Comments on: Google: HR Innovator?

By: nathalie

nathalie — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 21:57:17 +0000

they did have their employees complete a survey, and they used the survey results to develop the applicant survey. It’s about time they got over the only-grades-matter mentality– this is a case where Google seemed completely clueless and behind the curve.

“Last summer, Google asked every employee who had been working at the company for at least five months to fill out a 300-question survey…

When all this was completed, Dr. Carlisle set about analyzing the two million data points the survey collected. Among the first results was confirmation that Googleâ€™s obsession with academic performance was not always correlated with success at the company.”

By: Max Goldman

Max Goldman — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 23:55:25 +0000

I’m with you on the baseline point. They alluded to some sort of performance measurement but didn’t say if current employees have taken or would be taking the survey.

One of the interesting things I picked up on but didn’t write about was that the company had always hired in large part based on grades – and they are moving away from that in favor of performance predicting traits. In fact, i think the guy was quoted as saying “we hired six sub 3.0 people just this past week” as proof of the change in their thinking.

By: Elaine

Elaine — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 20:35:25 +0000

I am only curious if they are giving the same elaborate survey to their current employees. If the purpose of the survey is to predict future success at the company, then it seems that a key piece missing is creating a baseline for comparison. You’d want to hire people who match in the areas that really have contributed to success at the company. Google’s recruiting methods have always been a little controversial. And I wonder if they might be putting this in place because they realized their old methods weren’t as effective as they thought. But without a baseline for comparison, this might just be another controversial method with just as questionable results.

By: Christine

Christine — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 05:29:38 +0000

Google definitely has some intricate methods of hiring future Googlers, and I’ve had the pleasure of encountering various recruiters and managers trained in the Google way.

I interviewed for Google last October, and at the end of the process, after we both agreed I was not a good fit for a pretty much entry level position, they sent me a lengthy 15 minute survey about what I thought about the interview process, and what I thought could be improved.
Innovative, but nevertheless, I was thinking… how many people would take the time to fill out an elaborate survey after not getting a job at Google?