It is regarded as one of the best companies in the world to work for, but just who does Google turn to for workplace culture inspiration?
Google may have a global reputation for being a fun, stimulating and empowering place to work, but the company still draws inspiration from the workplace culture of another enterprise.
Long before Google was a multi-billion dollar company, founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin were focused on making Google a truly great place to work.
To achieve this, they sought out organisations that had proven histories of attracting and retaining top talent.
Their search lead them to global analytics firm SAS Institute, currently ranked as the best multinational company to work for by the Great Place to Work Institute.
SAS, which has offices throughout the world, has a culture purposefully built on trust, authenticity and inclusion, according to SAS Australia and New Zealand managing director, David Bowie.
“The SAS culture is [one of] employee empowerment, in which our people see that their commitment and hard work directly adds value to both the success of our customers and the continued healthy growth of our business,” he said.
“We focus on employee feedback to identify opportunities for improvement, which has enabled us to build a culture that is defined by leadership, work-life integration, and an excellent work environment.”
These are all qualities that Google clearly values, as the company’s founders met personally with SAS executives before sending a team of people to its headquarters in North Carolina, to better understand the building blocks of a transparent and positive workplace culture.
Karen May, VP of people development, Google, said the company is always looking for opportunities to ensure their employees feel validated, supported and valued.
“It’s less about the aspiration to be number one in the world, and more that we want our employees and future employees to love it here, because that’s what’s going to make us successful,” she said.
