Today it seems difficult to find new things to discover about a company as well-known as Google, however, it is still possible. If you think I’m Feeling Curious , there are certain curiosities about Google that surely you did not know yet, and although others are familiar to you, who knows maybe we will dismantle some myths and create new ones.
1. The Best Working Conditions Come When You’ve Already Died
One of the curiosities of Google that has left me with my mouth open is this. The domestic partner of a Google employee receives an annual check for 50% of that employee’s salary for 10 years. In addition, you do not have to have a special position in Google to enjoy this benefit; both deliverymen and bosses have the same advantage. As if that were not enough, the children will receive $ 1,000 a month until they turn 19 or 23 if they are full-time students.
2. The Snacks Are Strategically Placed
It is no secret that Google gives away food and drink in the cafeteria area, but in addition to that, the snacks follow a careful order that tries to keep employees “healthy”. If you want a semi-healthy bar, like granola bars, then it will not cost you much to reach it, since they are placed at the ideal height for our hands. However, if you prefer some candy or chips you will have to work a little more and, oh my god, bend over. Anything that is unhealthy is at the bottom of the shelves to avoid temptations. Do you think it works or do you think about I’m Feeling Curious or not?
3. The Interview With Sundar Pichai That Demonstrated The Secrecy Of The Projects
On April 1, 2004, Gmail was launched and on that same day Sundai Pichai, creator of the two most important Google companies, Android and Chrome, was conducting an interview. Gmail broke market schemes and displaced Hotmail by offering 1GB of storage; 500 times the Hotmail quota at that time. When Pichai was asked about Gmail and what he thought of the system, he did not know what to say: “I remember people asking me about Gmail and I had no idea if it was serious or was it an April Fool’s joke”.
4. Personal Projects Occupy 20% Of Working Hours
This initiative aims to stimulate employees to spend working hours with personal projects, some of which have gone on to become revolutionary ideas that are now part of the company, such as Gmail and AdSense. However, a while ago it was commented, in an article by Christopher Mims, that this rule is no longer seen by Google. Robert Kyncl, YouTube’s Chief Business Officer, said that workers are immersed in projects that they are passionate about and focus on, but that there is not so much time left for the famous 20%. He explained that the “rule” of 20% is not really a rule, but rather a philosophy that helps make Google successful. You are free to invest that time in whatever you want and if you are passionate about your work it is possible that you do it in projects of the same. This would be a good example of one of the curiosities of Google that was mythologized. I’m Feeling Curious feature is a unique and quirky aspect of Google for quite some time now.
5. Google Is The City Without The Law Of Bicycles
The main campus of the Googolplex in Mountain View, California, is practically a small town where personally my review is I’m Feeling Curious The area is surrounded by buildings that house the different parts of the company and the best way to get from one place to another is by cycling. There are more than a thousand single-speed bikes painted in Google colors on campus.
The use of the bicycle is so frequent that there is even a maintenance crew that is in charge of fixing the damaged bikes or replacing them. According to the employees themselves, bicycle routes have become a battlefield in which one must proceed with caution: the roads are abuzz with bikes, there are even traffic signs that are often ignored and the speed at which one goes it starts to be scary.
6. The Main Concern Of The Company, Today, Is The Integration Of All Its Products
One thing that has been heard from various Google employees is that it is more difficult to work in the company’s own businesses than outside ones. That is, its main services; Gmail, Google+, Android and Chrome are the main focus of attention and there is a joint vision that these services should go hand in hand and be as a single project. The idea is to unify them all in people’s daily lives. “People don’t want more than 25 ways to share or 18 ways to take photos and send them,” said Larry Page, the founder of Google. Integration is the hardest job.”
7. It Only Has Just Over 30,000 Employees Worldwide
We might think that one of the largest companies in the world would have an indecent number of employees. Microsoft, for example, closed 2015 with 118,000 employees on the payroll. How does Google keep running and be one of the leading companies in innovation? According to Laszlo Bock, vice president of human resources at Google, the key is to empower your employees and give them freedom to act so that more ideas and initiatives arise, a way to get a single employee to be more productive than 3 demotivated employees.
Like for example? You ask- Among other things, they carry out ideas like these:
- To begin with, the cafeterias with free breakfast are designed to generate interaction between employees and create bonds of friendship in which they feel more comfortable to share their true ways of being.
- Direct emails can be sent to company leaders.
- Google Moderator is a new innovation management tool designed by Google’s own engineers. With it, all the ideas and questions are organized so that everyone can access them.
- Employees are surveyed about their managers and taken into account.
- The “24-hour Sprint” has been created, in which the worker dedicates a day to a single problem and nothing else.
8. The Now Famous TGIF Meeting Every Thursday
The so-called “Google’s” attend the TGIF event on Thursdays and share ideas and opinions about their work and the company. Those in charge of carrying out the event are Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who together with several employees, initiated this proposal that was formerly made on Fridays. It was changed to Thursday so that employees from Asia could attend during their work week. Questions and opinions can also be sent by mail or go to the cafeteria and chat about them accompanied by a drink.
9. The Best And Worst Opinions Of Your Employees
Some of you may not know it, but indeed has a section in which workers can leave comments or “reviews” about the companies they work or have worked for, as well as even add the salary they receive. It turns out that Google, like many other companies, has up to over a thousand reviews and 253 people have shared their salaries with the rest of the world. What curiosities of Google and its conditions do we get clear from the data?
The most positive comments:
- The work is flexible and can be done from home, although most employees prefer to go to the premises and thus be able to have access to all the advantages of the offices and the data management systems and Google programs.
- There is no set schedule; if you want to work 18 hours one day and not go the next, you can, as long as your work is finished at the end of the week or when you have the due date. Most employees also agree that there was a reasonable amount of work for each employee, so that the objectives could be assumed.
- Free courses are offered to employees to gain new knowledge.
- There are several game rooms, free snacks, popcorn, and fun events.
The most negative comments:
There is a lot of personnel turnover and layoffs: The expectations are acceptable but if the employee does not achieve his objectives, it is likely that they will put him on the red line to fire him.
The contracts are signed with duration of 2 years and it seems that you do not know if you are going to have job stability for a long time or not.
10. The Average Salary Of The Different Positions
What do you think of these curiosities of Google and how it works? Does one surprise you more than another? There are many startups that are starting their way and as a reference they use innovative companies, in terms of management and operation, such as Google or Facebook. Will it be as good as they preach? If you do not stop thinking about the idea I’m Feeling Curious well as creating your own business to be able to adapt the philosophy of the company to your beliefs, be sure to watch this master’s degree in business management for entrepreneurs and bet on taking safer steps in your road.