MUMBAI: Freedom and responsibility go together, like peanut butter and jelly. You can’t have one without the other, said Jessica Neal, chief talent officer of Netflix, making a point on the streaming service company’s much talked about people policies, which include unlimited holidays. Neal was in Mumbai recently to oversee the new India office operations and recruitments.
Netflix is beefing up its employee strength in the country — not only is the company doubling its strength here, it is doing so with an intent to mirror its global workplace culture of freedom and responsibility. The move is important, given that India is seeing the fastest content investment for any country in Netflix’s first three years globally.
In an exclusive interview to TOI, Neal said, “Our plan globally, and here in Mumbai, is to hire the best talent possible. India is one of the biggest entertainment hubs and we have been impressed by everyone we have been meeting. India is a new market for us and interacting with the talent here helps us understand how to resonate and how to build service for people better here and around the world.”
At present, Netflix India employs 30 people and this is expected to double in the next six months. The firm is hiring people from content licensing to production talent to marketing, legal and finance talent. These will largely be lateral hires, which is the case across the globe as well. Netflix’s headquarters at Los Gatos and Los Angeles, which have more than 4,200 employees, contributes significantly to its global strength of over 4,900 streaming employees.
“When we think about building a team, we think about individuals that are going to bring not only experience but also perspectives, which allow us to push the business forward. We are constantly looking for people who can help us think differently, who can bring experience to the table that we don’t have,” said Neal, who returned to Netflix in 2017 to oversee HR.
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Netflix, which fired a senior executive abroad three months ago for repeated racial remarks, is also working hard at building an unbiased culture at work. The incident sent a strong message that the firm, which puts ample amount of trust in its employees, also demonstrates zero tolerance to such type of behaviour.
While globally, women form 44% of Netflix’s employees, in India, Netflix has already attained gender equality with gender diversity at 53% of women.
