Topic: Recruitment & Selection for the best

Case: Google

Traits/ Attributes commonly shared by Googlers:

 Brilliant
 Team Oriented
 Self -Driven
 Super hardworking
 Goal oriented

Traits Google wants from its employees:

 Graduates with great grades from best universities
 Super bright
 Love to work
 Have fun
 Handle Stress
 Have Diverse Interests
 Team oriented
 Flexible
 Maintain decent work-life balance

Negatives:
- Stringent Recruitment Standards
- Rising Tide of Early retirees

Tackle the problems through:

- Relaxing Recruitment standards
- Getting diverse group of employees

Questions:

1. What do you think of the idea of Google correlating personal traits from the employees’ answers on the survey
to their performance, and then using that as the basis for screening job candidates? In other words, Is It or Is it
not a good idea and please explain your answer

Yes it is a good idea. Google requires certain common traits like employees have to be from the best universities, super
bright, hard-working, team oriented, diverse interests, flexible and maintain a work-life balance. If those traits are used
for short listing during the initial screening process then the time taken to select the right candidates can be reduced.

Comments by Nath:
The idea of Google correlating personal traits from the existing employees is not a bad
idea. However, it will help to some extent only and this process will not fully justify for
initial screening process.
Googles Hiring Mantra is rather than search for one particular skill set, they hire ‘Smart’
workers having different skills set. Google hire process inclusive of determining the
person have the skill set and experience potential to do the Job from background
standpoint in addition to academics and credentials.

Job candidates has to pass through various tests / interviews conducted over phone / at
Job site. Using or correlating personal traits from the employees’ answers may give
very basic information in initial screening process and can not be 100% yard stick for
screening process.

2. The benefits that Google pays obviously represent an enormous expense. Based on what you know about
Google and what you read in this book, how would you defend all these benefits if you are making a presentation
to the security analysts who were analyzing Google’s performance?

Google is a 24-hour operation and the engineers and others frequently pull all-nighters to complete their projects. Also,
working at Google requires a special set of traits, for instance they need to attract people who are super bright, love to
work, have fun, can handle stress and who also have outside interests and flexibility. For attracting the right kind of talent
and retaining them, the company needs to provide a company needs to provide a package of services and financial
benefits that helps its employees maintain an acceptable work-life balance.

Google strives to have the fastest, most reliable search engine on the web and in
order to accomplish this; Google has to hire employees that are the best in their
technological field. Google rewards their employee's hard work with an extremely
relaxed workplace that encourages creativity.

Google understands that their employee's have active lives outside of the
workplace and they encourage their employees to bring those parts of their lives
into the Google employee community.

It is this sort of culture that creates individuals that have the desire and the
motivation to stay with a company.

For attracting the right kind of talent and retaining them, the company needs to
provide a package of services and financial benefits that helps its employees
maintain an acceptable work-life balance.

3. If you want to hire the brightest people around, how would you go about recruiting and selecting them?

a. Go to the best universities/ campus recruitments

b. Poach from competitors
c. Referrals (incentive plans for existing employees)

Nath : I agree
4. To support its growth and expansion strategy, Google wants (among other traits) people who are super
bright, and who work hard, often round the clock and who are flexible and maintain a decent work-life balance.
List five specific HR policies or practices that you think Google has implemented or should implement to support
its strategy, and explain your answer.

a. Google has the policy to hire employees who have passed with great grades from elite universities (super bright trait
ensured)

Nath comments:
1) Google Has Changed Work Itself with “20% Time”
The key element of changing the work so that the work itself becomes a
critical attraction and retention force and driver of innovation and
motivation is what Google calls “20% work.” There is no concrete
definition of what 20% work means, but generally for professional jobs
it means that the employee works the equivalent of one-day-a-week on
their own researching individually selected projects that the company
funds and supports.
2) Human resource Practices:
A flat organization, a lack of hierarchy, a collaborative environment--to
keep these as continue to grow and spread them and filtrate them into
their new offices around the world.
3) More money up front
Approximately 1,000 Google employees were benefitted in 2004, when
the company's high-profile initial stock offering made them instant
millionaires.

4) Giving a taste of the culture

Everyone at the company seems to really enjoy what they do, and
people sincerely believe that they can make a difference. It is extremely
motivating to show up each day to the office knowing that their work
will be seen by millions of people.

5) The World’s First Recruiting Culture

Google has accomplished something that no other corporation has ever

accomplished. In less than a handful of years, they have developed
what can only be categorized as a “recruiting machine.”
5. What sorts of factors do you think Google will have to take into consideration as it tries transferring its culture
and reward systems and ways of doing business to its operations abroad?

a. International Laws
b. International taxation issues
c. Cultural differences
d. Differences for not being able to provide same kind of benefits

Nath comments:
In addition to the above, Highly skilled and trained personnel from Google culture to be posted at abroad to establish the
core values and culture right from the scratch.

6. Given the sorts of values and culture Google cherishes, briefly describe four specific activities you suggest they
pursue during new employee orientation

1.       Orient all new employees consistently through the use of an orientation checklist, employee
handbook and orientation program to indulge in to Google cutlure

2.       Communicate pride in the company by introducing new employee by sending email, giving
welcome kit to new employee etc.

3.       Encourage communication, and a sense of importance, by inviting new employees to have coffee
or lunch with the senior management.

4.       Reduce the stress of starting a new job by pairing new employees with a more senior or
experienced team member that can help coach them through the first few weeks on the job.