Work Happy Now » Google

Google Will Lose Talent and So Will Your Company

Karl Staib - The Work Happy Guy — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:19:55 +0000

Google will lose awesome talent because not everyone will want to stay and work with a large company. The bigger they get the harder it will be for them to stay agile. A lot of employees don’t mind working in that type of environment, but many of them dislike it and they will end up leaving.

Wayne Rosing, an early vice president for engineering, has left to pursue his love of astronomy. Paul Buchheit, the celebrated engineer who dreamed up Gmail, “retired” recently. (He’s 30.) Evan Williams, the highly regarded founder of Blogger, a Google acquisition, has left to launch another startup.
- Great Place to Work

No company can retain every employee. People’s desires change. What made them happy three years ago is different than today. Google understands this and does their best to retain as many employees as possible. They retain about 95% of their employees and that’s way above the standard for a technology company.

Google hired the human resources pro Laszlo Bock because they are losing some of their best talent. They are starting their own companies (Friendfeed), or leaving for other companies that offer them a different environment (Facebook), or to pursue their passions such as their old VP Wayne Rosing who left to pursue astronomy. Whatever it is that forces them or entices them to leave, Google is taking an active role in minimizing these loses.

You need to do everything you can to keep the superstars with your company, but as long as you recognize that you will lose some of them then it makes it easier. You don’t have to be perfect. You can only try your best, measure results, and keep on improving.

I created an ebook to share some of Google’s secrets on how you can grow your company and be happy at work. You’ve just read a chapter from the ebook. It contains enlightening and practical information that businesses and employees can all use.

I will be publishing a new chapter during the middle of every week. If you don’t want to wait that long for this glorious information then just sign up for my RSS or email and receive the Free eBook “Work Happy the Google Way.”

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Challenge Yourself the Google Way

Karl Staib - The Work Happy Guy — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 09:12:46 +0000

Google leaves a small one page document in the bathrooms of their engineering building that is designed to spark curiosity. A person can’t help but pick it up and see what’s on it. Most of it is too complicated for the average person, but it works to spark an engineer’s mind to think in a new direction. Planting a little seed can spur great ideas.

We need to challenge ourselves at our jobs. We get complacent and even irritated when we have to do something new. Instead of looking at it as an opportunity, we complain. We just need to be open to new problems because they create the most potential for professional growth.

One of the reasons why children are so loved is because they have the ability to challenge us and open our minds to new ways of looking at the world. We may get irritated and frustrated, but we keep on loving them because of the potential that they possess. If we can give a tiny portion of this mindset to our work, we can extract joy from our jobs that we never thought possible.

Next time you are using the bathroom, try utilizing that time to dig into your imagination. Try finding ways to become more compassionate to an annoying co-worker. If you are in sales try imagining an object you are selling as a 3D entity that you can spin around at will. This might not spark your mind to come up with a brilliant plan, but if you keep planting that seed something good will come from challenging yourself to think in new ways.

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Take Away Any Obstacles

Karl Staib - The Work Happy Guy — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 08:24:31 +0000

Google understands that an employee who can focus on their work will do a better job.

“The goal is to strip away everything that gets in our employees way. We provide a standard package of fringe benefits, but on top of that are first-class dining facilities, gyms, laundry rooms, massage rooms, haircuts, carwashes, dry cleaning, commuting buses – just about anything a hardworking employee engineer might want. Let’s face it: programmers want to program, they don’t want to do their laundry. So we make it easy for them to do both.”

- Eric Schmidt, CEO Google

You can remove obstacles from your employees’ paths too. Maybe they are fed up with having to ask for permission. Give them the freedom to purchase something they need as long as it’s under $50 and they hand in a receipt and the reason that they needed it. If you can eliminate some of the red tape that frustrates them you’ll be removing pain and creating a happier employee.

The easier you make it for your employees to be productive, the more that they will get done.

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Create A Members Only Club The Google Way

Karl Staib - The Work Happy Guy — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 08:49:47 +0000

Google has a name for all their employees – Googlers. When I first heard this I thought it was cheesy, but the more I thought about it the more it made sense. They are a club of elite people who are trying to change the world. That’s the message that people want to send when they create a club. They feel special to be at a place where others want to be. They are proud to call themselves Googlers.

Google will never be the perfect work environment for every type of person. A lot of people don’t like the competition and the stress, but others do and it works for them. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. No place is perfect, but Google does a great job of creating an atmosphere that feels special.

An Organic Culture – Don’t Force It

I don’t think that you should come up with a cheesy name like Googler for your employees. It probably won’t work. The reason it won’t work is because it needs to happen naturally. I tried to find where the name Googler came from, but couldn’t. I was surprised to find that wikipedia considered anyone that felt like they were an expert in Google called themselves Googlers. This name is spreading to the users as well. That’s magical branding that rarely happens.

Your Company Community

You can create that same feeling on a smaller scale. Your community of employees and customers talk about you too. Do you help influence the message or do you just let it happen? You have to be proactive like Google. Allow people to understand what your company is all about and how you should be perceived.

Your company needs to feel special to its employees otherwise it’s just another job where they put in the time, but not the effort. You have to figure out why it’s so special to work in your organization.

Creating a Special Culture

The best way to create a special culture (an employee/customer Tribe if you will – Seth Godin style) is to find out why people choose to work for you or buy from you. Do you provide that extra attention to detail that your competition doesn’t? Do you give your customers a call after they’ve had your product for two months just to chat and check in? Let’s say you are a massage therapist and you asked all your first time clients what famous dead person they would love to have a conversation with. (A little weird, but it works) The next time they come back, you might Google their favorite person and get them to talk about their lives. Whatever you do to show your customers and employees that you care will help you forge relationships that will last years, and in turn they will probably refer you to other friends and family.

You can get people in your employee and user community talking about you like they talk about Google, by staying true to your personality and core strengths. It will take some creative brainstorming every few months, but it will be worth your time to create a club like atmosphere that makes people feel special.

Work Happy Now created an ebook to share some of Google’s secrets on how you can grow your company and be happy at work. You’ve just read a chapter from the ebook. It contains enlightening and practical information that businesses and employees can all use.

We will be publishing a new chapter every Tuesday. If you don’t want to wait that long for this glorious information then just sign up for my RSS or email and receive the Free eBook “Work Happy the Google Way.”

If you liked this chapter from the ebook you’ll enjoy these too:

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Empower the Employees to Improve the Company

Karl Staib - The Work Happy Guy — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:52:39 +0000

Google has an internal website called “Google Ideas.” Googlers submit their suggestions on how to improve a product or how to make things better at Google. Their co-workers can read this site and give their feedback by rating the suggestion and leaving comments. Management monitors this website very closely so they can stay abreast of their employees’ feelings.

Opinions Matter

Your company can create an expressive outlet for your employees. This will empower them to make suggestions that will probably help the company function better, creating engagement and loyalty.

You need to show your employees that their opinions matter.

You don’t need a computer program to keep track of all the suggestions. All you need is a box where employees can anonymously drop in suggestions as well as encouragement from the company explaining the importance of giving this a fair try.

Implement and Watch What Happens

This may be hard to foster in an old-school company, but there is always hope. It starts with small steps. Explain how it will improve employee engagement and customer loyalty.

Implement the program for only a month and watch the magic slowly occur. It’s like magical fairy dust that lifts morale and improves the company.

I know I’m pouring it on a little thick, but trust me it works.

If the employees don’t come up with some awesome ideas that make them more productive then scrap it, but if they do then you’ve just struck employee gold.

If you liked this chapter from the ebook you’ll enjoy these too:

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Give Employees The Freedom They Need to Succeed

Karl Staib - The Work Happy Guy — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 08:55:42 +0000

Google gives its engineers 20% of their time to work on personal projects that have resulted in Google news, Gmail, and Google Finance. Google didn’t do this out of the goodness of their heart. They know they can’t stop their creative people from creating. So Google lets them come up with their own ideas and run with them like a drunk clutching a hot ember.

Their employees consistently reward them with fresh new concepts that have helped Google grow their market share.

Give the Freedom

You can give your employees the freedom to work on their personal projects too. If they can figure out a personal project that will help the company, then give them 10% of their time to work on it.

If they can’t figure out a project to help the company then they receive one hour each week to work on a personal project of their choice. It could be knitting or writing a book.

Make it Perk

Every company I’ve ever worked for had employees who wasted time chatting to each other, surfing the internet or taking a nap in the back room, so why not designate a time for it? I know 99.99% of bosses will call me crazy, but why not let them have some fun?

If they are going to do it, you may as well make it seem like a perk.

A company should work with employees to make them feel awesome, not micromanage them until they get sick and tired of old eagle eye watching their every move. Creating freedom at work is about letting employees optimize their production. Only they know how to get the most out of themselves. It’s the company’s job to give them the resources to make it happen.

We will be publishing a new chapter every Wednesday. If you don’t want to wait that long for this glorious information then just sign up for my RSS or email and receive the Free eBook “Work Happy the Google Way.”

If you liked this chapter from the ebook you’ll enjoy these too:

Download the Free eBook Work Happy the Google Way * Post from: Work Happy Now!

Design Friendly Atmosphere

Karl Staib - The Work Happy Guy — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 03:15:58 +0000

A place that feels friendly is friendly. As long as people feel comfortable they will work in a more relaxed and creative fashion. Google makes sure that their people can express themselves in ways that range from a pimped out Simpsons cubicle to an office that looks like it’s out of the Ikea catalogue.

Google Slide

This Google Slide is from their office in Zurich. It’s a great example of how to make the office feel fun. Even if no one rides it, the employees are still walking by it every day. This signals to them that they are in a special place.

Design Team

You have an infinite amount of tools at your disposal that you can use to create an environment that is fun and extends the company’s personality. You can create a team of people with a budget of $100 whose job is to go out and find cool things to put in the office. You can stipulate that nothing should cost over $20. The employees can vote on where each object will be placed, hung or hidden (you don’t want to gross out anyone).

I know that I would want to be on this team. If I were an employee who was sent on a mission to spruce up the office for an afternoon, I would jump at the chance.

Create Discussion Through Design

It’s a company’s job to create a design friendly atmosphere that inspires great work. It doesn’t matter whether or not everyone likes the new decorations. What matters is that it creates discussion.

Co-workers who get to know each other will treat each other like family. They might not “like” each other, but they will find love within each other to co-exist.

If you liked this chapter from the ebook you’ll enjoy these too:

Image courtesy of andrewarchy

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Celebrate the Google Way

Karl Staib - The Work Happy Guy — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 03:04:34 +0000

Every company should celebrate its successes. Google does this in various ways.

Small Scale – Google built lounges for people to gather and talk

You don’t need to physically throw a party to create a celebration type atmosphere. People want to gather and share. Your company can do this too by creating an area that’s dedicated to letting off steam and building a community.

Medium Scale – TGIF Parties

I’m all for throwing parties and Google does this every Friday. It gets other Googlers together. They usually have a band, but all you need is a little iPod dock and some cool music. Your employees can hang out and make new friends and your company can do this with a modest budget. I wrote an article called Create 12 Parties a Year Instead of 1 Boring Holiday Party. The idea is simple – throw a party each month so everyone gets to hang out and learn about each other.

The more friends people have at work the more they enjoy working at their company.

Large Scale – A party to remember

In 2005 Google created “Jetaway on a Google Holiday.” They threw a big bash on the San Francisco piers, but it wasn’t your typical party. They brought the various cuisines, decorations and music from all over the world.

I know that you probably can’t afford to rent out the SF piers and bring in all kinds of cool decorations, but you have employees with various backgrounds. Why not create a party where everyone shares in their heritage. Maybe all they have is an old photo album from the 1940’s or an old yearbook from when their parents went to high school. Whatever they can share will help people to connect and spark conversation.

The type of party you throw doesn’t matter. All that really matters is that the celebration is unique and helps create an exciting atmosphere for the whole organization.

If you liked this chapter from the ebook you’ll enjoy these too:

Download the Free eBook Work Happy the Google Way * Post from: Work Happy Now!

Extend Your Company’s Recruiting Message to Social Outlets

Karl Staib - The Work Happy Guy — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 02:57:13 +0000

In doing my research on Google I stumbled across a Google produced video on YouTube that interviewed employees and showed the viewer various locations at the Google offices. Everything looked so inviting from the sleek cafeteria to the game room and the beautiful outside patios.

If I wasn’t so invested in this whole “Work Happy Now” thing I would send my resume in right now.

Google created this video to extend their marketing message.

We are a great place to work. Just look at this video, our employees love working here and I know you would love it here too.

You can extend your marketing message by creating a blog, putting out a podcast, or creating a video like Google. The quality prospects that you bring in to interview will research you on the internet.

If all they see is a boring website, (or worse yet, nothing at all) they won’t be thinking your company is an interesting place to work.

If you only recruit for “average employees,” then you’re going to end up being an average company. You must recruit superstars to take your company to the next level.

Google has so many blogs out there that I can’t keep up with all of them. I think they have one for every service they offer. They help you understand new features as well as how to maximize old ones. They do this to create a relationship with the people that love their services and products.

I know that your company probably doesn’t have the resources to do this, but you can start small by creating a basic blog that talks about your industry or gives tips to your customers. By reinforcing the relationships you already have, you are telling people in your community that you are willing to fight for their business.

Employees don’t want to work for the perfect business because every business messes up, but they want to work for a business that cares about what they do.

If you can send the message out that you care about what you do people will join in the cause.

If you liked this chapter from the ebook you’ll enjoy these too:

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Does Your Mission Inspire?

Karl Staib - The Work Happy Guy — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 02:58:47 +0000

Google’s motto is “Do no Evil.” They probably decided on this because of all the back stabbing and money grabbing in today’s corporate environment. They wanted to send a statement out to the public that they are there to help them connect with the information they need, but they aren’t going to do it if it causes people harm.

They believe in using as few natural resources as possible to provide their servers with energy and their employees with great work. They have one of the best recycling programs and solar panel infrastructures at their facilities. People want to work for a company that considers the future health of the earth, especially forward thinking employees that work at Google.

What can you do to connect with your employees’ concerns?

Ask your employees what they care about. It’s as simple as that.

If they are worried about environmental issues then plan for the company to take an afternoon off and help plant trees at a local park. When you do things like this don’t be afraid to get some PR out of it. You want the community to know that you care about the earth too.

If they are worried about their healthcare then create a small team with the HR manager as the lead. Have them research other healthcare plans and see how much money they might save if the company would switch to another carrier. Once they reach that allotted time they must present their information to management.

Your employees are unique and have many ideas that they would love to share if you only ask.

If you want to get a few more ideas that might help your company succeed check out – Creating a Goal Post Business.

We created an ebook to share some of Google’s secrets on how you can grow your company and be happy at work. You’ve just read a chapter from the ebook. It contains enlightening and practical information that businesses and employees can all use.

If You enjoyed this post then you better believe you’ll enjoy these too:

Download the Free eBook Work Happy the Google Way * Post from: Work Happy Now!