Searching for a Great Place to Work In 1995, Larry Page met Sergey Brin when he visited Stanford University as a prospective graduate student in computer science. Although they did not initially hit it off, a year later, they were collaborating on a new search engine called BackRub. By 1998, they had investors and incorporated Google, the new name of their search engine and the name of their new business venture. From the beginning, Page and Brin realized that happy, motivated employees were at the center of successful organizations. Karen May, current Vice-president of People Development at Google shares their vision, “Imagine a world where most organizations were the best place to work. Imagine what we could be getting done on the planet if this were true.” Google has grown quickly, from a two-person operation to a company with more than 55,000 employees in 40 countries. Google has become famous for its over-the-top perks, such as on-site bowling alleys and pool tables, free haircuts during work hours, and Lego rooms. However, unlike other companies, Google is analytical about the perks it offers, using complex metrics to evaluate which are most valued by employees. Google is also a pay leader, offering salaries well above the market average. Google executives believe that it is essential that people love what they do at work. Every employee has the opportunity to spend at least 20 percent of their work time on a project of their choice using Google’s extensive resources. For example, Chade- Meng Tan, an engineer at Google, has been working on a project to achieve world peace in his lifetime. Although this goal is likely unattainable, Tan has been encouraged to develop his energy to the project. He has developed a course on mindfulness for Google employees and has written on the topic, all while working to create Google’s mobile search engine. Prasad Setty, Vice-President of People Analytics and Compensation, is a strong supporter of Google’s flexible work hours policy. Employees are given a great amount of freedom to decide when to work or when to go to the gym, play volleyball or get a free massage. “One of the tenets we strongly believe in is if you give people freedom, they will amaze you.” However, for this autonomy to work, Google has a highly selective and deliberate hiring process directed at employing people that are ambitious and achievement-oriented. Finally, Google employees are given a voice in company decision making. The company selects feedback on compensation as well as the types of bikes available to ride around the campus. Every Friday, Brin and Page hold employee forums to respond to commonly asked questions. Employees are also given access to detailed company information that is often a closely guarded secret. Google’s revolutionary approach to the workplace has paid off—the company’s stock has increased in value by 650 percent in less than seven years—a statistic that is all the more impressive since the Dow Jones has increased only 44 percent in the same period of time. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 8-30. Page and Brin were young when they started Google. Do you think that they identified most with Theory X or Theory Y? Why? 8-31. Describe how Maslow’s needs hierarchy could be applied to Google’s approach to employee motivation. 8-33. Google is obviously a great place to work, but it’s probably not right for everyone. What types of people are best and least suited for work at Google? 8-34. Google has a fantastic package of compensation and benefits. To retain employees, will they have to continually add new perks? And why?
Searching for a Great Place to Work
In 1995, Larry Page met Sergey Brin when he visited Stanford University as a prospective graduate student in computer science. Although they did not initially hit it off, a year later, they were collaborating on a new search engine called BackRub. By 1998, they had investors and incorporated Google, the new name of their search engine and the name of their new business venture. From the beginning, Page and Brin realized that happy, motivated employees were at the center of successful organizations. Karen May, current Vice-president of People Development at Google shares their vision, “Imagine a world where most organizations were the best place to work. Imagine what we could be getting done on the planet if this were true.”
Google has grown quickly, from a two-person operation to a company with more than 55,000 employees in 40 countries. Google has become famous for its over-the-top perks, such as on-site bowling alleys and pool tables, free haircuts during work hours, and Lego rooms. However, unlike other companies, Google is analytical about the perks it offers, using complex metrics to evaluate which are most valued by employees. Google is also a pay leader, offering salaries well above the market average.
Google executives believe that it is essential that people love what they do at work. Every employee has the opportunity to spend at least 20 percent of their work time on a project of their choice using Google’s extensive resources. For example, Chade- Meng Tan, an engineer at Google, has been working on a project to achieve world peace in his lifetime. Although this goal is likely unattainable, Tan has been encouraged to develop his energy to the project. He has developed a course on mindfulness for Google employees and has written on the topic, all while working to create Google’s mobile search engine. Prasad Setty, Vice-President of People Analytics and Compensation, is a strong supporter of Google’s flexible work hours policy. Employees are given a great amount of freedom to decide when to work or when to go to the gym, play volleyball or get a free massage. “One of the tenets we strongly believe in is if you give people freedom, they will amaze you.” However, for this autonomy to work, Google has a highly selective and deliberate hiring process directed at employing people that are ambitious and achievement-oriented. Finally, Google employees are given a voice in company decision making. The company selects feedback on compensation as well as the types of bikes available to ride around the campus.
Every Friday, Brin and Page hold employee forums to respond to commonly asked questions. Employees are also given access to detailed company information that is often a closely guarded secret. Google’s revolutionary approach to the workplace has paid off—the company’s stock has increased in value by 650 percent in less than seven years—a statistic that is all the more impressive since the Dow Jones has increased only 44 percent in the same period of time.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
8-30. Page and Brin were young when they started Google. Do you think that they identified most with Theory X or Theory Y? Why?
8-31. Describe how Maslow’s needs hierarchy could be applied to Google’s approach to employee motivation.
8-33. Google is obviously a great place to work, but it’s probably not right for everyone. What types of people are best and least suited for work at Google?
8-34. Google has a fantastic package of compensation and benefits. To retain employees, will they have to continually add new perks? And why?
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