Laszlo Bock, Google's Senior Vice President of People Operations, has just released a book entitled "Work Rules! Insights from Inside Google that Will Transform How You Live and Lead." He describes the processes of human capital management in one of the most successful companies in the world.
Laszlo Bock joined Google in 2006 when the company was five times smaller than today. At that time Google did not systematically address the use of data analysis for employee selection and management. That is what he decided to change.
Under his tenure, Google received awards as the best employer more than thirty times from various parts of the world. It has also been recognized as the most desirable employer more than one hundred times. The Human Resources Executive magazine named Laszlo Bock HR Executive of the Year 2010. In his book, Bock explains what worked and what did not.
Google relies on data, benefits and a better HR team
About 3 million people apply for jobs at Google every year. Only about five thousand (0.25%) of them are hired, reports Workforce.com. When data analysis of the recruitment process showed that four rounds of job interviews are enough to identify the best potential employees, the company withdrew from the original, much more demanding recruitment process (15 to 25 rounds of interviews), and shorten the average hire time from 180 to 47 days.
Regarding the proverbial Google's employee benefits, such as dry cleaning or bicycle repair shop for employees, these services usually do not cost the company anything. Local vendors are happy to provide them free of charge.
If a company wants better employees, it needs a better HR team, says Laszlo Bock. Employees with HR only background make up only a third of the HR department in Google. The remaining two thirds are generalists with experience in various advisory and research companies in the field of psychology or science.
Some practical tips from Work Rules!
- Stop managers' domination over employees.
- Learn from your best, but also from your worst employees.
- Hire only people who are smarter than you, even though it might take a long time.
- Rewards can be unfair.
- Do not trust intuition. Use data to predict and change the future.
- Always be open and welcome feedback.
Book
BOCK, L.: Work Rules! Insights from the Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead, New York: Twelve, 2015. 416 p.
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