The Keeper Test – Keeping Good Employees
Netflix-Inspired Thinking for Small Businesses
The Keeper Test is a brutally simple idea made famous by Netflix’s culture deck:
“If one of your employees can to you tomorrow and told you they were leaving for a similar job at another company, would you fight to keep them?”
If your gust reaction is yes, they’re a keeper.
If your honest reaction is no, it’s time to start planning their exit.
Netflix constantly applies this test and they’re not shy about it. Their philosophy is that the company’s success depends on a high-performing team, not a collection of people filling seats.
For a small business owner, this idea can be game-changing. In a big corporation, you might be able to carry underperformers for a while without it hurting the bottom line, But in small business? Every single person impacts your customers, your reputation, and your profit.
Why the Keeper Test Works
The power of the Keeper Test is that it forces honest, no-excuses thinking about your team. It’s easy to keep people around because they’re “nice” or “loyal” or because they’ve “been here for years”. But none of that changes whether they’re moving your business forward or holding it back.
Here’s the psychology:
- We avoid hard decisions because firing people feels bad. That’s empathy but in business, empathy without standards can be expensive.
- We value loyalty, but loyalty doesn’t equal effectiveness.
- We fear losing someone and having to retrain but keeping the wrong person costs more over time than hiring the right one.
The Construction Company
Let’s say you run a small construction business. You have a site supervisor, Dave who’s been with you for six years. He knows all the suppliers, gets along with the crew, and clients seem to like him.
But over the last year, jobs he’s managed have consistently run late. Safety checks aren’t always documented properly, and you’ve had to personally step in on multiple projects to smooth things over with frustrated clients.
One Friday afternoon, Dave casually mentions that a competitor has offered him a role with slightly better pay. If you’re honest, your gut reaction isn’t panic, it’s relief. The thought of not having to chase him up anymore actually feels like a weight lifting.
That’s the Keeper Test doing its job. It’s showing you that Dave isn’t a long-term fit for where your business is headed.
Using the Keeper Test Without Creating Fear
The Keeper Test isn’t about being cold or heartless – it’s about setting clear standards and holding yourself accountable for who’s on your team.
Here’s how to apply it without damaging morale:
Be transparent about what “great” looks like – make it easy for people to know how to be a valuable member of your business.
Give feedback in real time – don’t let issues fester until you’re already frustrated.
Coach before you cut – give underperformers a chance to rise to the challenge with clear timelines and expectations.
Make the call if nothing changes – keeping someone who drags the team down sends a message that your standards don’t matter.
Are You a Keeper?
The Keeper Test works both ways. If your best employee came to you tomorrow with a job offer, would they want to fight to stay? High standards cut both ways. If you expect a team of keepers, you need to be a leader worth keeping.
It’s not about perfection. You want to make sure your team is made of people who raise the bar. In a small business, one wrong hire can drag down the entire operation. By asking yourself, “Would I fight to keep them?” you protect both your business’s culture and its profitability.
