Case Analysis: Google’s “Three-Thirds” HR Team
Debbie Martin
Empire State College
Organizational Behavior
May 2014

What is a team? A team is defined as a group of people with a full set of complementary skills required to complete a task, job, or project. Team members (1) operate with a high degree of interdependence, (2) share authority and responsibility for self-management, (3) are accountable for the collective performance, and (4) work toward a common goal and shared rewards(s). A team becomes more than just a collection of people when a strong sense of mutual commitment creates synergy, thus generating performance greater than the sum of the performance of its individual members. (Business Dictionary.com, 2014)
Google’s HR team has the potential to be a very effective and strong team. Each section has their expertise that would benefit the other groups. With the current model, the groups are only encouraged to have regular interaction. The lack a defined, common goal and expectation of the HR group as a whole.
Google Upper Management is trying to capitalize on their HR team to assist with a sluggish economy and cost cutting efforts. In HR’s case, this involves making sure that Google is hiring the best possible candidates they can. The most costly component of any business is training of new employees. By utilizing the various HR groups it has established, Google is trying to minimize turn over, ensure longevity as well as compatibility.
In order to compile a truly effective HR team, Google needs to break down the silos it has created. The “team” needs to be given a clear direction as to what Google is looking to accomplish. From that point, the team would still be able to work in their areas of expertise but with a shared goal. They would break the goal down into actionable items or topics. Rate the topics in levels of urgency. This can also be called a “WIG” a wildly important goal that the team is working on.
For example, if Google decided that over the next 12 months they needed to reduce turnover by 80%. The HR group would meet and decide what the top factors that influence employee turnover are. Possibly, they could decide that bad hiring practices, benefits, and perceived favoritism are the top three influences that lead to employee turnover. Each group would then decide which area they would like to work on. Each week the total group would meet to discuss progress by each smaller group on their task list. Each group is accountable for reporting on the progress of its assigned tasks each week.
This is the basis of the “4Disciplines of Execution” by the Franklin Covey. The 4 DISCIPLINES OF EXECUTION is a practical management process, which helps the team to define its most important goals that really help the achievement of organizational strategic plans, and ensures that all team members learn their most important goals and focus to execute them. (Covey, 2014)

By working together to solve an issue, this will create the “Evolution of a Team” as discussed by Katenbach and Smith. (Kinicki, 2013) Leadership will be shared because they all are working towards the same goal. Having a shared “finish line” ensures helps to ensure that everyone has a clear understanding of what the team needs to accomplish and what their role is in meeting this goal. Each person is accountable to its group and the whole each week by ensuring that they are completing their assigned tasks. This helps to utilize each individual’s expertise while still working towards a common goal. The overall effectiveness of the group is measured by the outcome of the “WIG” the team is tackling. Teams do not just miraculously meld into a cohesive working unit just because they are all put into a room and told to work together. Training is key to being successful in any task. The same holds true for working in teams. Google needed to prepare its HR groups to understand the structure and inner workings of teams. This includes the competencies of successful teams. Each team member brings their life experiences with them and sometimes-bad habits. Learning is a key component in growing within a career. By providing group training seminars, this would have provided the Google HR members insight into how their personalities would work within a group. Many people believe that they understand the meaning of a term or competency. When in reality by providing a refresher in the form of a training seminar, it allows them the opportunity to learn different interpretations and expand their own. By providing the stage for this open dialog between employees, it allows for learning as well as an understanding of best practices for a team’s success. Each member may have a different strength within the competencies, which will enhance the overall team. Trust is another key ingredient to a cohesive team. Each member must be able to look to his or her counterparts and know that they all have a common goal and commitment to the group. For example, if the members believe that one of the members has ulterior motives of pure personal advancement over the success of the group, this would cause a rift in the team. Communication between the team members is key to keeping everyone informed and on the same page. This lets everyone know the status of the project as well as allows members to capitalize on each other’s expertise to help the team. This feeds into the next key component of trust- support. All team or groups have points where there are roadblocks or challenges. Knowing that each member can rely on the support of the others helps to ensure a cohesive and successful unit. As the team works together, there is going to be differences of opinion. Each member brings with them past experiences and varying skill levels. Each member must respect the others by actively listening to their ideas and thought patterns before making a rush to judgment. They need to be fair to each other and admit when someone else has a better idea than their own or that possibly melding two varying ideas together could prove to be the best solution for the group. Working together fairly and with an open mind will prove to be a successful venture for the team. With Google, the HR groups have various backgrounds as well as individual “marching orders”. By working a together on a common goal, they can utilize each area of expertise they encompass and prove to be a golden team for Google instead of working in silos. Team cohesion is one of the most important keys to a successful team. It keeps the team focused, goal oriented and prevents fragmenting. Instrumental team cohesiveness would work best for Google’s diverse HR team. Instrumental cohesiveness involves regularly updating and clarification of the group goal. Each member is entrusted with a vital “piece of the action”. (Kinicki, 2013) This can be due to each of their special area of expertise that will enhance the overall common goal of the group. Google executives put a lot of thought behind what areas they needed HR to concentrate on in order to prepare for the future of their company. With this brought many talented people with certain skills that would be valuable to them. In order for the HR team to be truly effective and work as a cohesive unit, each member needs to look to the overall goal of the team while still being held to their concentrated part of the puzzle. Each member would still have recognition for his or her individual talents. The individuals would have to respect this in each other while ensuring that these individual characteristics and talents do not overtake the group goal or initiatives. Instrumental cohesiveness would allow all the member to thrive as well as build bonding relationships for future projects for Google. Laszio Bock initial thought process behind his “Three-Thirds” HR team provides Google with a well-rounded HR team. They are able to provide insight into many areas that are not traditionally thought to be part of the role of Human Resources. The ability to give insight to upper management as well as front line managers on various topics from why employees will stay or leave, how to handle issues before they become issues, pattern recognition will give Google the advantage in the marketplace. In order for this to happen, Bock would need to have an on boarding plan for all of these experts. This would involve cross training and team building plans to help to ensure that all HR people understand each person’s individual roles as well as their roles within the team. Having a clear and concise expectation for the HR department would help with this process. Another key area that would have to be looked at is how will Google train management on the new role of HR. This will be crucial as well. If management does not understand the role then many of the “wins” Bock thought he had when hiring the specialized HR personnel will be lost. Bock will have to ensure that management and employees do not feel that they are be “studied” by some of the new experts, so everyone will have to understand HR’s new role at Google. Bock seems to be forward thinking in his attempt to try to minimize turnover as well as hiring the best possible employees for Google. When you hire the best, you want to keep them. The group of individuals he has assembled initially seems that it will be able to accomplish the goal he has set. In order for it to be truly effective, Bock needs to now, establish a Team out of the individuals.

Works Cited
Business Dictionary.com. (2014, April 28). Retrieved from http://www.businessdictionary.com/
Covey, F. (2014, May 31). Franklin Covey- 4 Disciplines of Execution. Retrieved from Franklin Covey: http://www.franklincovey.hr/eng/4-disciplines-execution/
Kinicki, R. K. (2013). Organizational Behavior. In R. K. Kinicki, Organizational Behavior (p. 564). NY: McGraw Hill.