Progressive Practices in Organizations

Submitted by- Varanjot Kaur

March 2016

Like large corporations, most middle-market firms that l, and maintain offices outside the us

Conferred with many titles from ‘Best places to work’ to ‘Best company for work-life balance’- Google takes its people and the idea of ensuring these people (called ‘Googlers’ live productive, happier and healthier lives very seriously

Be Whole

• 20% time• The Nudge

Google has many practices/ policies encouraging people to be- real, whole and innovative

Be Real

Be Innovative

• Progressive paternity/ maternity policies

• On campus health/ medical facilities

• Power naps• Work hour flexibility/

work from home

• Free food policy• Micro-kitchens• People analytics

Focus for today

We all have that Google friend who raves about Google’s amazing cafeteria and free food, but food is being used at Google as a fuel for innovation- allowing people from diverse backgrounds/ teams to connect

CAFETARIA

Google’s VP of Operations reveals that having common eating areas and free food allows people to meet people from other teams they would have otherwise never met

Micro-kitchens are also strategically placed between teams separate teams with no work overlap- filling the ‘structural holes’ of the network

Free food as a fuel for innovation

MICRO-KITCHENS

Social impact

• Google’s cafeteria and micro-kitchens are breeding grounds for innovative ideas• Many internal Google innovations such as

Gmail, AdSense- have been bottom up ideas generated by employees

• The pioneers of open-source software, are also very open when it comes to internal practices• From TGIF (open Townhalls where company CEO’s

answer employees questions every week) to cross team calls- Google believes in giving its most important asset (people) more context and information about what is happening to be overall more effective. • Large cafeterias and micro kitchens again enforce

this transparency

Impact on the organization and its culture

This free food practice helps shape and reinforce two pillars of Google’s culture success- Innovation and Transparency

Free food practice allowing people to achieve four way wins

FamilyWork

Community Self

• Ability to know more about other teams/ get more context to be more effective

• Ability to navigate through the organization to find other things you find interesting- exploring your passion

• Allows you to get friends and family to work/ have a meal with others while at work

• Creates an environment to make deep bonds and friends at work

• Helps have a diverse network at work

• Healthy eating is encouraged by providing quality/ healthy food

• Food is also served is different colored dishes (green for salads and red for relatively unhealthy meals to encourage healthy eating)

• Smaller plates available to take small portions