solution

Case

Google Reacts

On the face of it, Google would seem to be the last company that one would expect to have an employee retention problem. Google usually shows up in “Best Employers to Work For” lists; it’s famous for full benefits, from dry cleaning to free Web-enabled transportation from San Francisco to great pensions; it offers great stock options; and, as a fastgrowing company, it usually has many job applicants. So when its employee turnover began creeping up a few years ago, Google’s human resource team had to decide what to do. Part of the problem is that as attractive as Google is to work for, Silicon Valley is filled with attractive employers, from Apple to Facebook. One of Google’s first steps was to boost compensation. It gave all 23,000 Google employees a 10% raise, plus a $1,000 tax-free holiday bonus.¹²⁵ But, still, Google management knew that pay was just part of the solution. It had to take other steps.

1. Without doing any research beyond what you learned in this chapter, what other steps would you suggest Google take to improve employee retention?

2. Was there any information in previous chapters of this book that would help to illustrate other steps Google took to improve retention?

3. Use other Internet sources, including Google.com, to finalize an answer to the question: What other steps should Google take to improve employee retention?