
are not tangible. These benefits are usually not that expensive to achieve and can be repeated
over again.
Concept of performance management
Performance management is a concept that most organization today are implementing at
their workplaces. It can be defined as the process of monitoring as well as managing the overall
performance of employees within an organization against key goals. It is one of the most
important aspects within a company and significantly helps in enhancing the overall employee
engagement as well as productivity. It is necessary for each and every employee within the
company to have a clear understanding of what is expected of them. This is one of the reasons
why managers as well as team leaders at Netflix Inc. are determined towards aligning their team
members with the goals and objectives of the company (Kianto, Sáenz and Aramburu, 2017). It
is important to provide regular and quality feedback to the employees about their performance.
This should include mentioning specific details on as to how can they improve and perform
better.
Employees that perform effectively and are engaged to their respective jobs are rewarded
by the management in order to keep their motivation levels intact. The management of Netflix
believes that all its employees should adhere to the company’s values in everything that they do.

The managers are responsible for talking about the performance of their team members in a
simple and honest manner regularly (How Netflix does Performance Management, 2020). This
helps in building a system that is transparent and encourages two-way communication between
the manager as well as the employees. It is important at Netflix that managers do not control
their team members, but rather provide them an opportunity to generate their best results. The
company makes use of informal reviews wherein the colleagues tell each other about what is that
they should stop or start doing.
Relevance of reward and performance management system
As per the view point of Rana Abourizk, having a good reward management system not
only helps in keeping the employees within a accompany satisfied, but also happy (Reward
Management: Theory & Importance, 2020). The system also ensures that the overall efficiency
as well as productivity of the company is maintained (Markoulli and et. al., 2017). One of the
benefits of having a reward management system within the workplace is that the employees are
motivated towards helping the organization in achieving goals and objectives. They are also
motivated towards earning rewards by performing in an efficient manner. An employee who is
rewarded for his/her performance remains motivated as well as loyal to the company. Adopting
the concept of reward management has contributed to an increase in its overall productivity as
well as profitability in the market.
A performance management on the other hand, enable an organization in tracking as well
as monitoring the performance of its employees. It is essential for all businesses to have an
effective performance management system as it helps in aligning the resources, employees and
systems to meet the objectives. An effective performance management system also helps a
company in gaining a competitive advantage against others (Soltis, Brass and Lepak, 2018). The
performance management system at Netflix has enabled it to promote continuous development of
its employees and communicate expectations relating to their performance efficiently. This has
helped the workforce of the company to be more consistent and engaged to their respective jobs.
As a result, the productivity levels have increased. Respective company wants its employees to
be able to think and take decisions independently.

CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that human resource management is one of
the most important aspects within the company because it ensures that right people are hired for
the right job. Once qualified and skilled individuals are hired, they are provided various
opportunities to learn as well as develop their overall knowledge about the different processes of
the company. Not only this, they are also offered the right training so that they pick up the
required skills related to their jobs. On the other hand, reward and performance management are
also important components that significantly contribute to the overall productivity as well as
profitability of the organization and helping it gain a competitive advantage.

REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S., 2020. Armstrong's handbook of human resource management
practice. Kogan Page Publishers.
Bratton, J. and Gold, J., 2017. Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave.
Brewster, C. and Hegewisch, A. eds., 2017. Policy and practice in european human resource
management: The Price Waterhouse Cranfield survey. Taylor & Francis.
Chelladurai, P. and Kerwin, S., 2018. Human resource management in sport and recreation.
Human Kinetics.
Guest, D. E., 2017. Human resource management and employee well‐being: Towards a new
analytic framework. Human Resource Management Journal. 27(1). pp.22-38.
Jensen, R. S., 2017. Pilot judgment and crew resource management. Routledge.
Kianto, A., Sáenz, J. and Aramburu, N., 2017. Knowledge-based human resource management
practices, intellectual capital and innovation. Journal of Business Research. 81. pp.11-20.
Markoulli, M. P. and et. al., 2017. Mapping Human Resource Management: Reviewing the field
and charting future directions. Human Resource Management Review. 27(3). pp.367-396.
Soltis, S. M., Brass, D. J. and Lepak, D. P., 2018. Social resource management: Integrating
social network theory and human resource management. Academy of Management
Annals. 12(2). pp.537-573.
Tang, G., and et. al., 2018. Green human resource management practices: scale development and
validity. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources. 56(1). pp.31-55.
Online
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How Netflix does Performance Management. 2020. [Online]. Available through:<
https://blog.performyard.com/how-netflix-does-performance-management>.
Reward Management: Theory & Importance. 2020. [Online]. Available through:<
https://study.com/academy/lesson/reward-management-theory-importance.html>.
Training versus Learning and Development. 2020. [Online]. Available through:<
https://www.boyceca.com/boyce-newsfeed/training-versus-learning-and-development>.