When Steve Cadigan joined LinkedIn in 2009, he faced an uncomfortable problem: a company selling recruiting solutions was struggling to recruit.
Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Apple were competing for the same people, and Steve recalled an offer decline rate of roughly 90% at one point.
The leadership team began asking a question that became central to its approach: “Why would anyone want to work here?”
Steve revisited that experience with Aaron Shapiro, Founder and CEO of Carver Edison, during The New Rules of Winning AI Talent. The conversation brought together his experience as LinkedIn’s first CHRO with a discussion of culture, equity, and what makes people choose an employer.
A reason to choose LinkedIn
At first, LinkedIn’s answers sounded like those of many employers. It had good people, a strong leadership team, and a promising product. As Steve explained, every company could make similar claims.
Through discussions across the organization, a more specific answer emerged: LinkedIn could be an exceptional place for career growth. For a company helping people find their next opportunity, that ambition felt closely connected to its purpose.
He described the shift as an effort to become a place great people would seek out. Culture gave LinkedIn something to build around.
That commitment showed up in how employees could move within the company. Steve questioned the expectation that someone should spend a year in a job before applying for another internal role. If a different position better suited their interests and abilities, he wanted that conversation to happen before they looked outside LinkedIn.
The company also gave people opportunities to do work they had not done before. Steve described trusting employees with new roles when they showed confidence in their ability to learn and already had some of the experience or skills the job required.
He recalled the excitement that came with that trust. People were being given responsibility they had not expected, and the chance to grow brought new energy to their work.
Building culture through everyday experience
Career opportunities were one part of a broader effort to understand what helped employees do their best work.
Steve recalled a question from LinkedIn’s employee survey: “Are you as productive as you could be?” Employees were also asked to explain what was getting in the way.
The answers included practical concerns about room temperature, cubicle walls, and noise. Those details gave the company specific problems it could address.
His approach to culture also involved asking people what kind of workplace they wanted to help create. He described conversations about doing meaningful work, learning, being surrounded by smart colleagues, feeling appreciated, and having a life outside the office.
“Invite people to make it better.”
He cautioned that leaders have to believe in the culture they describe. He said that when leaders claim culture matters but do not believe it or act accordingly, they do more harm than if they had never said they cared about culture.
Employees see how leaders share information, speak to people, and make decisions. Those actions shape the environment whether leaders are deliberate about them or not.
What LinkedIn learned about equity after its IPO
LinkedIn’s move into the public market brought another surprise.
Steve recalled worrying that the IPO would weaken the company’s appeal to candidates.
The prospect of a large, uncertain payoff had been part of the attraction of joining a private company. What would happen when that changed?
Steve said more great talent wanted to work at LinkedIn after it went public. In his account, candidates saw it as a more established opportunity. A publicly traded share price appealed to people who were less comfortable with the uncertainty of private-company equity.
His point was that talented people have different appetites for risk. Public-company equity can be valuable to candidates who want greater visibility into what they are receiving.
When the discussion turned to equity strategy, he emphasized starting with the company’s overall compensation philosophy. He encouraged leaders to be clear about the role of ownership and how equity fits alongside cash incentives.
He also noted that differences in regulation and tax treatment across countries matter when designing a program.
Steve also encouraged listeners to connect with Aaron at Carver Edison or another equity specialist for guidance on program design, emphasizing how valuable or costly those decisions can be.
An offer has to match the experience
Steve described the employee value proposition in terms of what someone puts into a job and what they get out of it.
The rewards can include cash, equity, and the experience of the work itself. The balance is rarely perfect, he said, but problems arise when the distance between effort and reward becomes unsustainable.
That is why he cautioned against overselling a role. Recruiting someone from a company such as Google can feel like a win, but if the employer cannot meet that person’s needs, the excitement may be short-lived.
He brought the same perspective to the discussion of remote and in-person work. Leaders may focus on productivity and collaboration in the office, while employees consider how working from home affects their ability to contribute at work and manage family responsibilities.
Steve encouraged organizations to be thoughtful about work arrangements and experiment, recognizing that the same approach will not suit everyone.
Across those examples, his emphasis was on understanding who the opportunity suits and being honest about what working there involves.
Start with your AI philosophy
When Aaron asked how AI should change organizational design, Steve said companies first need to define their philosophy for using it, including its role with employees, customers, and company data.
Trust as part of the AI talent strategy
As the conversation turned to closing advice, Steve urged leaders to focus on trust.
“I would double down on building a trust strategy.”
He described employees’ need to feel safe in a constructive work environment, particularly as AI receives attention for its potential to eliminate jobs. If a company’s first implementation involves reducing headcount, he asked, what message does that send about its employee value proposition?
Steve acknowledged AI’s role in improving efficiency, but argued that its real upside lies in creating new markets, value, profits, and opportunities.
He said companies would not realize that upside by asking employees to use AI to improve their work if those employees did not trust the company’s motives.
The conversation returns to the question that helped LinkedIn rethink recruiting: “Why would anyone want to work here?” Career growth, culture, and equity all help shape the answer. The next step is making sure the experience of working at your company lives up to it.
