Communication in Search Engine Companies and Google

Communication is very important for any company but this is especially true for a search engine company. Google fosters interpersonal communication in their culture through many different avenues. The offices and cafes at Google are designed to encourage interactions within and across teams and to spark conversations among the fellow Googlers. This open culture helps to promote cross functional creativity and improve organizational skills by making the perceptual screens through which employees interact a natural one. Googlers, employees at Google, are taught that not only is interaction and communication welcomed throughout the organizational structure, it is expected.

New employees are given lots of onboarding support and the internships are given many group activities to help them get to know each other so they feel comfortable bouncing ideas off of each other. The managers are referred to as resources not bosses so that the feedback and the richness in information shared remains equal to both the sender and the receiver. They want every employee to be a hands-on contributor who feels comfortable sharing ideas and opinions because you never know when or who will hit upon the next great idea. The thought, or content, and the feeling, or affect, behind this message must be getting through to the employees. According to glassdoor.com, a website where employees anonymously rate the companies they work for, ninety percent of Google employees would recommend Google to a friend.

Communication is not lost on the creators of the company either. Both Larry Page and Sergey Brin, along with other Google executives, meet weekly for an all hands meeting in which they answer questions from employees. The process is as such; employees log in and ask questions, those questions are then voted on, and the most popular questions are answered. This informative managing style keeps all the employees up to date on company issues. Google also invites guest speakers in frequently to keep Googlers up on software and programming issues too.

Google provides gateways that break down barriers to communications such as gender differences, cultural diversity, and language by providing programs and benefits that serve the unique needs of all their employees. These programs provide opportunities for people of all cultures to connect with the larger diverse community. The communication that happens at these programs helps break down barriers by promoting awareness and appreciation of differences between senders and receivers. Diversity is so important at Google that they annually recognize employees for their contributions to diversity and inclusion.