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Cómo contratar como Netflix — "Esta es una manera completamente diferente de pensar sobre el capital humano" La plataforma de streaming construyó un equipo increíble con una estrategia llamada "densidad de talento". Pero no necesitas ser un gigante tecnológico para hacerlo.

Por Liz Brody

Las opiniones expresadas por los colaboradores de Entrepreneur son personales

Federico Gastaldi

Are you looking for a job? ClassDojo has 15 vacancies available, but be aware that they have very high standards and are in no rush to hire. The early childhood education company has a team of 220 people and a hiring rate of 0.09% of those who apply.

How can a company grow by hiring so slowly? The answer is "talent density ," a concept that has been gaining traction lately.

Related: The Science of Motivation: Inspiring High-Performing Teams

Netflix coined the term years ago, and it was popularized in co-founder Reed Hastings' 2020 book, No Rules Here . Hastings defined it as "a smaller pool of talent overall, but a larger pool of talent per employee"—that is, you hire a smaller team, but only pick superstars who can do the jobs of multiple people.

Netflix adopted this strategy after laying off a third of its staff in 2001, and Hastings credits it as key to the streaming giant's success. "This is a completely different way of thinking about human capital," says Josh Bersin, a global HR industry analyst with his own consulting firm, adding that this strategy is even more relevant today, with artificial intelligence (AI) replacing jobs. "It's also a really important strategy for a small company that wants to outperform the big guys."

But how does a startup do it, when it can't pay Netflix-like salaries or attract top Silicon Valley talent? ClassDojo co-founder Sam Chaudhary has the answer, because he's been doing it for years. "Just by writing the right code, a great software engineer can literally create billions of dollars in value for the company, while huge teams of less talented people will never get there," he says.

Related: 3 Strategies to Optimize Your Hiring Process and Find the Best Employees

Here are the three hiring rules that have helped ClassDojo reach 45 million kids:

Rule 1: Evaluate by effectiveness

Talent density isn't just about recruiting a brilliant candidate. Every hire should be a force multiplier that unlocks and elevates others so they can perform better. "It's a very rare type of person," Chaudhary says, and it sometimes takes years to find them. "But that's what we require. We can't compromise on that."

To test a candidate , you can ask about a deeply held belief they hold. Then follow up with, " Okay, tell me why that could be truly harmful to the world ." If you can't recognize the negative aspects of your own opinions, you might be very dogmatic and difficult to work with.

Rule 2: Hire only when it's a 'resounding yes'

Chaudhary selects a small group of employees to become hiring managers in addition to their regular jobs. They go through an intense training process and are 100% responsible for filling a position. After evaluating candidates and getting feedback from their peers, they ask themselves questions like: Would it be a big loss if this person went to work for a competitor? If I were interviewing for a job and met this person, would I join just to be able to work with them?

They then make a simple assessment: Is this person a "definite yes" — an incredible opportunity that can't be passed up? If so, they hire them. "If everyone is just OK with this person being here, for me the answer is no," Chaudhary says.

Related: Companies say they want to hire candidates with AI skills, but employees are still using AI tools without their bosses knowing

Rule 3: Talent calls for talent

Great professionals attract—and create!—other great professionals. "We tend to imitate the most impressive among us," says Will Felps, an associate professor at UNSW Sydney. (His research also indicates the opposite: Rude and lazy people can worsen a team's performance by 30% to 40%.) That's another great reason to pursue talent density: It means everyone makes everyone else better.

"Look," Chaudhary says, "we have the usual pressures, and every day there's a temptation to just lower the bar. But if we stay focused and, with every hire, keep increasing the average level of effectiveness, there's no problem we can't solve."

Related: Everything you need to know about recruiting and retaining Gen Z talent
Liz Brody is a contributing editor at Entrepreneur magazine. 
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