Google India’s Connect With Its Employees

The charms of a job at Google are many—über-cool offices, an array of gadgets, unlimited food and employee benefits, to name a few. Little wonder then that Google India has been among the top few companies in the BT-Taggd Best Companies to Work For in India rankings. A great workplace, however, is more than just perks, especially during unprecedented times such as the Covid-19 pandemic. After the onset of the pandemic, Google reached out to its employees—called Googlers—to understand the challenges they were facing.

“The pandemic has served as a reminder that we have a deep responsibility to care for our employees and their families, and it’s important to lean into our values as we think about ways we can best support them during this trying time. This led us to relook at our policies and benefits to ensure we are providing the right level of care. Having a direct line to employees is invaluable and we wanted to make sure we understand how our Googlers are feeling during this time,” says Anny Tampling, Market HR Director for APAC, Google.

Google used multiple data sources—including surveys, interviews and experimental pilots—to get the whole picture about how Googlers feel. Listening to the community has helped its teams and leaders identify where to focus their efforts in caring for Googlers as it returns to offices and transitions to a hybrid working model. For instance, Google saw that caregivers needed extra support, so it implemented a Covid-19-specific carer’s leave extension policy. And when Googlers were feeling burnt out, it introduced global day-offs so that they could take a break and recharge themselves.

“We’ve learnt from Googlers that they appreciate the added flexibility especially in a time of Covid-19... so providing the flexibility like carers’ leave, flexible working arrangements and work-from-anywhere weeks make a difference to how our employees feel supported and, overall, about working at Google,” says Tampling.

Once the company realised that remote work had become a way of life, it focussed on ensuring that Googlers continued to learn, grow and develop their skills in this new working environment. For instance, at the start of the pandemic, Google recognised that its managers were key to managing the transition their teams were going through. So, it invested in providing managers with the resources they needed to lead their teams in this ambiguous environment. Google had managers virtually learning from each other, learning in the moment through short videos that provided advice, or through a panel of managers who addressed the most frequently asked questions pertaining to managing remote teams and supporting well-being. It also encourages its leaders to keep learning, and its education reimbursement programme offers eligible Googlers in India from all levels $4,000 annually to participate in personal or business-critical courses to directly improve a skill outside of what’s offered at Google.

For women, it has specific programmes. “We want to do our part to not only offer attractive jobs for women to join tech but also enable more women to develop skills that are vital in the modern digital world,” says Tampling. One such initiative is DigiPivot—in association with Avtar and the Centre for Executive Education at the Indian School of Business—that trains women in digital marketing to open up more opportunities for them to pivot into the tech sector or gain new skills as they widen their skill sets. In addition, Google Career Certificates, launched last year, bridges the digital skills gap between job seekers and employers. Google has recently strengthened the programme in India with 100,000 scholarships and a cohort of companies that will recognise these for their resource requirements.

“Whether it’s here in India where we have a vibrant community of Googlers or across the globe, we wanted to ensure we were finding relevant ways to keep our learning culture alive by constantly asking ourselves, ‘how can we enhance the existing programmes we have?’; ‘how can we support our employees further?’ and ‘what are we missing?’.” And it wasn’t just for the current workforce but Nooglers (new employees) too. Google redesigned its on-boarding programme in six months, and has partnered with more than 30 teams to brainstorm what Nooglers need to be successful.

Google is also sensitive towards its employees as they shifted aspects of their personal and professional lives from short-term survival mode to longer-term adaptive recovery with new routines. While the company believes in the value of coming together in the office in person, it also believes that Googlers should have the flexibility to work. While employees continue to work from home, Google acknowledges that everyone’s experience is different. And hence, it is offering flexible working arrangements among the many options provided.

Back in May 2021, Google had announced its future workplace as a hybrid environment where Googlers will spend approximately three days in the office and two days wherever they work best. And for flexible work arrangements, employees have the opportunity to temporarily work from a location other than their main office for up to four weeks per year.

“We know that in terms of where technology is today, nothing replaces the power of human interaction and the chemistry people have when they come together. And this is why we’re investing so much in our tools and spaces—to ensure a truly connected and equitable experience for all of our employees,” says Tampling.

@nidhisingal