A company which recruits well, is hard to get into and one that has a worldwide reputation for being the ‘coolest’ place to work; Google is a company who other businesses look to emulate.
However, try as they may, Google has many enviable qualities which is a result of its unique company culture. Their employees enjoy many perks that we’ve all heard about and they treat their ‘Googlers’ like gold. They provide them with an environment that is aimed to evoke fun and creativity and it’s laid back approach attracts the brightest of minds, which ultimately leads to its success as a business.
It is well known that happy employees translate into higher productivity and increase in retention. In a recent online article at Campaign Live, Google’s UK marketing chief, Graham Bednash talks about the study they carried out about what makes their teams the best. One of the ingredients to their culture, is the “psychological safety” Google provides, this is a result of giving their Googler’s a safe space to take risks and provide them with a voice. They know that an environment which creates fear is non-productive and increases staff turnover. In addition, Google’s people are rewarded and promoted for how they do work, as well as being based on what they achieve.
With the right ingredients in place, Google takes their time when hiring to avoid problems down the line, with their recruitment process focusing on drawing out the skills and behaviours of each candidate. They see hiring as an important part of their success and have an unbiased group of people make the hiring decision, not just solely relying on one interview. They require people to be problem solvers, great leaders and curious about the next big thing.
In order to create or improve on your company culture, you need to make your people feel like they are a vital part of the business and its success. So if we all took the Google approach by focusing on people and culture, it will in turn create a more attractive business to work for and one that has greater success.
If you would like advice on how to create the right culture and recruitment process, please contact a member of the HPC team: contact@highperformanceconsultancy.com or 0844 800 5932.
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