Google's approach to job satisfaction and employee innovation through the rule of 20%

Google Management

Job Satisfaction and Motivating Employees at Google

Many factors contribute to Google's unique corporate culture and corresponding strength at innovation, employee retention and productivity. At the center of all these efforts is their unique approach to nurturing innovation, called the "rule of 20%" which states that each employee can spend up to 20% of their time on projects of their choice (Machlis, 244, 245). As of 2009, the rule of 20% accounted for 57% of total company revenues (Taylor, 23, 24). Google Mail, Google Maps and many other innovations are based on the rule of 20%. At a fundamental level, the Google managerial culture nurtures and grows innovation by concentrating on high levels of job satisfaction through task and job ownership and the use of Hertzberg-based job enhancements so the basic needs of employees are met. The following is an analysis of the motivational factors in the Google organizational culture, including how the company continues to create catalysts for creativity in its employee base.

Analysis of Google Motivational Factors

At the center of the Google management strategies and approaches to ensuring a consistently high level of commitment is the continual focus on how to create high levels of autonomy, mastery and purpose throughout their employee base (Ramsey, et.al.). Google, like many high performance organizations, has concentrated on motivating its employees through the unique combination of autonomy, mastery and purpose designed into job roles and responsibilities within the company. With the rule of 20%, employees know they can invest themselves in major projects and trust the company to allow to see them to fruition over time (Machlis, 244, 245). The rule of 20% sets the technical professionals who work at Google free to focus on what they are most interested in and passionate about while at the same time allowing them the freedom to work on what they see as the biggest challenges in the company. There are many parallels to leadership theories to this practice yet the most important is the opportunity to create trust with employees that their efforts will be valued while at the same time building autonomy into their job roles (Ramsey, et.al.).

Conclusion

Google is revolutionizing the advertising industry globally and continues to create a steady stream of new, innovative products and services. As a result, their focus on retaining and growing their base of employees continues to be industry leading, specifically in the areas of autonomy, mastery and purpose and the extensive use of the role of 20%. All of these factors combined give Google a unique and highly differentiated competitive advantage. Their efforts to build a culture that is self-regenerative in terms of innovation is apparent from the majority revenues being from products created by the rule of 20% and the focus on meeting higher-order needs instead of just concentrating on pay alone as a motivator.