HR Strategy for New Entry Employees at Apple - Case Study Example

HR STRATEGY FOR NEW ENTRY EMPLOYEES AT APPLE AND GOOGLE Name Course Tutor Date HR strategy for new entry employees at Apple Apple is one of the leading consumer electronics at the global scale. Having this success Apple has a very unique approach especially when dealing with new entrant employees into the organization (Lashinsky, 2012). Apple Inc. recognizes the employees as Dummies being that even though they are working for the positions they have been taken in for but the positions are not existent in reality. The orientation begins even before one joins the company (Lashinsky, 2012). The employees are indoctrinated with the notion of being secretive of any information about the company and the consequences well stated. The prospective employees undergo rigorous interviews prior to being given the dummy positions. The idea behind this is to gauge the employees’ competence and also to ground them with some basic ideas of what is expected of them (Lashinsky, 2012). Trust is the key issue for the tech giant that maintains its manufacturing secrets. Not much information is given to the new employees. The orientation takes half days and is always scheduled on Mondays unless there is a holiday. During this time the new employees are given human resource forms stickers with welcoming messages (Lashinsky, 2012). Additionally, the new entrants are given a new iMac, which they must set up to work, on their own without any assistance. The rationale behind this is that if you must work for such a company, you must be tech –savvy enough to connect the computer to the computer servers. It is also a move to create teamwork as those who are unable to, are allowed to consult with others for assistance (Lashinsky, 2012). A presentation is also made by the head of security, further informing the new employees of the forms of secrecy breaches that one might get fired for propagating. An example is that the new employees or whoever is not authorized should not have any press coverage when a new secret product is released (Lashinsky, 2012). The new employees are also offered lunch and refreshments on the first day and that is the only free lunch in the lifetime of someone in the company. This really encourages the new employees and is a gesture of the good treatment one would get when they get to the core of the company. Apple’s HR strategy has been one of the best and has been emulated by other tech giants with fail. The recruitment is very rigorous as the company has to get the best team that is full of hardworking individuals. In the company hard work is more preferred that any other thing (Lashinsky, 2012). The new employees must show commitment to the company at all cost. Apple appears to be different from other companies in that hard work is the center of emphasis instead of promising the new employees of work-life balance (Lashinsky, 2012). Additionally, the company does not support career progression. Instead, the employees have to own their career, meaning that the company does not define the career path of a new employee. With this in mind, the employees are encouraged to seek more information about the jobs available in different units themselves. Training and development is also uniquely done at Apple Inc. This essential task of talent management is left with the new employees (Lashinsky, 2012). There are no plans for training or learning at Apple. The employees must up their self awareness through ensuring that they are self dependent and develop their own skills in the workplaces they are assigned (Lashinsky, 2012). The company only uses economic motivation as a factor to retain new entrants being that they are the best. At the point of orientation and the first few months at Apple, the new employees are assigned to several teams where they handle different projects. The teams all compete to come up with the best solution that leads to innovativeness (Lashinsky, 2012). The best team is selected and rewarded. The teams have to meet twice every week. Generally, Apple is seen as a company that pushes employees to become better without necessarily assisting them to reach the set standards (Lashinsky, 2012). However, the company’s performance track records are indicative of the uniqueness of the HR strategy. This is because the company has some of the best brains in the tech world compared to its peers (Lashinsky, 2012). The strategy works well for the new entrants and has been the source of creating teamwork and innovation in the company (Lashinsky, 2012). Only after working for the company and clearing the probation period can the employee be oriented into the company secrets. HR strategy for new entry employees at Google Google is an organization that is a leader in employee recruitment and corresponding retention (Martin, 2014). The organization that is an internet enterprise and the most popular among the search engines in the web spends a lot of money in recruitment, training and development and motivation of its employees so that there is retention. Google is among the leading tech companies that has received accolades and commendations for its sound HR strategies especially in management of new employees (Martin, 2014). These employees are referred to as Nooglers and are seen as special people who should actually be treated in a special way. For that matter, there is an on boarding or orientation program for the successful recruits who are sourced from institutions and different places around the world (Martin, 2014). The organization has an institutionalized program that covers the first three months and even beyond. The software engineers commonly called Nooglers participate in collective and formal program that integrates social learning that is far much different from the actual setting of one’s job (Martin, 2014). The new entry employees are offered a checklist with all the activities they are likely to engage in during the first four weeks in the company. The Nooglers at Google begin with an all-day orientation program. During the orientation day, the leaders and speakers from various departments are allotted time to talk to the Nooglers. The orientation provides the Nooglers a chance to learn the art of secrecy and its value in the organization (Martin, 2014). They are also taught about the organizational culture at Google helping them to coordinate well with the workplace and also get motivated. The new employees are also presented with folders that have information about the workplace that has all relevant information that is partly covered by the speakers. At the end of the tour in the company offices the employees are picked by various mentors where they are escorted to their new work bases (Martin, 2014). There they are welcomed in balloons and a bag of chocolates with the employees of the company. There is also free lunch and snacks provided to the new employees and they are told to conform to the art of health awareness amidst the plenty food in the kitchens. During the week, Google Buddy stops by to ensure that each new employee has a computer that is fixed and working. The technical person ensures that the employee is satisfied and comfortably adapted to the workplace (Martin, 2014). The new employees are then assigned to groups where they come up with innovative ideas and are recognized weekly on big screens in the offices of the company. The employees who work from far are also given relocation handouts and their cars cleaned in the car wash at a discount in the first three days (Martin, 2014). The employees are introduced to the organizational culture and various amenities at their disposal. During the first year at work the employees are given three weeks’ vacation. The food in the cafes is prepared and served by expert chefs. The employees work in groups to solve the problems and work on critical projects (Martin, 2014). The projects are assessed upwards from the lower groups to the top level groups so that at the end they are perfect. There are TGIF meetings that are meant for the new and old employees to meet and catch up. Here the employees are recognized based on the groups they work in and the projects they are currently assigned (Martin, 2014). The employees have the liberty to learn from the virtual training program that is offered as well as the experts in each department. The mentors ensure that the employees receive the best training that can help them progress along their chosen career paths (Martin, 2014). The employees are also introduced to entrepreneurial training so that they are able to come up with ideas and also have them plan to be entrepreneurs as they undergo their duties. The company has a defined career path that makes the new employees undergo a leadership and educational programs meant to sharpen their skills. There is a useful resource called the Codelabs that the new employees are introduced to so that they are well grooved with programming skills (Martin, 2014). Lastly, all the employees are given a job description and a list of all available perks they are bound to get. Information exchange is also encouraged between the new and old employees who have a great tenure in the organization (Martin, 2014). The organization through its unique HR strategies has hit the headlines as the best company and has correspondingly become the employer of choice. Bibliography Lashinsky, A. 2012, January 18, "The secrets Apple keeps - Fortune". Retrieved from http://fortune.com/2012/01/18/the-secrets-apple-keeps/ Martin, D. 2014, September 25, "People Management: The Google Way of Motivating Employees". Retrieved from http://www.entrepreneurial-insights.com/google-way-motivating-employees/ (Lashinsky, 2012) Read More