Googles Recruitment, Retention, Training and Learning & Development Strategies and Policy - Assignment Example

Name: Course: Institution: Tutor: Analysis of Google’s Recruitment, Retention, Training and Learning & Development Strategies and Policy Executive Summary Human resource development and Organizational resource management are key aspects towards the development and realization of any set goals of organizations. Google is a global or international Company which has invested heavily in recruiting, training and retention of the employees. This has greatly contributed to its great performance and establishment globally. This report will critically evaluate, analyze and appraise the management of human resources to aid in business strategy development within the organizations. It will also evaluate strategies for positive employee relations, performance management and reward. The report also provides several recommendations including the need for the Google to undertake several important initiatives to improve the productivity of its human resources within the next few years. It is also necessary for the company to place greater emphasis on business acumen by enabling its HR professionals to develop the ability to demonstrate new skills and competencies for unfamiliar jobs. Introduction Human resource development refers to the continual process of developing human resources as argued by Twitchel, Holton & Trott (2000) and is an important aspect of organizational success and growth. The main components of human resource development are organizational development and personnel training and development. Organizational development entails the systematic process of implementing changes in an organization so as to improve performance and productivity according to Pe´rez Lo´pez, Peo´n & Orda´s (2006). Personnel training and development, on the other hand, is the process of developing expertise in employees for the main purpose of improving performance. In order for these two components of performance to be achieved, organizations should set up sound policies for integrating the two components with organizational goals. According to Jacobs (2001), strategic human resource management encompasses activities and measures focused on both qualitative and quantitative changes of individual capabilities and attitudes. These measures and activities are manifested not only in mere changes in skills and knowledge, but also in increased motivation, attitudes, values, behavior and interests. As such, human resource management should be perceived as a well-designed and planned process that requires timely harmonization of organizational and individual goals. Ideally, selection, recruitment, retention and development of the right skills may require more time than process and structural interventions. Google is the world’s largest information technology company and has subsidiaries in several countries across the world. The US-based Corporation handles millions of clients per day and is one of the companies with the highest number of employees in the world. Google’s current business environment is characterised by increasing global growth, emerging businesses and new technologies, continuous change and competition. This requires the company’s HR management to focus on increasing value for its human capital. In addition, the company is faced with the difficult challenge of aligning organizational capabilities and culture so as to be able to attract and recruit highly talented employees who can cope with change as illustrated by Newstrom & Lengnick (2003). The issue of emerging business opportunities and global growth require that the company focuses its HR policies on diversity management. By recruiting employees from diverse cultural backgrounds, Google has insured its global growth and is capable of competing for the future effectively. Van Lerberghe, Adams and Ferrinho (2002) have noted that in order for human resource development plans and policies to be effective and of strategic importance to an organization, policies must be formulated which flow from and that can be integrated with strategic business plans. While it is always acknowledged that human resource development plans can significantly influence business performance, it is essential for organizations consider that these plans can be hindered by lack of commitment. Therefore, setting plans and policies is a necessary aspect of modern human resource management programs as noted by Jacobs (2001). Google’s Recruitment, Retention, Training and Learning & Development Strategies and Policy Google has developed an innovative talent management program through which it recruits, retains and develops the best talents. In Google’s HR management approach, workforce management differs from the traditional human resource management processes where each HR function operated independently. The strategy allows the company to ensure that it has a continuous supply of highly productive employees in the right jobs as argued by Huselid (2002). Rather than approaching talent management as a one-time event, Google considers talent management to be a continuous strategic plan that identifies and selects the required talent and builds an image to attract the very best persons. In addition, the company ensures that new hires are given the necessary motivation to be productive and does this by facilitating the movement of talent to where it can have the greatest impact on the organization. The primary goal of Google’s talent management strategy is to increase workforce productivity through improved recruitment, retention and development of talent. The company’s strategy is superior not just because it focuses on the productivity of employees but also because it is proactive and forward looking. This means that the company is continuously seeking new talent management opportunities to utilize in developing its workforce according to Van Lerberghe, Adams & Ferrinho (2002). Through the innovative talent management process, Google produces excellent results because it is able to overcome the traditional problems of employee recruitment, retention and development. Instead, Google has integrated the previously independent human resource functions of recruitment, retention, development and promotion into a continuous seamless process. One of the reasons for Google’s global success lies with the corporation’s successful human resource management and communication practices. Google is highly committed to improving the welfare of its employees. To overcome the numerous challenges related to human resources, the corporation has implemented numerous fair policies and practices, which have influenced employee attitudes and performance according to Van Lerberghe, Adams & Ferrinho (2002). Information obtained from the technology giant’s website shows that the company provides opportunities for recruitment, training, development, pay and promotion based on job performance and individual abilities. Getting the right people to the right positions, deciding on who should be hired and the training needs of employees are the main human resource issues that the company has to consistently deal with. Google uses various methods to recruit people and these include advertisements and employment agencies. A major HR issue that is of great importance to Google is employee training and development. Employee training programs at Google are highly structured and are designed to address specific development needs. Newly recruited employees are first taken through basic training programs during which they are introduced to the organization’s functions. Subsequent training programs entail learning new and complex organizational skills. Google’s training programs are continuous such that even the most experienced employees and managers have to attend routine training programs according to Van Lerberghe, Adams & Ferrinho (2002). Moreover, the company has implemented an efficient communication procedure that seeks to address speedy and timely redress of issues. In addition, Google has designed an innovative communication strategy that aims to change the perceptions of its employees and customers about the services and products offered. Key Elements of Google’s Employee recruitment, Retention and Training Development Strategy There are specific aspects which make Google’s human resource and talent management strategy unique and innovative. These include: i. Strong focus on high impact positions and process: Google’s talent management strategy requires managers to determine which jobs can have the highest impact on the company’s businesses when filled with top management. ii. Accountability: individual and collective accountability in managing the company’s talent inventory is strongly encouraged according to Google (2012). iii. Rewards: Google’s talent management strategy builds integration between previously independent human resource functions through use of common metrics, goals and rewards. As a result, no single function can be considered successful unless the overall talent management effort succeeds. iv. Balanced metrics: the innovative talent management strategy institutes a system of measures and rewards. The system ensures that managers are rewarded for excellence in service delivery and people management. The system also monitors employee engagement and ensures that HR managers attain their goals while using recommended behaviours. v. Business approach: Google’s talent management strategy is not derived from an administration or overhead model. Instead, it is developed from and reflects other successful business process models such as finance, supply chain management and lean manufacturing. vi. Recognition of business cycles: Google’s successful talent management strategy is hinged on recognizing that different types of talents are required depending on the prevailing business situation. For this reason, Google’s workforce is characterized by continuous movement of people in and out of business units based on where the company is in the business cycle. vii. Global sourcing: the strategic talent management process involves selecting, retaining and developing the best talent no matter where it is found. The process also stresses on putting work where the best talent is most concentrated. This is why Google has subcontracted its services to companies from other countries such as India and Australia. viii. An integrated human resource management approach: Google’s strategic talent management process integrates people management functions and business processes so that they work as a single process. All people processes at Google have been integrated into standard business processes. The company’s talent management process has gone a step further by repositioning human resource management programs into the company’s business processes such as new product development process. Google’s Flexible Work Arrangement Program Flexible work programs are arrangements in which workers are given increased freedom to decide how to fulfill their job obligations according to Guest, Dewe & Conway (2004). In big and successful companies, employees are given the opportunity to choose different work arrangements in order to meet personal and family commitments. Employers may also choose flexible working arrangements to enable them meet the demands of their customers. The most common flexible workplace arrangement is flexitime, which gives employees opportunity to decide on the time when they should start work, provided they work for the total number of hours as required by the employer. Other notable flexible work arrangements include job-sharing, telecommuting and compressed work weeks. Google is constantly aware of the personal and family commitments of its employees. To this end, the company has implemented flexible work programs for the employees. These programs have to a great extent led to improvement in the company’s human resource management practices. The improvement can be evidenced by such important aspects as location and work time flexibility, as well as the development of a loyal and supportive workforce. Google’s decision to implement work-life balance programs has had positive impacts on its employees in terms of turnover, recruitment, commitment and satisfaction, absenteeism and productivity. During the 2010 World Cup matches, the company launched a special flexible work programs to allow employees watch the tournament. The World Cup flexible work program involved swapping of shifts, taking unpaid leave and working part-time. In fact, four-fifths of the company’s employees took advantage of this flexible work arrangement to watch their favourite teams play during the four week long exercise. In other cases, the company allowed its employees to book time-off, start, finish earlier or take time breaks to coincide with kick-offs. Even though these flexible work arrangements were open to all employees, the company’s services were not affected during the four weeks. The flexible approach was beneficial to the company in that the number of fraudulent absenteeism reduced significantly in comparison with the previous tournaments as argued by Google (2012). Apart from the world cup tournaments, Google has an active flexible work program for its staff. The technology giant uses a combination of different flexible work programs including: i. Flextime: under this program, employees are allowed to choose their starting and quitting times from a carefully drafted range of available hours. ii. Compressed work week: in this flexible work arrangement, the standard week is compressed into fewer working days such as working for 12 hours a day and getting a day off work during that week. iii. Job sharing: under this arrangement, two or more employees voluntarily share the responsibilities of a single full time position, with the benefits of that position pro-rated between the individuals sharing the responsibilities. Google frequently uses this arrangement to avoid absenteeism and layoffs. iv. Expanded leave: this option gives employees freedom to request extended periods of time from work without losing their employment benefits. Google grants expanded leave on a variety of grounds such as education, medical care, family problems and community service as argued by Google (2012). Google has realized that flexible work programs are worthy keeping so long as they are beneficial to its strategic, financial and production goals. A key to making sure that these goals are realized is by maintaining control of the flexible work programs. The company’s diverse and highly experienced staff can be helpful in developing flexible work guidelines. Primarily, the management’s role is to ensure that all business considerations remain paramount in any discussions of flexible work arrangements and that ultimate control of these programs rests with employees. The programs have enabled the company to develop and retain a highly diverse workforce, which is a key source of its strategic competencies as argued by Google (2012). How HR Training and Development to Improved Organizational Performance at Google According to organization behavior theory, it is important for organizations to develop methodologies for ensuring that human resource training programs become successful and that they contribute desired values to organizations as argued by Guest, Dewe & Conway (2004). However, the process of identifying the factors that contribute to the effectiveness of employee training and development is not a simple task because of the complexity of the variables associated with personnel performance. It is for this reason that Google has developed a training evaluation criterion, which is used to analyze, design and develop an effective human resource training programs. As regards human resource development, the organization behavior theory asserts that the main task of the management should be to influence people to perform and be as productive as possible according to Huselid (2002). There are two important human resource development models that can be used to underscore the importance of HR training and development at Google. These are the control-based HR model and the commitment-based HR model. The basic principle of the control-based model is the sub-division of work responsibility. This not only creates accountability, but also makes it easy to identify the human resource development needs of each category of employees. The commitment-based model pays special attention on the reinforcement of group achievements as a prerequisite for improved performance. For training programs to be effective in Google, they should be able to address key aspects of organizational deficiency such as human performance, procedure, and equipment according to Earley & Peterson (2006). When a particular training program can be traced to an identified deficiency and if the training becomes instrumental in eliminating the deficiency, then the training is said to be effective. Like any other future-minded organization, Google is consciously aware of the strategic importance of human resource development. In a way, human resource development programs can significantly increase employee motivation, which in turn leads to increased performance. Swanson (2001), has in his book noted that human resource development is the most important and vital factor for organizational development. As such, it can be argued that humans are important agents of development. Increased productivity, improved skills, enhanced education and provision of a positive atmosphere results in an efficient use of the organization’s resources. This results in proportional increases in the organization's production and performance. Employees’ benefits are another aspect that has been greatly taken into consideration at Google. Some of the most notable ones include paid maternity leave, travel insurance, free legal advice and low-cost legal representation, occasional product giveaways such as customized Nexus Smartphones, telecommuting, on-site fitness center and on-site child care among others. These have to a greater extent played a greater role in encouraging and improving the working conditions at the company as argued by Google (2012). Recommendation Although Google has implemented innovative and flexible HR management programs, the company has to contend with the fact that HR management are continually undergoing massive transformations, which will change career paths in uncertain ways. As such, it is necessary for the company to place greater emphasis on business acumen by enabling its HR professionals to develop the ability to demonstrate new skills and competencies for unfamiliar jobs. It is the case that job titles and functions will undergo metamorphosis with time. For this reason, some of Google’s current HR practices will be less common or less important or give way to new ones. With this consideration in mind, a possible future implication of the company’s current HR practices is that they should be aligned with market dynamics in order for the company to remain competitive. It is apparent that Google needs to undertake several important initiatives to improve the productivity of its human resources within the next few years. This will lead to improved business performance, which is the underlying basis of the company’s human resource programs. Although the company is currently a global leader in the industry, it faces immense competition from major rivals such as Microsoft and Yahoo and several other small emerging knowledge-based companies. The most important critical issues that the company faces entails keeping all training initiatives aligned to a common framework of improved performance. Such a framework will ensure that each human resource development initiative complements other initiatives occurring at the same time. To be at the best level of practice, the company’s management should be able to coordinate the training programs necessary to satisfy all of the company’s human resource needs (Earley & Peterson, 2006). Besides training, recruitment and selection are other important human resource development issues that the company will face in the next few years. The company ought to attract highly skilled and competent candidates to various positions. In addition, the company needs to strike a proper balance between the people recruited and position requirements. All these issues should be keenly considered as they will enable the company increase the productivity of its human resources. Conclusion The main goal of Google’s innovative employee recruitment, retention and development strategy is to improve organizational performance. The company’s strategy is implemented and executed with clearly set goals and objectives. Because human resources are the basic requirement for competitiveness and development of any business enterprise, they need to be actively developed. For Google, strategic human resource management is an integral part of organizational transformation from an existing low-level state to an efficient and larger state. References Earley, C & Peterson, R 2006, The elusive cultural chamellion: Intelligence as a new approach to intercultural training for the global manager, Academy of Management Learning & Education, vol. 3, no. 1, p. 100-115. Google 2012, Google Corporate, viewed 115TH April 2013 from http://www.google.com/corporate/ Guest, D., Dewe, P and Conway N 2004, Using sequential tree analysis to search for ‘bundles’ of HR practices, Human Resource Management Journal, Vol. 14, no 1, 2008, p. 79-96. Huselid, M 2002, The impact of human resource management practices on turnover, productivity and corporate financial performance, Academy of Management Journal, 38(3), p. 635-672. Jacobs, L 2001, Human Resource Development as an Interdisciplinary Body of Knowledge, Human Resource Development Quarterly, Vol. I, No. 1, p. 78-90. 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