Google and Zappos: data-driven hiring and cultural fit strategies

Healthcare management (Discussion questions)

What are the top three elements in developing your practice as a human resource manager that will ensure your competitive advantage?

First student

One of the most notable features of successful companies such as Google is the degree to which these companies realize that people are some of their greatest assets. Google offers such perks as allowing engineers to pursue their own projects on company time as a way to attract the most creative people within the IT industry as well as to develop new ideas that might not come from the upper levels of management. Google offers 'perks' that make creative people flock to the company and which ensures once hired, the employees remain focused on their work. One of the reasons Google offers free food, dry-cleaning, and fitness classes is not simply to be nice but also because it increases worker loyalty and keeps workers' attention focused on their work, not distractions at home.

Google also has an extremely rigorous hiring process, to ensure that all employees are a good fit for the organization. It also has a rather unique feature in the screening process in that "uses panels of varied employees -- not potential direct supervisors or peers -- to handle its worker selection process" (Halzack 2013). This is to ensure greater objectivity, given that the people doing the hiring are not the candidate's potential bosses. The ideal is that the screeners will ask 'what is good for the organization' not 'what is good for me as an employee?'

Google also uses 'big data' to ensure its hiring process is efficient. For example, after analyzing the success rates of candidates, it concluded that no more than four interviews are necessary for most prospective employees, when considering them as potential hires for the company (Halzack 2013). However, it is not a slave to 'big data' -- it will occasionally bring in a rare candidate for a fifth interview if the hiring panel is genuinely on the fence about his suitability.

Reference

Halzack, S. (2013). An inside look at Google's data-driven interview process.

The Washington Post. Retrieved from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/an-inside-look-at-googles-data-driven-job-interview-process/2013/09/03/648ea8b2-14bd-11e3-880b-7503237cc69d_story.html

Part B. Reflect on what you have learned from this question

Perhaps the most important thing I learned from reflecting on this question is the degree to which human resources provides essential 'resources' for the company to do its job. Especially in today's competitive service-based economy, people are an organization's greatest resource to secure a comparative advantage. Employees offer knowledge, loyalty, and commitment. It is people who make up the organization's essential character.

I also learned the importance of creative responses to HR needs. It is important to not simply focus on the bottom line and try to find the cheapest source of labor or even workers with the fanciest degrees. What is important is to assemble workers who can work well together and can make meaningful contribution to a dynamic workplace culture. The entire process of taking a new employee into the company -- including selection and training -- must suit organizational needs and help employees grow and develop. It is vital to have ongoing mentoring, training, and enrichment programs so employees' skill sets remain current. By investing in employees, the company can grow and reap the benefits. "Organizations are searching for a means to not only recruit the right candidates, but more importantly, retain and nurture the talent to become passionate, engaged, and loyal" (Burnham 2013).

Reference

Burnham, K. (2013). Top 5 IT hiring trends in 2014. Information Week. Retrieved from:

http://www.informationweek.com/strategic-cio/executive-insights-and-innovation/5-it-hiring-trends-in-2014/d/d-id/1113202