Google is an open book about pretty much everything they do.
You can learn to hire, train, and retain employees the Google way at re:Work. They share, in no uncertain terms, everything about their culture, hiring practices, management, and bias education (or re-education as the case may be).
You can build software like Google. It’s no secret how they consistently iterate and deliver through their “container” approach to software. It’s even spawned the Google-embraced term #GIFEE (Google Infrastructure for Everyone Else), making container-based development the goal for every company who strives to thrive in the digital age.
At every turn, you hear about Google. And you should, because they’re always iterating and asking what’s next. They develop for tomorrow and ask what today’s culture demands, knowing there’s another wave around the corner they have to be ready to ride.
There’s always another wave. And Google isn’t just ready for it — they’re making it.
Which is why you want to be like Google. You want to be the company creating the waves instead of riding them.
The transformation to digital isn’t a bolt-on solution. A company can’t wake up one day and be fully digital. So we’ve put together a (very) short hit list of Google’s best practices so you can use them to inspire your own transition to the next wave. Because you don’t really want to be Google. Google is Google.
You want your company’s name to be synonymous with leading the digital charge and setting standards to which other companies aspire.
Know what you believe. It’s one thing to have a snazzy, well-wordsmithed Mission page. It’s another thing to know what your company knows to be true and make sure that everything you do and create serves those beliefs. Google’s transparent about what they believe. Ten things.
Transform how you hire. Digital leaders have figured out a few things about hiring. The first is that HR isn’t a siloed department that fills orders with people. Rather, they’re a team of culture experts integral to helping people work better together. The more they’re involved with day-to-day business, the better they understand the nuances of the teams for which they’re recruiting. This leads to better candidates and ultimately, more time spent on figuring out the actual potential of a candidate to fit — both skill-wise and culturally — on a team. They spend a lot of time on fit and tests that translate to a potential hire’s ability to groove with the people he or she will be working with each day.
Share what you’re doing and why. Here’s the thing: the days of the shroud of secrecy are over. Your customers and clients want to know what you’re doing and why because the world is a noisy place and there are plenty of companies that can give them what you might. What you’re doing and why tips people over the edge and makes your company a movement they want to be associated with. Take Google for Education as an example. They consistently share what they’re doing in the realm of education, including computer science-related educational efforts. Many of the posts on this page are by guest authors who live and breathe education every day, speaking from the trenches and how Google’s tools are helping them further their educational efforts. Transparency stretches for miles (and miles).
