Google - Human Resource Management

GOOGLE: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Name: Grade Course: Tutor`s Name: (24, January, 2011) Google: Human Resource Management The following is the analysis of Google human resource management in reference to the interview that was conducted to Liane Hornsey at Meet The Boss. TV. According to the research that has been done, the Google company seems to be doing well in its human resource management having been voted the best company for two years in a row of most linked business employer in the polls published by the Universum which is an employer branding company. The hiring process mostly boosts this as Google human resource manager says that they have had a very successful hiring policy. This has been an instrumental in their work as she says that they have an obsession on their hiring policy. For example, they used a long time in the recruitment process before opening their company. This was meant to ensure that to get employees who suite their culture. Hornsey believes that by hiring the best personnel, and then everything else just flows. The company has embarked in various activities that have boosted it into the current position. However, the main activities that they have emphasized on are as follows. Selection According to the human resource manager, the company embarked in the issue of selection for a couple of years. This was meant to get the best personnel to fit the tradition of the company and people who would rise up against the company`s challenges. They meant to ensure that they offer each person an appropriate position as they believe that having located each person on the right place the rest of the work just moves (Foot & Hook, pg 125). According to Fisher & Shaw pg 23, the hiring of the workers in the company is a big process that is accompanied by numerous interviews. The successful candidate undergoes a thorough interview that is conducted by direct line manager, candidate potential peers and the subordinates. The minimum number of interviews conducted to each successful candidate is four. The human resource manager narrates that her self underwent fourteen interviews to get the position she is in now. This is meant to ensure that the person recruited has what it takes to be in the position. Not only the skills are required, but also creativity. This shows how serious they are in the recruitment process. Training and Development After the company has recruited the best person, the next stage they embark on very seriously in the training and the development part. This is done depending on the experience of the personnel. Then policy that they employ in this is 70:20:10. This was meant to encourage innovation in the training process. This means that they spend 70% of the employees time in the daily job, 20% being spent on project work while 10% is spent on what the employee want. This ensures that they exhaust completely the employees working time as they make an all round person. They also give their employee freedom to come up with ideas and implement them as part of development skills. For example if one thinks that it was necessary to have a company in any 9of the country, he/she is given that priority to gather a team and come up with research finding and even letting them go a head and open the company there. The training is done very seriously. This is shown by company not in a position to send off any employee after signing the employment contract. They go even a step further to take any mistake done by any employee as theirs. This shows that they have to train their personnel to a level of not making obvious mistake. Motivation The company human resource manager says that people are capable of thriving more in a company that is built in trust. This trust ensures that they are able to be flexible and manage their work (Anderson, Valerie pg 67). This is mostly brought by the motivation each person has. The company ensures that they start building the employees` confidence in the first day they arrive in the company by giving them a cordial welcome. The company ensures the employees` morale is boosted long before they arrive in the company as they are sending presents every week before joining the company. They ensure that they invite them for a lunch with their managers. This gives them confidence as they get the sense of belonging and shed off fear that they may have. When a noogler, who is a new employee, arrives in the company, he/she finds their desk filled with balloons, gifts and T-shirts making them like the company more. This motivates them so much before they get to the job and prepare them psychologically to raise above all the challenges. Once an employee gets a job in the company, he/she is never sent off. These give them a great assurance of the job boosting so much their morale. Objectives The company has various objectives to meet as they ensure that they keep their competitive edge. They do this by integrating the human resource management policies with the overall company strategic plan. They are there to help the company personnel to have full acceptance by including them in the decision-making. They reinforce this by consistence recruitment and training that boost the employee morale and feel that they are completely included in the company (Niehaus, Richard pg 213). According to Bach & Sisson, pg 98, the company is required to maintain its competitive edge especially in this time of globalization. Therefore, to do this by tapping the right minds in their company and offering them a good environment that will enhance their maximum working capability. Their intensive recruitment and training ensures that the employee get the best position to rise to any challenge that is posed by the environment to ensure that the company maintain its high market share globally. From the Flamholtz, Eric pg 84, the company also is supposed to meet collective bargaining even at the enterprise level. This is enabled by giving the employees freedom to come up with ideas for example the location of the enterprise and implementing them. Their ability is heighted by the time allocated for the various functions that they are supposed to do in the company. Having allocated time to do what they like, makes them to have time to come up with new ideas that are always welcomed in the company. Thus, the company eventually is made to achieve its objective. The company is out to manage change that emerges on daily basis (Cascio, Wayne pg 65). They ensure that the labor turnover is suppressed to insignificant level by ensuring that they offer the best to their employees and assuring them their job security by not sending them away. This ensures that they maintain the best employees in the market and enhance this by even recruiting more who are more competitive. This helps them to manage the change that is brought by the globalization and technological change. The type of human resource management has helped the Google Company to remain among the top fifty best places to work as named by The Great Place to Work Institute in May 2008 (CNNMoney.com). The company has ensured that they are able to maintain their skills quality of the services and productivity in a high level. Despite the rapid change of market, the company has risen to a very competitive edge as far as service delivery is concerned. This is done by ensuring the best compatible employee is the one that is offered the job. They also ensure that they train him /her comprehensively. The company ensures that they work with the highest precision in their job as possible (Vorster, 2007). This is seen by they believe that they cannot punish the employee for making mistake. They take that mistake as theirs believing that the mistake the employee made was may be not being fully trained (McCourt & Eldridge, pg 56). The company is able to effect strong culture in their attempt to prompt certain organization goals. They ensure the employee interact freely without fear regardless of the position one holds in the company. This is seen where the company ensures that a new employee is invited to have lunch with the managers. This create a lot of interest in the employees mind making him/her fell united with the others from the top management level. This helps both the management and the employees identify their interest boosting morale in the company. The company views the employee as variable cost and not as a resource as they can be developed to become very advantageous and very competitive. The company achieves this objective by recruiting and developing the best employees. They budget a considerable amount of money for training operations to ensure that they prepare employees for the task ahead in a good manner. Comparison of Google approach to standard approach Selection The Google company are very serious as far us the selection of the right candidate is concerned. They ensure that they match the right person t the right position of his/her job. This is done by intensive recruitment with the line managers spending 30% of their time interviewing prospective candidates. They ensure that the employees are well selected in accordance to the standard approach method. They train them ensuring that they are compatible in the company and they are well fit in the position they assume (...