People Analytics
Managers are always tasked with making crucial decisions concerning the employees of their companies. People analytics involve applying statistical analysis to large sets of talent data where managers assess the capabilities of their employees. The Human Resource department is always the leading player in people analytics. People analytics is a current trend in the HR sector, and managers have decided to incorporate the strategy into their decision-making processes. Companies that have embraced people analytics have amassed huge advantages in improving their decision-making structures and have stood above their competitors in business. Google is one among the several companies that have decided to incorporate people analytics in their HR systems and has a well-developed people analytics department.
Google is a technology company and is always in the frontline to embrace new trends in technology. People analytics involves extensive data analysis, and thus technology plays a significant role in the analysis. Google is compelled by its standards and the requirement of being up to date with the current state of technology to embrace each current trend in technology (Kreiss & McGregor, 2018). The fact that technology defines all the activities of Google makes it cautious since failing to keep pace with the technological advancements could cost the company and make most of its products obsolete. People analytics gets its name from Google since the company is said to have been the mastermind behind its popularity. The idea of people analytics was in existence with several companies referring to it as data-based decision making. The demand for data-based decision making, however, was realized when Google entered the market and branded it as “people analytics.” The move was started by Laszlo Bock who was once a Google HR manager when he wrote the book, ‘Work Rules!’ The step was later followed by other publications that were based on people analytics as to the main themes.
Google operates over fifteen data centers across the world making the most vibrant data company in the world. Such an extensive data system presents Google with a high number of customer queries to attend to in each minute. Therefore, Google requires experienced as well as talented employees to meet the growing customer needs. The employee network is also significantly vast, and manual analysis could be impossible. Google has therefore set in place vigilant people analytics structures that help in analyzing the employee capabilities both after and before employment. The need to always provide high-quality products necessitates the work of high-quality employees, and people analytics has not failed Google in giving such an advantage. In 2006, Laszlo Bock was hired by Google as SVP to head the people operations department. Laszlo Bock worked under the belief that the workplace could be significantly improved if data was adequately and effectively utilized (Huselid, 2018). With a network of ex-consultants and PHDs, Bock was able to create a body that worked as a team to analyze workforce data to explore the talent that was already in Google but was not yet utilized. However, Bock was only working to rekindle attempts that had initially been tried by Google to no success but eventually was successful.
The Google people analytics process was not free from challenges. In 2002, Google had engaged in an attempt to analyze the workforce data for several managers to identify their roles and responsibilities in the company. Google was in a mission to lay off several managers although the attempt was unsuccessful since the process was based on blind-interviews with opinions being affected by personal views and bias. Eventually, Google decided to employ people analytics, and the results were evident. The idea behind the success of Google’s people analytics was based on teamwork. The people analytics group in Google is always interested in what a group is capable of rather than who makes a particular group. The idea of being interested in results rather than the individual contributors has made Google boast one of the most successful people analytics systems and has stood out above its competitors.
Google is a company made up of extensive data and algorithms, and thus its management is unsurprisingly based on data and algorithm analysis. Google is purely rooted in the desire for continued innovation and data has to play the most significant part if not all the activities of the company. The ability to deal with data throughout makes it easier for Google to deal with employee databases that only form a small part of the company’s data set. The essential requirement of continuous innovation is the ability to build an extensive talent system where the company is aware of the talent that it hosts within its employee network. The success of Google in terms of people analytics has been associated with Project Oxygen where Google can use data in its recruitment process (Minbaeva, 2018). Also, Google uses data in developing its employees and has been successful in realizing and developing talents without having to incur the costs of hiring additional workforce. The combination of data analysis and algorithm has been crucial in helping Google to cut significant costs related to employee recruitment and development. For example, developing talents from existing employees saves the company from charges that would be incurred in the event of new hiring. Additionally, employee quitting rates have been reduced since algorithms give the probability of an employee leaving employment and the company can intervene in time to retain such employees.
The success of Google’s people analytics does not mean that other companies have willingly left Google to exploit the market. People analytics system is full of challenges, and the ability of Google to beat such problems can be said to be the main reason why Google still stands. Generally, people analytics involves additional costs in hiring in-form and experienced experts to manage the system (Gelbard et al. 2018). Also, a company that uses people analytics is expected to improve its productivity significantly, and thus the company is sure to be under pressure from shareholders. Additionally, Google has to deal with the challenge from competitors who are coming up frequently and vigorously. The upcoming of competitors pose the problem that Google has to work hard to maintain employees who are promised lucrative offers by competitors to share their experience that has been earned from Google.
In sum, people analytics has come in to save companies from the challenges that are posed by manual management of personnel. Companies have initially been relying on already established talents, and costs have been incurred in retaining employees with unexploited skills. Google has stood out as a successful company in managing a vigilant people analytics. The fact that Google is a data and algorithm has made it successful in employing people analytics and has incorporated such towards its management systems.
References
Gelbard, R., Ramon‐Gonen, R., Carmeli, A., Bittmann, R. M., & Talyansky, R. (2018). Sentiment analysis in organizational work: Towards an ontology of people analytics. Expert Systems, 35(5), e12289.
Huselid, M. A. (2018). The science and practice of workforce analytics: Introduction to the HRM special issue. Human Resource Management, 57(3), 679-684.
Kreiss, D., & McGregor, S. C. (2018). Technology firms shape political communication: The work of Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, and Google with campaigns during the 2016 US presidential cycle. Political Communication, 35(2), 155-177.
Minbaeva, D. B. (2018). Building credible human capital analytics for organizational competitive advantage. Human Resource Management, 57(3), 701-713.