Talent Management at Google Company - Assignment Example

Talent Management at Google Company Table of Contents Introduction 3 Exclusive and Inclusive Approach 3 Factors Influencing the Approaches 4 Recruitment and Selection Process 5 Employment Law 5 Induction Program and Socialization 5 Diversity and Equality 6 Talent Management at Google 6 Conclusion and Recommendations 8 Reference List 10 Introduction Talent management is the implementation of integrated strategies designed to increase the productivity of an organization. It involves the process of developing various innovative ways of attracting, preparing, retaining and utilizing people with the appropriate skills and knowledge to meet the present and future business needs of an organization (Lockwood, 2006). Talent management can be segmented into inclusive and exclusive approaches. In this paper, these two approaches of people management and also which approach is adopted by Google Inc is analyzed. The objective of the paper is to evaluate the implementation of diversity and equality, adherence to employment law and recruitment and selection processes of Google Inc. Exclusive and Inclusive Approach Talent management is the systematic approach which involves attraction, identification, deployment and retention of individuals or a group of people who are of a high value to the organization to help the enterprise meet its short and long run achievements. There are two approaches to talent management: the inclusive and the exclusive approach (Tucker, Kao and Verma, 2005). The inclusive approach includes the skill and knowledge development of all the employees in the enterprise. The exclusive approach is the process of development of a particular group of individuals considered as high potentials in the company (Buttiens and Hondeghem, 2012). Inclusive approach focuses on the talent development of all the employees of the organization, while, exclusive approach emphasizes on the development of a selected group of high potentials (Accenture, 2009). Inclusive approach does not add any value to the organization (Lockwood, N.R., 2006). In the inclusive approach, the difference between the less talented and the high performers is small while in the exclusive approach it is very high. Factors Influencing the Approaches The psychological contract is the unwritten expectations between the employee and the employer. According to psychological contract, the employee believes that the employer is compelled to behave in a certain manner and the enterprise also has some obligations toward the employee (Accenture, 2009). The psychological contract involves the employee and employer compulsions and the physiological contract evaluation. Under the exclusive approach, talented employees experience less violation of psychological contract and non-talented employees face more violation of the contract in their employment relations. The exclusive approach has high positive results for the high performers, but it adversely effects the employment relations of other employees in the organization (Accenture, 2009). Thus, the organization must take into account the effect of a talent management approach on employee relations while adopting it. In the inclusive approach, the enterprise emphasizes on practices focused on the talent development of all the employees through learning and training programs. It recent times it has been found that most enterprises are practicing the inclusive approach to talent management. This is because the organizations recognize that the employees are at the core of their success. Organizations derive competitive advantage from the performance and development of their employees in a highly competitive environment. Talent management tools help an organization to manage talent data, take effective actions to place high potentials in both operational and strategic levels of an organization; retain them with the company and receive return from the investment of recruiting, hiring and training them (Accenture, 2009). For implementing inclusive management, at first the company must get organized, customize the approach for each employee, implement and asses the plan, collect data on the performance of the new recruits, analyze the data and develop strategic plans. Recruitment and Selection Process Recruitment and selection is the process of hiring the right person with the desired skills to perform a job. Designing the appropriate recruitment and selection framework is extremely important for an organization. This is because the fulfillment of the overall organizational objectives depends on the efficiency of the employees (Equality and Human Rights Commission, 2010). Employment Law Employment law, also called labor laws, governs the duties and rights between the employer and the employee. These laws focuses on worker safety, workplace discrimination, equal pay for men and women, minimum wages and various other issues involved in an employee relation (HG.org, 2015). Induction Program and Socialization An induction program ensures that the new recruits fit into their roles quickly and efficiently. It helps an individual to understand their responsibility and the legal aspects and familiarizes them with the cultural environment of an organization. Organizational socialization is the process of transformation of a new recruit to a participating and effective insider through induction programs. The three main aspects of organizational socialization are learning how the enterprise works, how the department works and the actual job of the new recruit (Tucker, Kao and Verma, 2005) Diversity and Equality Diversity in the workplace includes individual characteristics such as gender, age, ethnic backgrounds, political preference, family circumstances and disability. Equality is providing the individuals with equal opportunity of recruitment, selection, promotion, transfer and training without taking into consideration their individual attributes (Transfield Services Limited, 2013). Talent Management at Google Google is a technology development multinational company founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1998 and is headquartered in California, United States of America (Google Inc, 2015). The multinational company is famous for the talent management programs it has undertaken over the years and for incorporating innovation and creativity in their enterprise (Accenture, 2009). Google Inc. revolutionized the traditional approach towards Human Resource (HR) functions of well established organizations. It has developed a new data-based system of people management which is popularly known as the “people analytics” (ERE Media, Inc., 2015). Google is the youngest firm among the leaders as it has been only less than a decade since its Initial Public Offering (IPO). The success of the internet search company does not owe to factors such as big acquisitions or well-known product brands; its success lies in its approach towards innovative people management practices by applying “people analytics”. Its success can be attributed to the fact that is the only company which practices data –driven HR operations and this has resulted in extraordinary work force productivity (ERE Media, Inc., 2015). The people management in the company is not called human resource but it is termed as ‘people operations’ and it is managed by the ‘people management team’ (ERE Media, Inc., 2015).The company has implemented many data-driven approaches to management of people in the past and in recent times. They undertook a project called project oxygen which carried out surveys and analyzed the data to identify eight leadership qualities required to be a successful manager. Before this project, the employers used to believe that technical efficiency is the most desired quality to become a successful leader, but it has been listed as the least required in the list. Instead, establishing a connection with the subordinates and giving personalized feedback topped the list. At Google, there is a subgroup called PiLab which conducts the experiments to find out the approach working best with the employees. It also suggests strategies to improve the health of the employees based on data analysis. Google has also developed a mathematical algorithm to identify employees who can give rise to retention problem in future.. Also, the ‘people analytics team’ invents predictive models to foresee future employment and retention problems (ERE Media, Inc., 2015). Implementing diversity and equality in the workforce is extremely important as it helps in improving the quality of the workforce and increase collaboration among employees at all stages in the organization. Experts at Google applied data analytics and are successful in reducing the effect of diversity and introduce equality among its employees with regards to recruitment, selection, promotion and transfer. Google has developed a unique strategy of hiring personnel through a group to prevent managers to hire according to their requirements. Project Janus has been developed to identify any deserved candidate whom they have missed in the selection process. Executives at Google calculate the value of the top performers and thus devote more resources in hiring exceptional technologists (ERE Media, Inc., 2015). Google designed its workplace in order to enhance collaboration among employees engaged in various functions. Experts at Google identified three main indicators of continuous innovation; they are learning, collaboration and fun. Maintaining fun at an enterprise is surprising for many but data identifies it as a major function of attraction, fun and collaboration (IBM Corporation, 2008) According to Eric Schmidt, executive chairman at Google and Jonathan Rosenberg, former SVP of products, Google does not search for specialist but it hunts for generalist who is passionate about their work and possess mild technical knowledge in some area and they termed them as smart creatives. They find specialist to be boring people who work efficiently in their fields but are opposed to new ideas (Harvard Business Review, 2015). Conclusion and Recommendations Google is observed to implement the inclusive approach to talent management as it empowers all its employees to change the world through rapid innovation. It is only possible if the employees experience satisfying employment relations and is motivated to perform efficiently with innovation. It emphasizes on hands on training rather than on traditional learning methods. Google takes all its decision based on data and the concerned team does not force any decision on the authority. It motivates its employees to generate new ideas and get positive feedbacks from other employees. The idea which gets the widest acceptance among the employee will fetch the significant resource allocation. Google engages its employees by asking them to attend TGIF (Thank Goodness It’s Friday) meetings where the top management informs them about the news and events about finance and product developments. Google also maintains connection with numerous universities to remain updated about future talents. An enterprise must adopt an inclusive approach to people management by engaging all the employees in skill development programs and maintaining an open culture inside the organization. Enterprises must encourage their employees to develop new ideas which can be implemented in the future. Innovation drives an organization and employees of an organization is at the core of innovation. Thus, enterprises must incorporate the inclusive approach in order to involve and develop all the employees of the organizations. Reference List Accenture, 2009. How effective are Talent Management practices. [pdf] Available at: [Accessed 10 May 2015]. Buttiens, D. and Hondeghem, A., 2012. Unraveling the concept of Talent Management. [pdf] Available at: < http://soc.kuleuven.be/io/pubpdf/Buttiens_2012_NIG_TalentManagement.pdf > [Accessed 10 May 2015]. Equality and Human Rights Commission, 2010. Creating an inclusive workplace. [pdf] Available at: < http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/documents/publications/an_employer_s_guide_to_creating_an_inclusive_workplace.pdf > [Accessed 10 May 2015]. ERE Media, Inc., 2015. How Google became the #3 Most Valuable Firms by Using People Analytics to Reinvent HR. [online] Available at: < http://www.ere.net/2013/02/25/how-google-became-the-3-most-valuable-firm-by-using-people-analytics-to-reinvent-hr/ > [Accessed 10 May 2015]. Google Inc., 2015. About Company. [online] Available at: < http://www.google.co.in/about/company/ > [Accessed 10 May 2015]. Harvard Business Review, 2015. How Google Manages Talent. [online] Available at: [Accessed 10 May 2015]. HG.org, 2015. What is Employment Law? [online] Available at: < http://www.hg.org/employ.html > [Accessed 10 May 2015]. IBM Corporation, 2008. Integrated talent management. [pdf] Available at: < http://www-935.ibm.com/services/us/gbs/bus/pdf/gbe03083-usen-talentpart3.pdf > [Accessed 10 May 2015]. Lockwood, N.R., 2006. Talent Management: Driver for Organizational Success. [pdf] Available at: [Accessed 10 May 2015]. Transfield Services Limited, 2013. Equality and diversity in the workplace policy. [pdf] Available at: < http://www.transfieldservices.com/pdf/109327_Equality_and_Diversity_in_the_Workplace_Policy.pdf > [Accessed 10 May 2015]. Tucker, E., Kao, T. and Verma, N., 2005. Next-Generation Talent Management. [pdf] Available at: < http://www.talentstream.ro/resources/Next_generation_workforce.pdf > [Accessed 10 May 2015]. Read More