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AI Case Study

Google improves hiring process, employee on-boarding, training, productivity and retention rate using people analytics

Using machine learning, Google identifies patterns to improve hiring, team management and personalised training. They have revamped HR processes, identified four interviews are optimal for hiring, how to be more effective as managers, personalised training for managers, how to retain employees particularly female employees after maternity leave.

Industry

Technology

Internet Services Consumer

Project Overview

"Project Oxygen - Their mission was to build better bosses.

So, as only a data-mining giant like Google can do, it began analyzing performance reviews, feedback surveys and nominations for top-manager awards. They correlated phrases, words, praise and complaints.

Later that year, the “people analytics” teams at the company produced what might be called the Eight Habits of Highly Effective Google Managers.

Talent management is critical to how Google creates value: through technological innovation. Google’s use of data to recruit and develop employees has proved its effectiveness; training programs based on Project Oxygen, for instance, achieved a statistically significant improvement in manager quality for 75% of underperforming managers (7). Strong talent management also helps Google capture value through cost savings. Attrition is costly to Google, not only because they must recruit, but also because ex-Googlers accumulate valuable organizational knowledge. Analytics help Google reduce attrition in cost-effective ways; the decision to extend maternity leave reduced new mother attrition rates by 50% and “was much better” for Google’s bottom line (9). Google also uses algorithms to predict which employees may quit, which allows for an intervention that may retain the employee (10)."

Reported Results

According to Google they:

* Identified 4 interviews were optimal during hiring
* Revealed the optimal organizational size and shape of various departments
* Improved management of maternity leave resulting in 50% reduction in defections
* Created on-boarding agenda for an employee’s first four days of work that boosted productivity by up to 15%
* Reviewed rejected applications its screening process would have otherwise missed
* Improved manager quality for 75 percent of worst-performing managers

Technology

Function

Human Resources

Employee Relations

Background

Google wanted to identify best practices for its employees

Benefits

Data

"Performance reviews, feedback surveys and nominations for top-manager awards to correlate phrases, words, praise and complaints."
"More than 10,000 observations about managers — across more than 100 variables, from various performance reviews, feedback surveys and other reports. Then they spent time coding the comments in order to look for patterns."

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