Tweet

Lesson #4: Take Care of Your Team

Article Overview: “Our employees, who have named themselves Googlers, are everything,” Page explains to his company’s investors. “Google is organized around the ability to attract and leverage the talent of exceptional technologists and business people. We have been lucky to recruit many creative, principled and hard working stars. We hope to recruit many more in the future. We will reward and treat them well.”

Lesson #4: Take Care of Your Team

“Our employees, who have named themselves Googlers, are everything,” Page explains to his company’s investors. “Google is organized around the ability to attract and leverage the talent of exceptional technologists and business people. We have been lucky to recruit many creative, principled and hard working stars. We hope to recruit many more in the future. We will reward and treat them well.”

Despite being the brainchild of Page and Brin, they are the first to admit that the company’s significant growth is the result of the creative and hard working team behind it. One of the management’s top priorities is simply “to have great people working for us,” as Brin says. But, it is not such an easy process. Indeed, the hiring process is one that Google takes very seriously.

In order to attract the best of the best, Page and Brin put much effort into creating a highly desirable environment in which to work. “We think a lot about how to maintain our culture and the fun elements,” says Page. “I don’t know if other companies care as much about those things as we do.”

To this end, engineers at Google are encouraged to spend up to 20% of their time on their own creative projects that might benefit the company. This has resulted in big successes such as Google News and AdSense. “In the same way Google puts users first when it comes to our online service, Google Inc. puts employees first when it comes to daily life in our Googleplex headquarters,” says Page. Employees are given meals free of charge, as well as onsite doctors and washing machines within the GooglePlex, which is decorated with lava lamps and large rubber balls.

“We are careful to consider the long-term advantages to the company of these benefits,” Page tells Google investors. “We believe it is easy to be penny wise and pound foolish with respect to benefits that can save employees considerable time and improve their health and productivity.”

Google also strives hard to maintain a flat organizational structure. “If you can run the company a bit more collaboratively, you get a better result, because you have more bandwidth and checking and balancing going on,” says Page. While the VP of engineering no longer gets 150 direct reports, few walls exist between programmers and management. Instead, Google thrives on its employees, who are all crammed together as efficiently as possible in order to create an energetic atmosphere. “Talented people are attracted to Google because we empower them to change the world,” says Page. “Google has large computational resources and distribution that enables individuals to make a difference.”

Page believes that it is because of the significant employee ownership of the company that has made Google what it is today. “Because of our employee talent, Google is doing exciting work in nearly every area of computer science,” he says. “Our main benefit is a workplace with important projects, where employees can contribute and grow.”

Related Articles
  Teamwork
  Leaders can’t afford to make mistakes
  It Takes Teamwork to Make a Company Dream Work
  Make A Fortune With Your Network Marketing Downline! ~SECRET TO WEALTH ONLINE
  Who Is Your Proud Family?

Article Tags: adsense, brainchild, creative projects, desirable environment, doctors, elements, google, google inc, googleplex, health, hiring process, investors, lava lamps, principled, productivity, rubber balls, successes, top priorities, washing machines



Related Forum Posts
Re: Anyone Uses Elance.com? Guru.com? Rentacoder.com? - I've had quite a bit of success on oDesk.com. I've never used Elance so I can't compare. I like oDesk.com 'cos I get to sort thru people (e.g. within a certain bid range) with a single click. I find their help response very quick and I like the oDesk Team software that "providers" must install. This gives me the Buyer more insight as to what I am paying for. The Team software takes screenshots of the Providers screen on 10 min increments so I can see that the person is infact doing work for me.
Re: HI@All - Hi David, Welcome to the forum. Look forward to your contributions here. Take Care, Alan
Home Care Business Opportunity - You should not buy a franchise until you review our Senior Care Business Opportunity... Michael Gultz
Re: Hi Everybody - Hey Tim! Welcome to the forums. We're no stranger, either, and I look forward to the insight and discussions you'll bring here. Take Care, Alan
Re: Hi from Adelaide Australia - Hey Dave, Welcome aboard! Great to have you here. Looking forward to your contributions in the forums. Take Care, Alan


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Unharnessing Creativity in Business

3 Key Factors For Raising Capital

SEO Gurus, Software and Ebooks

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.