Limeade CEO Henry Albrecht has a very strict hiring rule: No Jerks. None. Ever.
Hopefully that’s clear enough. But to make sure, it’s now included in their job descriptions. He was kind enough to explain how this policy affects Limeade.
To read the interview, click here: We Don’t Hire Jerks. Period.
The link is broken.
Thank you! Fixed.
This is fabulous! I think many of us work toward this in many ways, but Limeade has “formalized” the concept. I’m going to be passing this article on to others in my organization.
I’m a big fan of Bob Sutton’s book, “The No Asshole Rule,” in which he talks about the toxic effect of nasty workplace behavior, as well as mentioning those companies who take special efforts to keep their corporate culture free from these people.
I don’t know – this sounds more like a PR gimmick than an actual policy; it isn’t clear (from reading the interview anyway) exactly how he defines “being a jerk.”
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for not having jerks in the workplace; but, who decides who is a jerk? He does state, in the one answer, that it is a judgment call. Wow, a “judgment call”! That makes it real clear now doesn’t it!
This reminds me of a boss I had several years ago who had the annoying habit of saying so-and-so wasn’t a “team player” by which he really meant was that so-and-so didn’t kiss his butt. Being a team player as most would define it didn’t come into play. Who in that case was the real jerk? My boss (who by consensus was the real jerk) or the employee who didn’t brown-nose?
He also states that ” . . . if a consensus develops, there may be a better fit for that person at a more jerk-tolerant company” Ha! He just called his competitors “jerk-tolerant.” Doesn’t this sort of make him the jerk by resorting to name calling?
The bottom line to me is that this cannot be a “policy” if it cannot be clearly defined. Calling it a “policy” doesn’t make it so. “Policy” is something that someone can read and be somewhat clear about. Saying “we have a policy against hiring jerks” is kind of juvenile.
Lastly, since it is all a judgment call; he is more than welcome to consider me the jerk for pointing all this out. ha!
The definition of Jerk is always going to be subjective.
And of course it’s aimed towards PR as well. Who do you think contacts me about these great companies? Why PR people, of course. But, it does make his company stand out because they are upfront from the very moment you look at a job description that they don’t tolerate bad behavior. That message alone can make it a nicer place to work.