Groupon, Hulu Share Lessons on Building a Hot Democratic Start-Up

Hulu's John Foster and Groupon's Dan Jessup (right) share a moment with WorldBlu CEO Traci Fenton, following a presentation at WorldBlu LIVE. (Photo Credit: Hollister Thomas)

SAN FRANCISCO — Groupon and Hulu have a few things in common; both are successful online companies experiencing rapid growth while sticking to their democratic design, winning spots on the 2011 WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces.

Dan Jessup, head of people strategy at Groupon, and John Foster, senior VP of talent and organization of Hulu, shared insights about their organizations’ democratic journeys during a breakout session last week at WorldBlu LIVE, a conference exploring building democratic organizations.

Groupon has been named by Forbes as the fastest growing company of all time, which WorldBlu founder and CEO Traci Fenton noted is a “cool paradox.”

“People think democracy and they think slow and Groupon is the fastest growing company of all time and they are getting it done and they’re doing it democratically,” she said.

Fenton said the companies are the “real deal” and WorldBlu wanted them to speak to share an authentic conversation about how to grow quickly and democratically.

Groupon, the original “deal-of-the-day” website, was founded in November 2008 and has more than 6,000 employees in offices worldwide.

“It can be challenging to grow at this pace while retaining the aspects we love about our spirit and culture, while at the same time laying the foundation for the years to come,” said Jessup, noting “it’s a challenge that’s pretty awesome to have.”

Hulu, a U.S. online video service that offers hit TV shows, was formed in 2006 and hired 175 people in the last 12 months. Foster said the first 20-30 people are feeling major changes with the organization’s growth.

Foster said Hulu doesn’t often use the word culture, because “culture is an outcome, it’s not something you can create, it’s something that happens.”

“The single most important decision we make on a daily basis is who we hire,” he said, “And the way they behave creates the culture.”

Hulu hires people who are extremely motivated, creative and professional, and “are trying really hard not to implement processes and tools and systems that put them into the role of being an employee.”

Jessup said Groupon also wants to ensure candidates have the same experience throughout the hiring process and have the opportunity to vet the company just as the company vets them.

There’s a big difference between hiring fast and hiring a lot of people in a short period of time, said Jessup, adding they believe in not hiring fast.

Selection runs the “whole gamut of employment branding,” and Groupon leverages transparency throughout the process, with the aim to let candidates know what it’s like behind the walls, said Jessup.

Jessup and Foster both expressed the importance of language when corresponding with team members.

“Messaging, to me, is huge,” said Jessup, noting he prefers using the more accurate “we” rather than “I” or “you” in correspondence, which was echoed by Foster.

When he joined Hulu a year ago, Foster recalled signing the offer letter and vowing to change it in a couple of months from a “same old kind of company” feel to make it friendly, normal language.

Hulu’s policy for expense management is “do the right thing for both you and Hulu,” so people use their judgement while reinforcing the workplace environment.

Groupon has implemented an e-mail address where any employee that sees an overly engineered process can let others know.

Following the session, Jessup told Axiom News he would be honoured to speak with Foster again, noting it was a “fun tandem.”

When asked what it means to be part of the WorldBlu movement, Jessup pointed to the fact that Groupon got on the WorldBlu List because employees filled out the survey acknowledging the extent they feel the organization is democratic, transparent and embraces open dialogue.

“To me, that’s even the strongest piece, because it was the result of a very detailed and thorough and honest employee survey so we are here because our employees are supportive of (organizational democracy) and believe in it.”

Learn more about Groupon, Hulu and other WorldBlu certified organizations at http://www.worldblu.com/.

If you have a story to share about organizational democracy, or feedback on this story, contact jennifer(at)axiomnews.ca.

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