MANAGING TALENT: If there's one thing Google knows, it’ how to use soft- ware to wade through massive amounts of data and find what is most relevant. So it should come as no surprise that when the jnformation technology powerhouse measuring employee attifiides, and nominations for management awards. Unlike most businesses, Google figured out how to analyze all that data to come up with a profile of the kind of manager whose team is most successful. The company’s people analytics group (which brings together psychologists, MBAs, and data- mining experts) analyzed 10,000 observations about managers in terms of more than 100 variables, looking for patterns. The initial finding was a surprise to some at a company that had once operated without manag- ers: teams with good managers outperform teams with bad managers. But what makes a good manager? Under the leadership of Google's HR vice president, Laszlo Bock, the company distilled its findings into a list of the behaviors that get results: 1, Bea good coach. 2, Empower your team, and don't micromanage. 3. Express interest in team members success and personal well-peing. |. Don't be a sissy: Be productive and results-oriented. Be a good communicator, and listen to your team. Help your employees with carcer development. ") Have a clear vision and strategy for the team. | Have key technical skills so you can help advise the team. Perhaps those points sound obvious. But keep in mind that someone hired as a programming or analytic tehiz and later promoted to a managerial role might not have given much thought to, say, cultivating the ability to express interest in team members’ success, Which ranks far above technical skills. Seeing this on 1 list identifies the behavior as something statistically related to superior performance not just in general, but at Google specifically. Furthermore, this is a behavior Prone wanted to develop better managers, it started by looking at the data. As it turns out, Google found plenty to learn. Like most businesses, Google had files of data about managers—results off performangesiteviews, surveys that can be measured (for compe by asking employees if their supervisor gfpresses intérest in them), and it can be learned by managers who want to improve. By building performance measures in the eight key areas, Google was able to evaluate its/managers’ per- formance and identify those who needed to improve in particular areas, It developed taining programs in the ight types of desired behavior. Before and after pro- viding performance appraisals, training, and coaching, Google conducted surveys to gauge managers’ per- formance. It measured a significant improvement in manager quality for 75% of its lowest-performing man- agers. But Bock isn’t resting on that success. Google intends to keep crunching the data, in case the criteria for a successful Google manager change at some point in the future. One thing is for sure: Google will con- _ tinue to follow the data. Questions 1, How well does Google’ approach to performance management meet the five criteria for effectiveness of a performance management system? How well does it fit with the company mission to organize informa- tion and make it universally accessible and useful? 2. What errors could arise in the way Google collects formance data on managers? How could it mini- mize these errors? 3. Suppose you are responsible for delivering perfor mance feedback to managers at Google. How would you present the information so as to promote the minagers’ success at the company? Scanned with CamScanner