Human Resource Management International Digest

Redefining HR using people analytics: the case of Google

Shweta Shrivastava, Kritika Nagdev, Anupama Rajesh,
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Shweta Shrivastava, Kritika Nagdev, Anupama Rajesh, (2018) "Redefining HR using people analytics: the case of Google",
Human Resource Management International Digest, Vol. 26 Issue: 2, pp.3-6, https://doi.org/10.1108/HRMID-06-2017-0112
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 Redefining HR using people analytics: the
case of Google
Shweta Shrivastava, Kritika Nagdev and Anupama Rajesh

Defining human resource analytics

People analytics or human resource (HR) analytics refers to the use of analytical techniques
such as data mining, predictive analytics and contextual analytics to enable managers to
take better decisions related to their workforce. People analytics helps organizations in the
following ways:
n aids in understanding and interpretation of large volumes of data related to employees;
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n identifies underlying trends and patterns in data sets such as enhanced performance in
teams with higher number of female employees;
n helps to predict needs of organization and its employees;
Shweta Shrivastava is
n helps to prioritize HR activities based on their impact, utility and return on investment to Research Scholar at the
the organization; and Faculty of Management
n Studies, University of Delhi,
does away with subjectivity in decision-making and makes it more transparent.
Greater Noida, India.
As organizations often incur high costs in recruitment, development and engagement of Kritika Nagdev is Assistant
employees, especially in the complex work environment that they operate in, they need to Professor at the
take sound, logical and judicious people-related decisions. As opposed to other Vivekananda Institute of
Professional Studies, Delhi,
management functions such as finance, operations, and sales and marketing, the
India. Anupama Rajesh is
qualititative nature of the HR function has led managers to take such decisions on the basis
Professor at Amity Business
of intuition, anecdotes, feelings and instincts. However, new-age organizations today have School, Amity University,
realized the potential of analytics in the domain of HR to make decision-making more data- Noida, India.
driven, quantified and objective. Some other reasons for an increase in the adoption of
analytics in the domain of HR are:
n increased focus of organizations’ top management and board of directors to measure
and quantify people-related decisions;
n growing perception that the HR function ought to become more quantitative in nature
and that HR professionals should have business acumen; and
n a connection between analytics-based decisions and employee performance.

Analytical techniques
People analytics helps to seek answers to critical questions such as improvement of
productivity; suitability of an employee for a job; staffing requirements of organizations;
performance of individuals, teams and departments; and identification of skill gaps. Such
insights can be gained from a variety of analytical techniques, such as:

DOI 10.1108/HRMID-06-2017-0112 VOL. 26 NO. 2 2018, pp. 3-6, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 0967-0734 j HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL DIGEST j PAGE 3
 n Data mining and machine learning: Data mining refers to identifying trends in large
amounts of raw data, which are then converted into relevant information. Machine
learning is the use of computers in analysing data and identifying patterns. It can
be understood as a type of artificial intelligence.
n Contextual analytics: This refers to an analysis of text to understand its meaning,
characteristics, the context of historical and structural setting, etc. It also provides
insight into the intentions of the author and the purpose that was set out to be achieved
by choosing certain words and leaving out others. An example of contextual analytics is
its use by organizations to analyse candidates’ job applications to assess fitment for a
job, stability in career, attitude, behaviour, etc.
n Predictive analytics: It uses data analysis techniques such as predictive algorithms and
data mining to forecast what may happen in future, such as what–if scenarios and
estimation of risk. It is useful to organizations, as it helps to plan for future. For instance,
predictive analytics can be used to forecast the change in staffing plans during
organizational restructuring.
n Prescriptive analytics: It uses analytical techniques to provide solutions to
organizational problems, keeping various possibilities into consideration.
Owing to the numerous advantages of people analytics, organizations have started
implementing it in the various areas of HR. One such notable example is Google, which has
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extensively used analytics to take some strategic people-related decisions.

People analytics at Google

Google is one of the leading technology organizations across the world. Its innovative work
environment and impactful HR practices have made it a favoured employer and one of the
best organizations to work for globally. Google is also one of the frontrunners in the domain
of people analytics and has achieved superior business results through its extensive usage
of analytics in the domain of HR. Data and analytics have replaced opinions, feelings and
intuitions of its managers and are now the foundation of all its people-centric decisions
(Talent Management and HR, 2014).
Below is a look at how the organization implemented analytics in various aspects of people
management and reaped positive results.

People & Innovation Laboratory – the “Pi-Lab”

For infusing the approach of data-driven decision-making in HR management, Google has
established the People & Innovation Lab. Psychologists, decision scientists and
researchers at this centre carry out applied research and development on organizational
practices that govern its employees. One of the main aims of this lab is to help align the HR
practices of the organization with academic research and to back its decisions with science
and data. The lab has done some innovative work, such as the “Project Oxygen” mentioned
next.

“Project Oxygen”
This was a research-backed, multi-year project that aimed to identify and rank leadership
traits of managers. It involved a detailed analysis of qualitative comments from employee
surveys, employees’ expectations from managers which were sourced from complaints and
praises mentioned in performance reviews, from phrases in top manager awards, etc.
These words were processed and coded to identify eight behaviours of good managers
(re: Work, 2016):

PAGE 4 j HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL DIGEST j VOL. 26 NO. 2 2018

 n be a good coach;
n empower the team and do not micromanage;
n express interest/concern in team members’ success and personal well-being;
n be very productive/result-oriented;
n be a good communicator – listen and share information;
n help team with career development;
n have a clear vision/strategy for the team; and
n have key technical skills that help advise the team.

This analysis gave an understanding to the management about how employees expected to
be managed and provided guidelines about the roles and responsibilities of managers. It
revealed that employees also look up to their managers for coaching and mentoring along
with technical guidance. This insight has now been incorporated into the managerial
training and development programmes at Google and has become a part of the day-to-day
working style of managers. These dimensions are used and focused upon when candidates
are interviewed for people manager roles and for promotions as well. These have also been
included in bi-annual performance reviews of managers at Google.
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Algorithm-based people management

Hiring and retention of employees is one of the top priorities for organizations. Usually,
managers use their intuition, assumptions and impressions to identify employees who are
likely to perform well or are likely to leave an organization. Google has now developed
mathematical algorithms that use statistics to help make less subjective hiring and retention
decisions.
The algorithm developed by Google helps the recruitment team to re-assess candidate
profiles which had not been considered earlier so that good applicants are not missed out.
This has been helpful and has led to hiring of good candidates who had initially been
rejected (Gardener et al., 2011). The algorithm maps employees’ attitudes, behaviours,
personality details, etc., to the organization’s skill requirements by asking applicants to fill
up elaborate online surveys. Scores are assigned to applicants using mathematical
formulas to predict whether the candidate–organization fit will be achieved or not. This has
helped to do away with subjectivity in the recruitment process.
Similarly, the retention algorithm makes use of past data such as employees’ compensation,
performance reviews and promotions to identify employees who are likely to exit the
organization. This innovative way of talent management allows management at Google to
take action before it is too late and also aids in personalizing retention solutions.

Collaboration through analytics

Google is known for its culture of innovation. The organization used analytics to realize that
extraordinary innovation comes from an amalgamation of three factors: discovery (i.e. new
learning), teamwork and fun. The policies have been framed keeping these three factors in
consideration. For instance, the waiting lines in canteen at Google headquarters have been
intentionally kept long so as to enable employees to collaborate while waiting for meals and
to come up with new ideas and projects. Time spent on such collaborations is also tracked.
The organization lays major emphasis on collaboration among employees from different
functions, as it believes that it fosters innovation, and has thus incorporated it as a core
component of team performance. For a similar reason, workplaces have been deliberately

VOL. 26 NO. 2 2018 j HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL DIGEST j PAGE 5

 designed to maximize learning, fun and collaboration. The workstations are clustered in
groups of three or four to allow quick and easy interaction among employees.

Conclusion
As employees are the most crucial resource that an organization can possess, it is
important that organizations make appropriate people-oriented decisions. Google has
created a fine example of incorporating analytics in day-to-day decision-making, which
Keywords:
has helped them gain some crucial insights into people operations. Organizations’ initiatives
Google,
HR analytics, like these can also help to bridge the gap between the existing judgement-based approach
Algorithm, that the HR function is now based upon and the data-driven approach that it needs to
People analytics adopt.

References
Gardener, N., McGranahan, D. and Wolf, W. (2011), “Question for your HR chief: are we using our ‘people
data’ to create value?”, McKinsey.
re: Work. (2016), “People analytics – where HR meets science at Google”, available at: https://rework.
withgoogle.com/blog/people-analytics-where-hr-meets-science-at-google/
Talent Management and HR. (2014), “How Google is using people analytics to completely reinvent HR”,
available at: www.tlnt.com/how-google-is-using-people-analytics-to-completely-reinvent-hr-2/
Downloaded by ITA At 12:28 10 April 2019 (PT)

About the authors

Shweta Shrivastava is a Research Scholar at the Faculty of Management Studies, University
of Delhi, in the domain of human resources and organizational behavior. Her areas of
interest are workplace deviance rewards and incentives and organizational commitment.
Shweta Shrivastava is the corresponding author and can be contacted at: shweta_0708@
yahoo.co.in
Kritika Nagdev is a Research Scholar at Amity University and an Assistant Professor at the
Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, Delhi. She has five years’ experience in
academia and industry.
Dr Anupama Rajesh’s qualifications include a PhD in the area of Technology in Education,
MPhil (IT), MPhil (Mgmt), MEd, MSc (IT), PGDCA and PGDBA. She has 20 years’ teaching
experience, including international assignments, teaching in Singapore and training Italian
and French delegates. She has written more than 20 research papers and case studies for
prestigious international journals and has two books and several book chapters to her
name.

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