Did you hire the right talent? For HR pro Rachel Lockett, it comes down to one question.
Lockett worked as an HR leader at major tech companies, including Stripe and Pinterest, before founding her own executive coaching consultancy. On a recent episode of “Lenny’s Podcast,” Lockett gave a peek behind the curtain for her talent strategy.
It’s difficult for managers to accept that their talent is underperforming, Lockett said. She suggests asking: “Would you enthusiastically rehire this person for the same role?”
Lockett always asked that question at Stripe, she said.
“When the answer is no to that, no matter how many difficult conversations you have, this is not going to work,” she said.
The question is clarifying, she said, because it is a binary choice.
“Even engaging in the hard conversation and seeing what happens can lead you to the clarity that you need to take action on talent that’s not working,” Lockett said.
As tech companies strive for “talent density,” they can employ various methods to determine whether their teams have the desired makeup — and whether talent should stay.
Lockett’s question is reminiscent of Netflix’s famous “keeper test.” It’s evolved over the years, but it asks Netflix managers to consistently ask themselves: “If X wanted to leave, would I fight to keep them?” or, “Knowing everything I know today, would I hire X again?” If the answer is no, the employee is given “generous severance” and cut so that a stronger replacement could be found.
Meta looked for so-called “low performers.” Mark Zuckerberg laid off some 4,000 employees in February to “make sure we have the best people on our teams.” Microsoft took a similar strategy, cutting nearly 2,000 employees who were deemed low performers.
Host Lenny Rachitsky chimed in to say that a “no” to Lockett’s question doesn’t always mean employees should be exited on the spot. There are other methods to address performance, he said.
“It could be, talk to them about it, put them on a performance plan, put them in a different role,” Rachitsky said. “It doesn’t mean you have to fire them immediately.”
Lockett responded by saying that the size of the business mattered, too. “In quickly scaling businesses, it’s natural that the leadership team’s job will change, and that you’ll have to make some evolution over time,” she said.
While a performance improvement plan may be preferable to termination, employees have come to dread them. In Big Tech, PIPs took on a new name: “quiet layoffs.”
Part of the question’s appeal is its directness, Lockett said.
“You have an immediate reaction that is honest to that question that provides clarity,” she said.
