Employees are Brands

by sneh on March 14th, 2010 10

This is very simple but thought provoking question- How can human resources be leveraged as a source of competitive advantage? Let’s try to find answer to the question through the example of the Google.

Google emerged as a technological powerhouse with two extra ordinary innovations: ‘Search’ and ‘Adwords’, to its credit. The company attributes this enviable rise to glory to its most valued assets- The Google employees. These efforts paid off and Google emerged as the most sought after place to work for two consecutive years (2007 and 2008). The appreciation of Google’s achievements has been accompanied by increasing apprehensions about the long term sustainability of Google’s informal and fun filled culture.

Our employees, who call themselves Googlers, are everything. We hope to recruit many more in the future. We will reward and treat them well. – Larry Page and Sergey Brin

10 Reasons why employees go Google:

Google is focused on providing an environment where hardworking people are rewarded for their contributions to Google and for making the world a better place.
Google’s efforts don’t fizzle out even after recruiting a candidate to be a part of the company. Post recruitment, the company’s focus shifts towards retaining its continually retaining its talent pool by making its new recruits feel valued.
Noogler, a term used to refer to the new employees at Google, are assigned a ‘Buddy’, who acts as a friend as well as mentor.
With the aim of increasing interaction between teams, quarterly offsites are conducted.
Google’s flat organizational culture and knack of working in small teams. At Google team work is the norm.
A continual training support is extended to the employees, for instance, Google devotes 100hours/ year to training.
Google managers seek employees’ suggestions and involve them in the decision making process.
It lays importance on promoting the culture of flexible timings for Googlers. They also enjoy work from home facility.
Google avoids lethargy from creeping in while constantly launching new products.
The HR team at Google employs an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) that enables the recruiters to keep an account of the number of resumes posted on Google’s website screen them and shortlist candidates for the recruitment process.

Google is not the only employee friendly company today; Employees are brands- many companies have realized. There is a shift in the way companies hire, deal and treat employees.

CEO of Castle Rock Research India, Vishwas Mudagal says:

“Employees are the soul of our company. We are, that’s why, very particular about whom we hire. A culture starts from the kind of people we hire, we have saying “A’s always hire As but B’s hire Cs” We believe in hiring only As’.

Core technical or professional skills are not the only criteria to choosing an employee- it’s the attitude and also the problem solving skills that matter.

Our constant endeavor once we start a team is to empower them with necessary skills and give ownership. A culture has to be ‘Value-Driven’.”

It is nice to know that business leaders have started valuing the employees and more companies are building healthy and open work environment. On similar lines, CEO of InRev says,

“In InRev all employees are partners. They are free to choose not just their work but also departments.

We believe freedom, flexibility, responsibility and performance go hand in hand. The company is built with open mind. Against the tide in India, we have not restricted use of internet messengers and social media sites in the company. “

Hiring good employees is only half work done. Company needs to groom them with friendly culture and harmonic environment to get the best quality work. This is the key differentiator of great companies from the good ones.

Most companies compromise on work environment and take employees as cost centers. It is one of the biggest blunders any leader can make. I feel even in the adverse business conditions it is better to make employees part of decisions than enforce management decisions on them.

I see the growing trend of bettering work environment across the World. Thanks to employee friendly companies like Google, Facebook, ThoughtWorks and Cisco. The corporate sector is now more human, friendlier and more innovative.

Image Source: Collegerecruiter

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Comments

Oopy Doopy!

Sure, sum up your entire experience with only one company and two questionable quotes from a couple suits who have nothing to substantiate their or your claims. You have zero perspective and your words betray you. It’s a travesty that we’re moving into a temp worker economy and it’s unfortunate that we have to listen to disgusting corporate apologists like you. Which PR firm paid you to write this little spin article? At least you’ve got yours, right?

March 16, 201012:41 pm

Lawrence Liu

Employees are people – human beings, not brands or resources. Treat them with respect and integrity, and they’ll do wonderful things. The problem with most companies is having too thick of a middle management layer. That’s where HR should focus its energy in terms of training and streamlining.

March 16, 20108:47 pm

sneh

Hey Oopy Doopy- Just 2 things to say; Links to the profiles of CEOs are there, please check if you see anything questionable.
Secondly I don’t get paid for writing.

Thanks for sharing your views.

March 16, 201010:16 pm

Brian

I came across this on Digg and thought it would be a wonderful entry on how employees in the social age are the face of companies, replacing traditional marketing as the identity of brands.

I hate to say it, but I was disappointed.

March 16, 201010:25 pm

dingus

Wow. It is really amazing the kind of content that passes for thorough analysis these days. I mean, really, if you were a high school sophomore, this paper might be acceptable, but you’re trying to pass yourself off as a knowledgeable professional, when it’s clear you did little more than spend a few minutes searching the internet for quotes about the value of employees, and read Google’s corporate information page.

Good lord, what is the world coming to.

March 17, 20103:30 am