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How Google Used Data to Validate the Impact of Good Managers

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Summary

Google used data to validate the impact of good managers. They discovered that managers had a statistically significant impact on things that the company cares about, such as team productivity, engagement, and retention. Google created a "Great Manager Award" and used double-blind interviews to come up with eight behaviors that great managers consistently exhibited. They also identified three behaviors that struggling managers exhibited. Based on this research, Google created new manager training and communication plans to help managers improve their performance. This case study is an excerpt from the i4cp report The Promising State of Human Capital Analytics.

Q&As

How does Google use data to inform their people decisions?
Google uses data to inform their people decisions by speaking the language of data and using data in daily operations to make decisions and drive action.

What is the "Google Analytic Value Chain" and how does it inform HR decisions?
The Google Analytic Value Chain begins with opinion, then data, then metrics, then analysis of the data, then insight taken from the data analysis, which is then leveraged to drive change in the company.

What did Google's "Project Oxygen" investigate and what were the results?
Project Oxygen investigated whether managers really matter at Google, and if so, how to ensure all employees could have "an awesome manager." The research found that managers indeed had impact on things the company cared about.

What are the eight behaviors that the best managers at Google exhibit?
The eight behaviors that the best managers at Google exhibit are: being a good coach, empowering the team and not micromanaging, expressing interest/concern for team members' success and personal well-being, being productive and results-oriented, being a good communicator, helping with career development, having a clear vision/strategy for the team, and having important technical skills that help them advise the team.

How did Google use the data from Project Oxygen to drive change in the organization?
Google used the data from Project Oxygen to create a "Great Manager Award" to recognize managers who excel in their roles, revamp manager training, create new communication plans, and measure against the behaviors of the best managers.

AI Comments

👍 This article provides a great example of how Google used data to back up decisions about the impact of good managers. It demonstrates how data can be used to drive action and influence decision makers.

👎 The article focuses too much on Google's practices and doesn't provide enough detail on how similar practices can be applied to other organizations.

AI Discussion

Me: It's about how Google used data to validate the impact of good managers. The article talks about how Google's people analytics team studied performance reviews, employee surveys, and interviews to come up with a list of behaviors that great managers consistently exhibited. It also discussed how Google has implemented programs like the Great Manager Award and revamping manager training programs based on the research findings.

Friend: Wow. That's really interesting. It seems like Google is really invested in making sure their managers are effective, which is probably why they have been so successful.

Me: Yeah, it's definitely a great example of how data-driven decisions can lead to better outcomes for the company. It also goes to show the importance of using data to make decisions in any organization, not just in tech companies.

Action items

Research other organizations that have used data to validate the impact of good managers and compare their approaches to Google's.
Develop a plan to implement data-driven decision making in your organization, including identifying the data sources, metrics, and analysis techniques that will be used.
Create a training program for managers that focuses on the eight behaviors identified by Google's people analytics team as being exhibited by their best managers.

Technical terms

Data: Information that is organized and formatted in a specific way, often for use in a computer program.
Metrics: A measure of performance or progress used to track and evaluate the success of an organization or individual.
Analysis: The process of breaking down data into its component parts in order to understand it better.
Insight: A deep understanding of a situation or problem, often gained through careful study and analysis.
Action: A specific course of action taken to achieve a desired result.