Google\'s Project Oxygen PDF

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MBA 763 Dr. Gardner 09/24/2018 Group 7: J. Cruz, Z. Firouzi, A. Gonzales, V. Jimenez, F. Jlassi Case Study: Google’s Project Oxygen, Do Managers Matter?

1) How would you describe Google’s culture? How were managers viewed before Project Oxygen? To describe Google’s culture in one word, it’s unique. This, because their culture is very atypical or informal compared to other companies. They focus on employees’ happiness and satisfaction in order to increase overall productivity and to provide them with opportunities. Other than that, Google employees have access to very fun perks; repurposed exercise balls as office chairs, desks made from wooden doors, dogs allowed at work, free meals provided for all employees by top chefs etc.… They believe that breaking down barriers and collegiality in particular helps the rapid development of ideas, which is why they celebrate ideas of autonomous, hardworking, and ambitious employees. Ultimately leading Google to create a fun environment where authority is derived from peer respect rather than pressure. They started Project Oxygen on the assumption that managers are a “necessary evil” at their best, and “destructive” at their worst. According to them, Google was “a company built by engineers, for engineers”. They have failed to prove that assumption, but succeeded in realizing how important, essential, and critical managers are. Hence, this very empowering company culture they have today, and a program built around 8 attributes (or behaviors) that has proven to increase the effectiveness and performance of managers: achieving low turnover, high retention, increased productivity, and most importantly, improvements all across the organization.

What kinds of people work at Google? What should be the role of HR in such a setting? What should be the role of managers? There is a specific type of candidate that Google looks for by using a data-driven hiring process. After “resumes were screened for markers Google identified as key success factors”, the applicants were then assessed on several different attributes. Google looked for applicants with the following characteristics: flexible, collaborative, ambitious, hardworking, taking initiative, as well as demonstrating high levels of cognitive ability. They refer to these types of candidates as being “Googley” and fit to become the typical Google employee: “young, high achievers who crave autonomy”. Beyond the typical HR functions, including managing the performance reviews, onboarding for

new hires, and ensuring the right level of pay and benefits is delivered; Google’s People Operations team is also responsible for collecting and interpreting data collected through the Googlegeist survey, a comprehensive assessment that measures employees’ fit and satisfaction. Through the effective collection and interpretation of this data, Google has additional resources to assist in hiring decisions, solving company problems, and answering questions with the data. This data driven approach helps the organization find the best way to allocate staff and increase their productivity and well-being. In such setting, HR is an instrument of dissemination, providing staff of all levels multiple opportunities for enrichment and improvement, by providing platforms for collaboration, discussion, and the sharing of ideas between employees. This is why, managers should serve as the bridge between company goals and the staff. They effectively communicate the company’s goals and needs, and serve as a tool to empower their teams and foster creativity to help in the achievement of goals. They also provide their staff with opportunities for career development, based on their strengths, to increase job satisfaction.

3) What is your evaluation of the steps that the PiLab took to: a. Identify the characteristics of effective managers at Google? PiLab’s process of identifying the eight behaviors of good managers was efficient and methodical. They established clear, concise goals each step of the way by posing questions such as “Do managers matter?...What do good managers do?” This was a very useful strategy to help guide their research, maintain focus, and create actionable items. The team’s resourcefulness also contributed to their success in identifying the characteristics of good managers. They used what they already had access to: data from employees that had left Google, Googlegeist ratings, performance reviews and summer interns.

b. Roll out Project Oxygen to the organization? The Project Oxygen team kept Google’s consensus-oriented culture a focal point of the implementation process. This was a large part of what made the roll out so successful. The team was wise to use a grass-roots approach to obtain their goal of “socializing” findings. This gave the project the ability to gain acceptance organically and slowly become part of Google’s values. The small, audience targeted presentations explaining the research and benefits were a very strategic way to ensure buzz was created. Taking the time to make the information relevant to everyone, not only executives helped form a more inclusive atmosphere where people were more willing to participate. c. Ensure that the Oxygen 8 attributes were widely adopted and practiced? The people operations group changed the composition of Google through Project Oxygen. Their development of interactive, actionable classes and personalized coaching was powerful. The immediate feedback and measurable improvement managers received from the training classes

lead to the successful adoption of the Oxygen eight attribute and showed the managers the value of Project Oxygen. The methods used to unite the eight attributes with Google’s strong family values did; they promoted a better overall well being of Google by nurturing the growth and development the managers through the project.

4) What should Setty’s priorities be going forward? Which of the proposed initiatives should he pursue? In particular, should he and his team take on the challenge of trying to create “truly amazing managers?” If so, how? First and foremost, Google is a big company in an attractive, high-risk, competitive and growing industry. Using an innovative approach definitely should be at the core of their strategic plan. As we can see over time, the qualities of Google’s great managers have grown and evolved. Sticking to Project Oxygen, following- up and at the same time updating their methods, made their processes advantageous tools in their competitive environment. The People Operations team should certainly focus on staff, and managers in particular, to create and develop truly “amazing managers” because this leads to a self-replicating mechanism where managers can empower and recognize leadership potential within their respective teams, further developing their company’s culture uniqueness and results. The use of data for these purposes, slicing and dicing to truly understand the dynamics of their teams and people, establishing the managerial qualities necessary to foster, and creating a better working environment all increases productivity and happiness, which is what the company’s culture focuses on....