Netflix has made much of its work philosophy public in its corporate culture document. One of its best-known concepts is the Netflix keeper test, a criterion that helps its managers decide which people they want to keep on their teams.

But the keeper test is part of a broader idea: reducing unnecessary processes, giving more autonomy, and providing enough context for people to make decisions.

A good example is its expense policy, summed up in five words: “Act in Netflix’s best interests”. But what does this model really mean, and what can a startup learn from it?

The Netflix keeper test is based on two questions. If a person wanted to leave the company, would their manager try to convince them to stay? And, knowing what they know today, would they hire that person again?

Netflix builds this criterion into its concept of The Dream Team, which compares its teams to those of a professional sport: the priority is to have the right people in every position.

If a manager considers that they would not try to retain an employee or would not hire them again, the company understands that it may be better for both parties to go their separate ways.

However, the keeper test is not meant to judge someone on a single mistake. Netflix notes that a person's whole track record should be taken into account, and it recognizes the value of those who experiment, challenge the status quo, and may get things wrong while looking for new solutions.

For a founder, the point is not to copy this system, but to ask whether the company has clearly defined what making an exceptional contribution means.

The keeper test is best understood within another of the central ideas of Netflix's culture: People Over Process, that is, putting people ahead of processes.

The company starts from a simple premise: when people have enough information, context, and autonomy, they can make better decisions.

This also gives rise to the concept context not control. Instead of overseeing every decision, the manager should provide the context the team needs to decide for itself.

This doesn't mean there are no rules. Autonomy operates within clear expectations of behavior and accountability. The difference lies in trying not to turn every possible situation into a procedure.

This philosophy is also reflected in some of Netflix's internal policies. Its vacation policy is summed up in two words, “Take vacation”, and its expense policy in five: “Act in Netflix’s best interests”.

The idea is not to eliminate every rule, but to avoid unnecessary processes and trust employees' judgment.

For a startup, this approach can be especially interesting when the team starts to grow. Creating a rule for every problem can end up generating more exceptions, approvals, and bureaucracy.

The challenge is to strike a balance between putting controls in place when they are needed and allowing people to make certain decisions on their own.

The keeper test doesn't work in isolation either. Netflix advocates a culture of continuous feedback, in which conversations about performance are part of everyday work and are not reserved only for an annual review.

In addition, it identifies eight values that are especially important in its employees: generosity, judgment, candor, creativity, courage, inclusion, curiosity, and resilience.

In this context, autonomy and accountability go together. Giving freedom to decide means accepting that mistakes may occur. Netflix believes this risk can be offset by faster decisions, more autonomous teams, and greater capacity for innovation.

A startup doesn't need to copy Netflix's model literally. Its size, resources, and growth stage are different. What's useful is to bring some of its questions into day-to-day work:

The same logic can be applied to talent management. The keeper test invites you to ask which people are key to the company's next stage and, above all, why. That assessment should be based on concrete contributions, not personal affinities.

The main lesson from Netflix is not that every startup should have five-word policies, but that every rule and every process should have a clear reason to exist.

As a company grows, its culture is increasingly reflected in concrete decisions: who can decide, how feedback is given, what happens when someone makes a mistake, and when it is worth creating a new rule.

A good culture is not about eliminating all processes, but about knowing which ones are truly necessary.