HR Essay Example: Performance Management in Google

Google is one of the companies listed in Fortune top 100 rankings. The company is known to provide a friendly working environment and work benefits for its employees. Employees mix work and fun. Googles fast-paced work environment and culture provide an informal value-added surrounding where innovation and creativity are extolled (Kuntze & Matulich, 2010). Google portrays to its employees that it works hard to change the environment through teamwork and nurturing of creativity. The workers enjoy being part of the organization, and they work hard to be part of the brand. Google provides a variety of benefits to employees to retain them and ensure they are productive enough to meet the objectives of the organization. The company offers free food at any of the companys cafeterias. Moreover, Google provides a 100 percent health care coverage to its employees and their families. Onsite physicians are available at the two campuses, Mountain View and Seattle (Kuntze & Matulich, 2010). Additionally, the Mountain View campus offers childcare services and backup childcare to parents who live in California. Google provides various transportation services to its employees that ensure there is easy access to different locations. Other services offered include creative time program for its engineers, environmental conservation, many holidays and leave days, and allowing of pets on the companys premises.

Company senior executives have learned that human capital is the most extensive financial expenditure, which must be managed strategically and efficiently. Employees are the face of the business and sources of organizational knowledge. It is therefore essential for organizations to assess the effectiveness of the programs they offer. Evaluating the effectiveness of the reward programs ensures that the company detects problems at an earlier stage, provides necessary feedback, reinforces pay values, and builds employee and management commitment (Scott & McMullen, 2014). Kumar and Pansari (2015) argue that for a successful measurement of employee engagement, a company can utilize a measurement system such as a scale for measuring different components of employee engagement. The authors also proposed the development of a scorecard that can be used to measure the various individual employee engagement constituents. In their research, the authors used the engagement scorecard in 75 companies in Germany, India, United State, Netherlands, China, and Australia. A company with a scorecard of 20 to 39 indicated that employees were less engaged. The scorecard proved to be a significant method that managers can use to evaluate and develop employee development areas that require attention. The scores can help in enhancing employees satisfaction, commitment levels, identification with the organization, and loyalty. Research by Scott and McMullen (2014) indicated that the effectiveness of employee programs could be conducted via the use of purchased cash compensation surveys from independent compensation-survey providers to compare compensation levels (Scott & McMullen, 2014, p. 13). Purchased total remuneration surveys can also be used to compare programs, which include cash compensation plus benefits values. The authors also found that return on investment (ROI) can be utilized to measure program investment relative to the results. Another assessment strategy is the use of formal feedback from employee-engagement surveys. (Scott & McMullen, 2014, p. 13). The employees from the various companies rated feedback from management surveys, purchased, compensation, and total remuneration surveys as the best strategies to measure the effectiveness of reward programs.

Employees health is an important factor and companies are providing health incentives to their workers. The health care programs can also be assessed for effectiveness to pave room for further rectification of the systems. According to Grossmeier (2015), the Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO) and the Population Health Alliance (PHA) developed a program measurement and evaluation guide to aid employers to assess their wellness programs. The guide contains seven recommendations on various outcome measures that can be used to evaluate a wellness program. The proposals include participation measures, satisfaction measures, organizational support, health impact measures, financial outcome measures, productivity measures, and value on investment (VOI) (Grossmeier, 2015). Francisco and de Mello (2016) found that Google utilizes performance reviews, self-evaluation programs, 360-degree feedback, and calibration to measure the effectiveness of its employee programs.

The ranking of companies in the Fortune 100 is a rigorous process, and various steps have to be undertaken to ensure the best companies are selected without discrimination. One of the measures used to compile the businesses is market capitalization. Market capitalization is the sum of the companys shares of stock. The market cap is calculated by multiplying the price of a stock by its number of remaining shares (Financial Planning Association, 2015). This strategy allows investors to compare the size of one company and the other; thus, an essential measure in coming up with Top 100 ranking. The increase in a companys market cap increases its chance of being ranked higher globally. Innovation is another factor that is used to compile the top 100 rankings. According to the Boltons Consulting Group survey, 79 percent of participants ranked innovation as the top-three priority at their company (Ringel, Taylor, & Zablit, 2015). Companies are increasingly coming up with innovations to keep up with the competitive market. The development of quick and efficient technologies increases the companys rankings. The speed for developing new products enables organizations to catch the emergence of consumer trends. The agility potentially boosts the companys top and bottom lines. The businesses also enjoy significant market shares. Innovation and market capitalization are the primary measures for compiling the Top 100 rankings.

Performance management systems compose of performance appraisal and employee development. Performance management is one of the critical tools for high performing companies. An efficient performance management system clarifies job responsibilities, enhances individual and group productivity, and improves communication between employees and managers among others. For a performance management system to produce positive results, the organization should follow the required guidelines for developing the system. The company should undertake a performance planning, ensure there is ongoing feedback, incorporate employee input, and integrate a performance evaluation plan in the system (Pulakos, 2004). If the above guidelines are adhered to during the development of the performance management system, positive outcomes are likely to be witnessed, since the system will manage to monitor and deliver results on the most crucial operations of the company.

References

Financial Planning Association. (2015). Understanding market capitalization. Bedminster, NJ: Wealth Managaement Systems Inc.

Francisco,S., & de Mello, Homem. (2016). Case study: How Google does performance reviews. Retrieved from https://qulturerocks.squarespace.com/s/google.pdf

Grossmeier, J. (2015). Evaluating wellness programs. Benefit Magazine, 52(9), 38-42.

Kumar, V., & Pansari, A. (2015). Measuring the benefits of employee engagement. MITSloan Management Review, 54 (4), 67-73.

Kuntze, R., & Matulich, E. (2010). Google: Searching for value. Journal of Case Research in Business and Economics, 1-10.

Pulakos, E.D. (2004). Performance management: A roadmap for developing, implementing, and evaluating performance management systems. Alexandria, VA: SHRM Foundation.Scott, D., & McMullen, T. (2014). Assessing rewards effectiveness: A survey of rewards, HR and line executives. World at Work Journal, 4, 7-19.

Ringel, M., Taylor, A., Zablit, H. (2015). The most innovative companies 2015: Four factors that differentiate leaders. Boston, MA: Boston Consulting Group.