Psychology of Work and Organisation: Google Employee Retention Report

This report examines Google's employee retention and attrition strategies, providing an in-depth analysis of their recruitment processes and the challenges they have faced. It begins with an overview of Google LLC, its founding, and its evolution as a global technology leader, highlighting its diverse range of internet-related services. The report then delves into the concepts of talent identification, measurement, and retention, discussing Google's historical methods, including skills tests and brainteasers. The analysis further explores the problems Google encountered with its initial recruitment strategies, which led to modifications in its selection processes. The report concludes with recommendations for enhancing Google's recruitment process and offers insights applicable to other organizations, emphasizing the importance of aligning recruitment with organizational needs and focusing on key employee attributes such as leadership, problem-solving skills, and "Googleyness". This report is a valuable resource for students seeking to understand the psychology of work and organizational behavior, and is available on Desklib along with other past papers and solved assignments.

Running head: PSYCHOLOGY OF WORK AND ORGANISATION
Psychology of Work and Organization
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1PSYCHOLOGY OF WORK AND ORGANISATION
Executive Summary
This report will discuss about the concepts of employee retention and attrition through the
lens of the company of Google. The report will begin by providing the background
information about the company Google and the recruitment processes used by them and the
problems which entailed with it. Furthermore, the report will also discuss about the current
recruitment process of the company. Finally, the report will provide some recommendations
about the strategies which the company can use to further enhance its recruitment process.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Google LLC...............................................................................................................................3
“Measuring Talent, Identifying Talent and Retaining Talent”..................................................4
“Problems faced by Google”......................................................................................................7
Evidence.....................................................................................................................................8
Recommendations......................................................................................................................8
Benefit........................................................................................................................................9
“Effectiveness of the recommendations for other organisations”..............................................9
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................9
References................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
The “advent of globalization and the advancements in the recent technologies as well
as the innovations has drastically changed the way the various business organizations transact
their business operations in the present times” (Costen, 2012). It is a reflection of this that the
recruitment as well as the “human resource management” policies and the principles of the
various business organizations in the present times have undergone drastic transformation
(Coller, Cordero & Echavarren, 2018). Therefore, the primary focus of the various business
organizations in the present times is on the processes of employee retention as well as the
reduction of the rates of employee attrition. Thus, the primary focus of the various business
organizations in the present times on enhancing the job satisfaction level of the various
talented as well as skilled professionals so that they stay longer with the business
organization concerned (Coller, Cordero & Echavarren, 2018). It is significant to note that in
the present times the concepts of “employee retention as well as employee attrition” (Costen,
2012). This report will discuss about the concepts of identification as well as the retention of
the talented employees through the lens of the business organization of Google LLC.
Google LLC.
The company Google LLC was founded by “Larry Page and Sergey Brin” in the year
1998 and is one of the most popular as well as widely sought after used companies of the
world (Google, 2018). The company is “an American multinational technology company that
specializes in Internet-related services and products, which include online advertising
technologies, search engine, cloud computing, software, and hardware” (Google, 2018). The
company keeping in view the recent changes in the fields of technology and innovations
offers a wide range of internet services to the customers and it is a reflection of this particular
fact that most of the internet searches which are being performed by the individuals in the

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present times are being directed through the search engine of Google (Google, 2018).
Furthermore, in the recent times the company has taken the help of various kinds of
innovative strategies like merger and acquisition, offering of new products as well as services
to the customers like Google Maps, Google Images and others to the customers (Google,
2018). It is a reflection of the varied range of services provided by the company that the
official website is among the 100 most visited websites of the world (Google, 2018). The
company at the current moment is the 3rd largest company of the world in terms of the
revenue which it generates on yearly basis (Forbes Welcome, 2018). The headquarters of the
company is located at “Mountain View, California” however following the path of
globalization the company is operational in most of the countries of the world in the present
times (Google, 2018). The company as per a 2017 statistics has around 73,992 employees in
different parts of the world (Google, 2018).
“Measuring Talent, Identifying Talent and Retaining Talent”
The concept of talent can be defined as the natural skills as well as the aptitude of an
individual (Ghosh et al., 2013). In the opinion of many people talent forms an important
attribute of the character of the various individuals and it is required in every walk of life for
the performance of the various kinds of jobs as well as tasks in the most effective manner
(Ghosh et al., 2013). In the particular context of the business world the concept of talent
forms a very important attribute. Therefore, the primary focus of the various business
organizations in the present times is to have the right kind of talent in the right place at the
right situation (Bode, Singh & Rogan, 2015). Furthermore, it is seen that in the resent times
the various business organizations not only try to attract the kind of talented people to their
business organizations but also try to retain them. In the opinion of Collings & Mellahi,
(2009), “Success for a business is dependent on the organizations ability to attract, develop

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and retain ’talent’. Utilizing the humans within an organization can maximize the competitive
advantage of an organization”. It is significant to note that in the present times various
scholars have tried to measure the talent of the people and it is a reflection of this that various
kinds of talent management tests are used by the various business organizations during the
process of recruitment. It is a reflection of this that the company Google used to have various
kinds of skills test and brainteaser to access the kind of talent which the individuals who
appeared for the process of interview (Sutton, 2014). In addition to these, the various
business organizations in the present times also use various kinds of psychometric tests as
well as competency tests for the effective measurement of the talents of the candidates who
have appeared for the interview (Bode, Singh & Rogan, 2015).
The identification of talent is another significant factor which the various business
organizations take into consideration in the present times (Cloutier et al., 2015). It is
significant to note that during the various kinds of interviews and recruitment sessions the
primary focus of the various business organizations is on finding out the individuals with the
maximum amount of talent (Cloutier et al., 2015). Therefore, with this primary purpose the
various business organizations take the help of various innovative kinds of interviews in a bid
to find out the level of the talent of the individuals who are appearing for the process of the
interview as almost all the business organizations in the present times try to recruit the
individuals with the maximum talent (Laddha et al., 2012). Thus, in the present times various
kinds of interviews have emerged like structured interviews, semi-structured interviews and
unstructured interviews with the inherent purpose of finding out the individuals with the
maximum talent. Furthermore, in addition to these, the various business organizations in the
present times also take the help of various kinds of behavioral interviews as well as
situational interviews in a bid to get the candidates with the maximum potential (Laddha et
al., 2012). Therefore, with this particular inherent aim the company Google used to ask

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various kinds of brainteasers and also check the average university grades of the candidates
who used to appear for the interview process to get selected to work for their organization
(Sutton, 2014). In addition to these the various kinds of situational questions asked by the
various interviewers during the selection process are also a reflection of the inherent desire of
the business organization to recruit the people with the maximum talent.
The retention of the talented individuals within a particular business organization is
one of the significant aspects which the various business organizations need to take into
consideration in the present times (Terera & Ngirande, 2014). It is a reflection of this that the
various business organizations in the present times take the help of various kinds of innovate
methods in a bid to retain the talents employees within the framework of the organization
(Terera & Ngirande, 2014). Therefore, with this particular purpose in view the business
organizations in the present times offer various kinds of rewards as well as recognition to the
employees. The various kinds of rewards provided by the business organizations not only
enhances the satisfaction level of the employees towards their job but also helps the
organization concerned to motivate the employees concerned to perform in a much better
manner (James & Mathew, 2012). It is significant to note that this is one of the most
commonly used techniques by means of which the various business organizations try to retain
the talented employees related to them. The company Google also uses the same kind of
strategies in a bid not only to retain the talented individuals belonging to them but also to
provide them with better kind of job as well as economic opportunities (Sutton, 2014). It is
significant to note that the focus of the majority of the business organizations in the present
times is on the concept of employee retention as the business organizations have already
invested a considerable amount of resources on the training as well as the development of the
employees and therefore if the employees leaves the business organization then that would be
a considerable loss for the concerned organization (James & Mathew, 2012).

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“Problems faced by Google”
The company Google is not only one of the largest ones of the world but also one of
the most popular ones of the world and therefore it is natural that the company would require
a large workforce to manage the workload in an effective manner. It is significant to note that
in the initial days the company Google used to take the help of various kinds of traditional
methods for the purpose of interviews as well as interview (Sutton, 2014). The company
during the process of the interview used to access the various candidates on the basis of the
answers which they used to provide to the brainteasers and the other tricky questions asked
by the interviewers (Aruna & Anitha, 2015). Furthermore, the candidates were also selected
on the basis of the average of the grades which the concerned used to get in their university as
well as colleges. However, it was seen that after the process of recruitment the employees
were not being able to perform as per the expectation level of the organization which they
had formed depending on the answers provided by the candidates to the brainteasers and
other kinds of questions (Sutton, 2014). Therefore, it can be said that the process of selection
as well as recruitment used by the company was not in synchronization with the quality of
work which the organization was expecting the employees to deliver. Therefore, the company
Google was forced to modify its recruitment as well as selection strategies for the recruitment
of the new employees. The company therefore at the present moment during the process of
selection as well as recruitment takes into consideration the four attributes of the employees
like leadership skills, “Role-related knowledge”, “Problem-solving skills” and Googleyness
(Sutton, 2014). The concept of “Googleyness” refers to the policy of the company by means
of which the company recruits the individuals who have a high level of comfort towards
ambiguity, who are not “bias towards actions” and have a very collaborative nature (Sutton,
2014). It is a reflection of this particular new strategy which the organisation uses for the

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process of recruitment that has enabled the organisation to develop a coherent as well as
effective workforce within a very short time.
Evidence
The change in the strategy of the company for the recruitment as well as the selection
process was brought about the evidences as well as the practical examples which the
company within their own organisation. For example, the company saw that the employees
recruited by them on the basis of their level of talent as well as intelligence were not being
able to perform as per the “needs and the requirements of the organisation in the most
effective manner” (Garner, 2012). Moreover, it was seen that a person who had performed
well in the interview tests as well as brainteasers developed a boastful nature and this
adversely hampered the not only the work environment but also the performance level of
employees in an adverse manner (Sutton, 2014). Therefore, it can be said that the new
strategy implemented by the company was in synchronisation with the needs of the company
and also was justified by the evidence.
Recommendations
The recruitment as well as the selection process used by the company is a very
innovative one and it can be said that the process used by the company is a very one for the
concerned company. However, the company can make some more amendments to the
strategy in a bid to make their recruitment process a bit more effective. The company can also
take some forms of written tests just like the ones used by the company Tesco and others
(Taylor, 2014). Furthermore, during the interview process the company can look for the
candidates who are more willing to work in the team environment of the company and work
in rotational shifts. It is significant to note that the company Google operates on a global
basis and therefore it requires the help the of the employees at all times and thus the

9PSYCHOLOGY OF WORK AND ORGANISATION
candidates who are willing to work round the clock would be of added advantage to the
organisation.
Benefit
The company following the above mentioned recommendation is likely to gain in a
significant manner and it would help it to recruit more talented candidates for the process of
their business. Furthermore, the above recommendations are likely to help the company to
build an effective team who would be willing to work in rotational shifts as per the needs of
the organisation.
“Effectiveness of the recommendations for other organisations”
The above mentioned recommendations would be effective for the other business
organisations as well it is seen that in the present times most of the business organisations are
operating on a global basis and therefore the above mentioned recommendations would be
helpful for them as well.
Conclusion
To conclude, the employees form an important part of the business organisations and
therefore the focus of the various business organisations in the present times is on the
recruitment of the talented as well as skilled employees. Thus, during the selection and the
recruitment process the companies try to analyze the skills as well as the talent of the
individuals and offer them jobs on the basis of that. It is a reflection of this that the
recruitment process used by the various companies has undergone transformation in the
present times.

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