Case Study:
Google, Inc. has one of the longest interviewing and hiring processes in the country. The steps to getting hired by Google involve an interview with a recruiter, a phone interview, and a face-to-face interview with no less than four "Googlers," or people who already work at Google. This portion of the interview process is not itself unusual, but Google does not stop there. After the face-to-face interview, each candidate is reviewed by Googlers who were not present during the initial interview as well as independent committees. Every Googler involved in the hiring process is looking for four things: Leadership, Role-Related Knowledge, How You Think, and Googleyness. Google also promotes a strong team-based environment and looks for candidates who "are great at lots of things."
This process has not always been in place, however. Until recently the interview process at Google involved answering questions and solving problems that were similar to those asked on college entrance exams. They also asked to view candidates' school transcripts, grade point averages, and test scores. These practices have been abolished because, according to the VP of "people Operations" Laszlo Bock, a candidate's ability to perform well at Google does not correlate to the way he or she performed in school because the skills required at Google are different from those required in college.
Now, instead of hiring people based on their level of schooling and how well they are able to solve brainteasers, candidates must be able to show they can handle change, challenges, and a team atmosphere.
Google, Inc. was ranked number one in Fortune magazine's best places to work in 2012, but it also has one of the highest turnover rates in the United States, with the median employee tenure being just about one year according to PayScale. A turnover rate this high combined with the recent exodus of many of Google's higher-ups means that the staff of "people operations" must also focus on what makes a person well qualified for a managerial position. So what makes a good manager according to Google? According to Lazlo, "We found that, for leaders, it's important that people know you are consistent and fair in how you think about making decisions and that there's an element of predictability. If a leader is consistent, people on their teams experience tremendous freedom, because then they know that within certain parameters, they can do whatever they want."
Questions:
From the case study, propose three (3) policies that Google’s human resource management could enact to reduce the high turnover rate the company has experienced. Explain the main reasons why you believe the proposed measures would be effective in improving employee retention.
Consider the various goals of human resource management presented in the course. From the case study, determine the goals that Google’s human resource management is successfully meeting and those that they have failed to meet. Speculate on both the ramifications of failing to meeting the latter goals and the possibility of such a failure negatively impacting the business.