Reference no: EM132181156

MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES – COMPETING FOR, RECRUITING AND RETAINING TALENT AT GOOGLE UK

Over a decade ago, ‘a pair of idealistic lads in a garage set up a company (Google) that would change the way many of us live’ (Usborne 2009). Google is now Fortune Magazine’s fourth best place to work and the second (after Apple) most admired company (2010). It is known for having an informal corporate culture, operating under a philosophy where they believe work should be challenging and the challenge should be fun. The Independent newspaper recently took up an invitation to spend a day at Google London. They wanted to ascertain whether or not it really was the greatest place to work in the world. The reporter toured the offices and spoke with employees (Googlers). The UK Director of Operations stated that ‘We look after our staff so that they want to come to work.’ Having toured the office for a day the reporter departed, ‘secretly wishing [he] were a Googler’.

Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin named the search engine they built ‘Google’, a play on the word ‘googol’, the mathematical term for a 1 followed by 100 zeros. The name reflects the immense volume of information that exists, and the scope of Google’s mission: to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products and generates profit primarily from advertising; the Google web search engine is the company’s most popular service. Google runs over one million servers in data centers around the world, and processes over one billion search requests every day. Revenues typically exceed $20 Billion per year. Google’s rapid growth has triggered a chain of products, acquisitions and partnerships beyond the company’s core search engine. It has also created significant Human Resource Management (HRM) challenges. Google has around 20 000 full-time employees worldwide and aims to attract and retain the smartest designers and engineers. Google claim to be ‘inclusive in [their] hiring, and favor ability over experience’. With offices around the world and dozens of languages spoken by Google staffers the company is diverse. The result is a team that reflects the global audience Google serves. They aim to ‘nurture an invigorating, positive environment by hiring talented people’.

At Google London, the company employs technical and administrative staff, including human resources, finance, legal, facilities, marketing, communications, business development and corporate development staff. Google’s HR team (People Operations) work closely with management teams to attract, hire, develop and reward talented people. The HR function is committed to preserving Google’s ‘uncommon culture’ as they continue to grow worldwide. Within the HR team they have specialists working on staffing, benefits, compensation, development, people programs and talent management.

Supporting the company’s growth, Google Staffing is responsible for developing strategies to hire exceptionally talented people. ‘Google is organized around the ability to attract and leverage the talent of exceptional technologists and business people. We have been lucky to recruit many creative, principled and hard-working stars.’ Larry Page, Google Co-founder. Google’s People Programs are geared to anticipate the demands and meet the requirements of the company’s rapid expansion throughout the world. They aim to encourage talented people to explore career opportunities with the organization.

This department helps Google’s recruiting and HR processes work effectively, engage in ongoing dialogues with university students and professors. Providing information on their ‘hiring’ process, Google claim to take great care in how they attract and hire the very best talent – ‘because at Google, people are our most important asset’. For candidates, the process begins with searching for a job opening that interests them. Following application, qualifications and experience are reviewed by Google recruiters to determine suitability. Recruiters may then contact candidates to learn more about their background and answer candidate questions. A phone interview may then be conducted in order to determine whether a candidate should be brought in for interview. The interview process for technical positions evaluates core software engineering skills and for business and general positions evaluates problem solving and behavioral abilities. Following interviews, recruiters will decide if a candidate is suitable for the job opening and will then make a job offer. Recognizing the ongoing need to develop talented employees, Google’s Learning and Leadership Development (LLD) team designs and implements innovative learning programs that support and develop employees.

HR Business Partners are on the front line of servicing and interacting with employees. They perform both operational and strategic roles in providing human resources expertise in employee relations, coaching/development, compensation, conflict management, organizational development, and training – placing considerable focus on retention, scaling and culture issues. Google aims to guide employee actions and behavior in order to encourage creativity and productivity. The founders believe that great, creative things are more likely to happen with the right company culture. There is an emphasis on team achievements and pride in individual accomplishments that contribute to overall success. As a motivation technique, Google uses a policy often called Innovation Time Off, where Google engineers are encouraged to spend twenty per cent of their work time on projects that interest them. Some of Google’s newer services originated from these independent endeavors. As noted by Mediratta (2007), a software engineer at Google, ‘It sounds obvious, but people work better when they’re involved in something they’re passionate about’.

The company lists reasons to work at Google. ‘Appreciation is the best motivation, so we’ve created a fun and inspiring workspace you’ll be glad to be a part of, including on-site doctor; massage and yoga; professional development opportunities; running trails; and plenty of snacks to get you through the day’. Google offers a variety of benefits, including a choice of medical programs, stock options, maternity and paternity leave and much more.

Prompt Questions:

1. What are your insights from this article? What management theories support your insights?

2. How was managing human resources – competing for, recruiting and retaining talent done at GOOGLE UK?