Unit 21 Strategic Human Resource Management Assignment Help

Introduction

The rate of competition has increased globally with the growth in the number of companies. In order to survive in this highly competitive world, a new approach has been adopted by companies for maintaining their organization which is known as SHRM (Strategic Human Resource Management) Services. 
This particular service employs new approaches for the better functioning of a company. Employees are actual pillars of a particular establishment. Therefore, the HRM services try to get hold of efficient employees and help to improve their work. The IT industry has been the primary user of this particular service. A HR department also works towards supporting the company during the times of financial turmoil. For years now the American company, Google, has been awarded with the best HR services internationally. The HR department works at expanding the market of the company without compromising on the employee quality. Founded by Sergey Brin and Larry Page, it is considered as the best place to work in the world until recently.  

Task 1

Critically analyse the internal and external environment for your chosen organisation, making reference to appropriate literature sources Google Inc. is a company dealing with services which are related to the internet. It acts as a search engine and supports online advertising and other activities. It has around 70 offices around the world in almost 40 countries, forming a huge network over the world.

External environment: Other than developed countries, it is also popular in several developing countries. It serves as the most used search engine for researchers and also for general inquisitive minds. The company works on its motto of making itself accessible on a global level. It will be beneficial for the company if more elderly people opted for Google. With advancement in technology, Google has never failed to fall behind. Since Google is used globally, any financial recession in the contemporary society fails to disrupt the monetary stability of the company. Google has encountered questions regarding issues of copyright because of certain images and information available. It has also faced problems due to the presence of several archival works. The officials of the company were asked to restrict the search results that became available while searching on a particular topic. Google makes it possible for people to browse through the internet and they often use it to search nearby movie halls, restaurants, to check scores and also for downloading songs. Google has also benefitted from any kind of inflation in the economy because that has increased the net revenue of the company. (Sultan, 2013)

Internal environment: The company lays stress on the selection process of the employees. They are smart, industrious and are extremely creative. (Steiber, 2014) These staff members are extremely committed to their work and are generous towards their peers. They follow the policy of promoting individuals at regular intervals. Frequent bonus giving programs help the Human Management Resources service to retain these highly qualified individuals in their company. Moreover, the additional trainings provided to the employees help them to improve their quality of the work. (Thomas and Karodia, 2014) Google allows its employees to go and visit places through Google Reach Global and Google Reach Local. The staff members visit developing areas and provide assistance to small companies and local establishments. The social problems of education, hunger, and ill-health are addressed by these groups of employees. The company invites experts from various fields for seminars and interaction with its staff. A wide range of legendary figures from all over the world have visited the office and have shared their story in order to broaden the horizon of the people working there. From A.R. Rahman who is a music composer to the Noble laureate Rigoberta Menchu, the speeches of these famous personalities are also made available online for the common people to listen to them. The HRM services of Google appoint individuals from all over the world which creates a global connection.

Parental and maternity leave has always been a matter of concern with respect to corporate houses all over the world. Unlike most other international companies, Google has always been generous to its employees in case of a parental leave. It has increased the number of facilities by providing paid leaves to parents irrespective of their gender. Women receive paid leave of about a month before the delivery and a leave of approximately 18 weeks after the delivery of the child. (Truong, 2016) The employers acknowledge the effort put in by their employees and do not restrain in appreciating the staff. Among the several perks provided by the company, an on-spot bonus is something which attracts the workers for sure. The employees nominate each other for receiving awards and bonuses in the form of cash or kind. Certain departments even started to post emails and gratitude notes on a wall for everyone to see. The employers are given the freedom to choose the form of bonus they wish to receive. It can be a certain amount of cash or any personalized gift. An interesting way of involving workers in almost everything is through the process of ‘dogfooding’. (Diaz, 2015) This means that the company provides products to its workers which are yet to be launched in the market. Changes are made on the basis of the feedback the company receives from its workers. This process makes the company like a well-knit family and a feeling of reliability prevails between the employers and the employees. This open external and internal working space makes Google one of the best employers all over the world.

Task 2

Using appropriate concepts and models of strategic Human Resource Management critically evaluate a variety of human resource policies and procedures Laszlo Bock gave an interview in the year 2015 where he mentioned the various processes in the HRM department by which he was able to make Google a great place to work at. Bock was of the opinion that the foremost thing a company needs to do is value the work of its employers. A boss should also have faith on the team he is working with. Bock was also of the opinion that it is important for the recruiters to recruit people whom they consider to be better than their existing professionals. One should also pay extra attention towards that particular employee whose work is not at par with the others. He said that sudden and selective bonus was something the HRM department of Google followed. (Feloni, 2015)

The foremost step involved is the detailed recruitment and retention process for the recruitment of the right kind of people. Thousands of resumes reach Google on a daily basis. The average work age being 27, this company has the youngest working force all over the world. This young working section is much more open to change their jobs and is most difficult to work with but Google has managed to reserve the best of these employees over the years. The screening process for the right kind of employees is done by a group of HR managers so that the selection process in transparent. (Google: Human Resource Strategy, 2016). Quite a few outdoor events are organized are organized annually for the employees which serve as a good policy in maintaining a healthy work culture. Moreover, the company seeks for individuals who have creative minds and are ready to commit to work. A fresh approach towards work is more preferred than a number of years of experience. The company has produced over a thousand millionaires among its employees through stock market. This, however, is not the primary reason for keeping the employees with them. Attractive and innovative work is something that drives the worker to do better. The workforce is always given interesting and creative assignments to complete. The employers acknowledge the work of their employees. Even the open space of the office helps the creative minds who are primarily attracted towards the work, helping the company in their retention process. Not only that, Google has also tied up with some of the leading universities of the world and hire a number of leading PhD students for working in unconventional fields for their company. The hiring process involves a lot of brainteasers which make it all the more interesting.

Another important Human Resource Management strategy adopted by the company is its benefit and compensation policy. The HR department of the company has come with benefits and bonuses which are unconventional and are available to the employees in the form of cash or kind. The compensation policy is more competitive than other firms of the same stature. Other than free meals on a daily basis, the company also provides its employees with retirement plans and pensions polices. (Lombardo, 2015) In Google, the payment is not very high but there are several provisions put forward by the HR department which makes the company extremely desirable in the eyes of the leading people. The HRM services of the company came up with the benefit of sick leave which does not have any limit. The workers are provided with 27 paid leaves after their completion of one year of work. It is followed by benefits like car wash, courier services, and free health checkups. The post maternity leaves are not only restricted to the mothers and the men can also take a leave for almost 7 weeks after becoming fathers. As for the mothers, they can get a paid leave of maximum18 weeks after the delivery of the child. Free meals from lunch to dinner add to the benefits provided to the companies. In order to prepare the employees against any kind of pandemic flu, vaccinations are given to them for maintenance of good health. With flexible working hours, in house salons and spas are also provided so that the professionals get the privilege to do all their extra works at office itself. Another important benefit given to the workers is the presence of care centres for the elderly people of the family. (Human Resource Strategy of Google, 2016) Unlike other corporate houses, Google allows its workers to opt for casual wear throughout the year. These modern approaches towards work enable the professionals to get motivated and prevent them from switching jobs. Stock options are available everywhere and the employees can interestingly bring their pets to office well.

Other than these two major strategies adopted by the Human Resource Management services of Google, there are other factors as well which make the company extremely desirable for the young minds. A 20% free time is given to the staff for their intellectual and creative development. This involves training programs for the workers, options for career development and their unusual motto which is ‘Don’t be Evil’. The employees are therefore expected to be bereft of any harsh feelings towards their peers.

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Task 3

Make recommendations relating to the attraction and retention of talent to support the future performance of your chosen organisation. Also demonstrate awareness of barriers to implementation which may include cultural differences alongside different working practices and legislation Google Inc. has emerged as the world’s number one employer for years after years. However, Googlers and ex-Googlers are of the opinion that the extremely slow-moving recruitment process makes the applicant impatient and unwilling to a great extent. It takes months to know the results post selection procedures. A survey was conducted among the ex-Googlers in the year 2008 where the major reason for leaving the job at Google was seen as the slow recruitment process and the interference of the co-founders in the process. The company has reduced the number of its permanent positions and has opted for more contractual jobs resulting in the lack of interest in case of experienced employees. There is also a lack of reliability between the owners and the HR team since Larry or Sergey remains involved in the selection process which in turn makes it slower. The business strategy of stock profit employed by the HRM services of Google leads to the rapid earning of excessive money resulting in retirements at a very young age by the professionals. (Thomas and Karodia, 2014) Owing to this huge bank balance, the company loses the experienced workers to the beginners in this industry. The ex-employees, with their intelligence and wealth, often start building their own companies. The increasing number of startups poses themselves as a threat to the already existing business giant, Google. They are also in a continuous search for workers who are better than the previous ones. This makes the existing employees feel vulnerable about their position in the company and this feeling might indirectly create a negative impact in the long run. It should also try and expand itself in developing and economically poor countries. We are always unsure of the kind of talent present in different parts of the world. If Google restricts itself from establishing into more countries then the risk of a foreign competition always remains.

The advantage of the provision of 20% less work, which means an off day per week, gives the employees the leisure to continue with several other works outside the official projects. However, they are expected to come back to their original work of innovations and meeting deadlines after that time period. This has not been considered as a very good move by the leading Human Resource officials on the part of the HRM services of Google. They believe that it might have an impact on the total revenue earned by Google annually. The company is not likely to get affected by any kind of recession in the contemporary economy since it is the most popular search engine universally but the company has already invested a huge sum of money for their upcoming products. Tons of money has been invested for getting hold of the proper hardware facilities. So, an abrupt recession at this point of time can cost Google quite a fortune. Liane Hormsey was of the opinion that as more attention is given to the lives of the employees in the company, the industrious spirit is somewhere draining down. As more of the ex workers have complained about the hostile behaviour that they have received from their bosses, Google is making amends by searching for new bosses through the very recent Project Oxygen which is headed by Laszlo Bock.

A few strategies can be adopted by the HRM services of Google in order to maintain its position as the number one employer at the international level. They can study the HRM practices of the leading companies in other countries so that they do not lag behind. Companies like Microsoft and Yahoo consider Google to be their greatest competitor. Microsoft just like the company in question has the daycares centres in the premises of the company building. The growing number of perks offered by these companies is likely to have an impact on the working force of Google as a number of employees are expected to shift jobs from Google to other leading companies. It is true that Google looks after the working environment but the amount of money offered by it is much less compared to its competitors. It recently came out in the news that the big names and the experienced professionals in Google would probably leave the company. It includes the likes of Cindy McCaffrey, who served as the vice president in the marketing sector, and an experienced Evan Williams. The company should find out ways of not losing their best professionals to their competitors because we have seen in the past how people like Steve Jobs had left a reputed firm in order to join Apple. If this happens in the future then Google will face a stiff competition from different start-ups. The three principles that govern the HRM services include Employee acquisition, compensation and rewards. (Murthy, 2015) Both Page and Brin have worked on these three principles but probably they should keep parity in the compensation and bonus structure so that none of the employees suffer from an inferiority complex and feels undervalued. Google also needs to apply a formal strategy for the recruitment process in order to speed up the entire hiring process. Probably they should also look after the huge amount of wealth gathered by the employees through the provision of stock profit.

In India itself a global IT company named RMSI Pvt. Ltd. has been ranked as the number one employer of the year in recent years. It was previously ranked as the leading employer in 2009. The Economic Times along with the Great Place to Work Institute administered a survey, the result of which declared RMSI as the best place to work 2015. It surpassed Google India which had been ranked as the best employer for five consecutive years. A number of workshops are conducted in this company relating to stress management through the practice of yoga and by listening to jazz. The workshops also deal with the ways of developing relationships with partners and children. It has a personal photography club and a band along with it. Unlike Google, it does not have a humungous amount of money to develop the HRM services. The owners and HR officials believe that it is by establishing a close relationship with the employees that the company can progress. (The Economic Times, 2015) Transparent in its approach, the company allows its employees to work in their own field of interest. Probably Google can adopt a few simpler approaches while dealing with its employees which might help the company to retain its best ones.

Conclusion:

In spite of all the cons, Google has managed to be one of the leading employers in the world for several years now. The Human Resource Management services of the company works on its weaknesses and tries to overcome them by applying innovative methods. Although the company has won a lot of accolades, it is always safer to take preventive measures against the growing number of rivals. This responsibility lies with the HRM services mainly who should always find unconventional means of retaining efficient professionals with themselves. The copyright issues also need to be solved as a large amount of money is used on the lawsuits. The management also needs look into the recruitment process and find ways to quicken the entire method. It is also advisable to increase the pay of the staff in order keep the efficient professionals in the company.

References

Diaz, J. (2015). AH Tech Talk: Google Product Testing and the Method of ‘Dogfooding’. [Online available at]: http://www.androidheadlines.com/2015/07/ah-tech-talk-google-product-testing-method-dogfooding.html . [Accessed on 8th September, 2016].
Feloni, R. (2015). Google’s HR boss shares his 10 best management tips. [Online Available at]: http://www.businessinsider.in/Googles-HR-boss-shares-his-10-best-management-tips/articleshow/47348079.cms . [Accessed on 8th September, 2016].
HR and Marketing Ideas. (2016). Human Resource Strategy of Google. [Online available at]: http://marketinghrdpresentation.com/apps25/2013/06/15/human-resource-strategy-of-google/ . [Accessed on 8th September, 2016].
Lombardo, J. (2015). Google’s HRM: Recruitment, Selection, Retention. [Online available at]: http://panmore.com/google-hrm-recruitment-selection-retention . [Accessed on 8th September, 2016].
Murthy, B. (2015). Innovative HR Practices in IT Industry in India- An Emphirical Study. V.E.S College of Arts Science and Commerce (University of Mumbai).
Steiber, A. (2014). The Google Model-Managing Continuous Innovation in a Rapidly Changing World. Springer.
Study Moose. (2016). Google: Human Resource Strategy. [Online available at]: http://studymoose.com/google-human-resource-strategy-essay . [Accessed on 8th September, 2016].
Sultan, F. (2013). A Case Study of Google Inc. Majan College(University College).
Thomas, S. and Karodia, A. (2014). Human Resources Practices at Google in terms of some Management Perspectives: Exploring the Entrepreneurial Spirit. Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review.
Truong, A. (2016). When Google Increased Paid Maternity Leave, the Rate at which New Mothers Quit Dropped 50%. [Online Available at]: http://qz.com/604723/when-google-increased-paid-maternity-leave-the-rate-at-which-new-mothers-quit-dropped-50/ . . [Accessed on 8th September, 2016].
Verma, P. (2015). India’s Best Companies to work for 2015: RMSI bags first rank by keeping staff happy without big budgets. The Economic Times. [Online available at]: http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2015-07-13/news/64371048_1_rmsi-rajiv-kapoor-disaster-management . [Accessed on 8th September, 2016].