Case 1: Recruitment and Selection at Google Background of the case study Google Inc., the world's largest search engine, is known for its attractive compensation and benefits packages, which attract millions of job applications annually. However, the company faces challenges in attracting and retaining highly talented individuals from all over the world. To improve its recruitment and selection process, Google introduced a non-traditional, creative, and unconventional approach in 2007. The company shifted its focus from academic qualifications and technical experiences to applicant's personality, creativity. leadership capacities, innovative ways of thinking, and overall exposure to the world. Since then, Google has become known for its outstanding job compensation and benefits packages and the use of powerful recruitment assessment tools to select the best employees that fit Google's standards. Google is a top employer, consistently ranked by Fortune magazine as one of the best places to work. Google is highly selective, hiring only 7000 out of three million applicants using various methods for different job positions. The company offers excellent pay and perks, such as flex hours, dog-friendly work environments, casual attire, free massages, yoga, snacks, and meals. With nearly three million job applications annually. Google uses carefully selected strategies to find the best talent, recruiting at college and university campuses and through its website's Careers section. Hiring decisions are made by a committee of peers, similar to universities in hiring and promoting faculty. The Google Recruitment Process Google CEO Eric Schmidt emphasizes the company's investment in people, offering outstanding job compensation packages that attract employees from different cultures. The company offers a range of luxurious benefits, including gourmet food, carwash, gym, snacks, exercise classes, dry cleaning services, car services, haircuts, oil changes, massages, checkuns, and more, all for free. However, the recruitment process at Google is far beyond ordinary, with many applicants reporting nerve-wracking experiences. One applicant had five to seven interviews in one day for two to three consecutive days, with interviews filled with brain teasers, algorithmic problems, and IQ tests. Another applicant described the process as one of the most nerve-wracking adventures of their life, as interviewers sought extremely bright individuals and used a combination of IQ tests, brain teasers, algorithms, data structures, and a lot of mathematics. The Google Selection Process Google is a global recruitment leader known for its unique strategies for attracting and retaining top talent. One such approach is employment branding, which involves offering perks, benefits, and high salaries to attract highly competent individuals. The stock options benefit is a key driver of employee retention, with a 2007 turnover rate of less than 5%. Google's creative hiring and retention strategies have been exceptional, with employees stating that money was never an issue. In 2006, Google introduced a targeted recruitment technique targeting students in specific schools and universities, leading to the introduction of an Employee Referral Program. In 2007, Google developed an algorithm assessment tool to screen millions of applicants worldwide, separating top performers from thousands. The Google Interview Process Google's recruitment process is known for being grueling, starting with phone interviews and involving five to ten interviews with ten different people. Applicants must perform mental gymnastics like writing codes, brainstorming, role playing, and solving mathematical equations. Marketing skills may also be tested, despite the technical nature of the position. Interviewers control applicants, asking common questions like computer network problems, Java programming, and algorithms. Other applicants can rate and share comments on another applicant, which Google uses as a basis for hiring. Despite the nerve-wracking experience, the perks and benefits are limitless, making it a worthwhile experience for those dreaming of working for a prestigious company. Source: Adapted from E. Schmidt and J. Rosenberg. 2014. How Google Works. New York, NY: Grand Central Publishing. Question 1.Is Google's elaborate recruitment and selection system justified? What are the appropriate criteria for assessing its effectiveness? 2. Google receives over 3,000,000 applications for 7000 positions. Is this an effective approach? How might you introduce efficiency and effectiveness to processing such large numbers of applications? 3. What attributes might Google use in selecting "team players"? How might they recruit and assess for these attributes?