Interview with Laszlo Bock, VP, People Operations, Google
Q: Google is seen as a fun and lively place to work for. How do you build and retain that culture?
A: Fun, freedom, interactivity and the ability to explore is vital to this company. We look for very smart people who are creative and adaptable. The second is a formal mechanism to keep our culture going; we have small transforming communities of people that work on a wide range of ideas. The third is through a demonstration of culture and self-monitoring of that culture. For example, we have numerous email lists in the company, and if a person does something that is wildly outside the culture, another person will gently point it out to him.
Q: So there is no hierarchy? Can mistakes be pointed out by someone junior?
A: There is a primacy of ideas and debate here. If you have a compelling idea it doesn’t matter who you are. Our organization structure is simple. Until about 2-3 years ago the most senior title at Google, other than the founders was VP. Two years ago when we added a Senior VP title, that was a big deal for us. While there are some gradations, generally we think of ourselves as individual contributors, managers, directors and VPs.
Q: Do you put the new recruits through a new learning process and do people just learn by doing?
A: It’s a little bit of both. New Googlers are called “Nooglers”. When you join Google, the workstation is decorated with balloons. We say you are a “noogler” till your balloons drop to the ground. We work in small teams of 2-5 people, that helps people to learn by doing. We fundamentally believe that people are good, people are smart and if you just give them freedom they will surprise and amaze you.
Q: How do you account for the 20 percent free time to innovate that Google gives to its people?
A: It’s individually managed; some people spend a little time everyday, some take it all in one go.
Q: Are you the best paymasters in your industry?
A: We think about the total rewards. At Google every employee gets a bonus, then there’s the café, the massage parlor and all our other benefits. We believe in pay for performance and if you are a strong performer you have an opportunity to earn more. Apart from that how much you learn, the environment, the people you work with is equally important. We try to be very competitive in every one of those areas.
Q: Google is seen as a fun and lively place to work for. How do you build and retain that culture?
A: Fun, freedom, interactivity and the ability to explore is vital to this company. We look for very smart people who are creative and adaptable. The second is a formal mechanism to keep our culture going; we have small transforming communities of people that work on a wide range of ideas. The third is through a demonstration of culture and self-monitoring of that culture. For example, we have numerous email lists in the company, and if a person does something that is wildly outside the culture, another person will gently point it out to him.
Q: So there is no hierarchy? Can mistakes be pointed out by someone junior?
A: There is a primacy of ideas and debate here. If you have a compelling idea it doesn’t matter who you are. Our organization structure is simple. Until about 2-3 years ago the most senior title at Google, other than the founders was VP. Two years ago when we added a Senior VP title, that was a big deal for us. While there are some gradations, generally we think of ourselves as individual contributors, managers, directors and VPs.
Q: Do you put the new recruits through a new learning process and do people just learn by doing?
A: It’s a little bit of both. New Googlers are called “Nooglers”. When you join Google, the workstation is decorated with balloons. We say you are a “noogler” till your balloons drop to the ground. We work in small teams of 2-5 people, that helps people to learn by doing. We fundamentally believe that people are good, people are smart and if you just give them freedom they will surprise and amaze you.
Q: How do you account for the 20 percent free time to innovate that Google gives to its people?
A: It’s individually managed; some people spend a little time everyday, some take it all in one go.
Q: Are you the best paymasters in your industry?
A: We think about the total rewards. At Google every employee gets a bonus, then there’s the café, the massage parlor and all our other benefits. We believe in pay for performance and if you are a strong performer you have an opportunity to earn more. Apart from that how much you learn, the environment, the people you work with is equally important. We try to be very competitive in every one of those areas.
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