Correlating one’s personal traits and performance can be useful if the former is considered as one of many factors that affect the latter. However, I think that it should not be used as a sole basis for screening the potential candidates because personal traits cannot be only a performance predictor. An employee’s overall performance can highly fluctuate depending on the situation, too, because stressful events, such as the death of a loved one, can negatively affect it. In addition, Google can potentially miss out on outstanding candidates who may not correspond to the traits. Lastly, the main issue also lies in the fact that personality traits cannot be fully studied during the screening process because an individual might not be fully open regarding his or her personality.
In order to recruit and hire the brightest people, an organization needs to attract them first. The latter can be done by offering better conditions and wages as well as stability. In the case of Google, the company’s overall success and size alongside the conditions make the most outstanding individuals to be drawn in. The next step will involve filtering out the most suitable and qualified candidates by conducting a thorough professional analysis and background check. Although academic and professional credentials are critical, an organization needs to possess independent testing that evaluates all essential aspects, including personality traits. The given process should not be negligent and discriminatory, and thus it should involve foolproof approaches.
Google is highly innovative regarding its HR policies and practices, which can be considered as one of the main contributors to the company’s success. First, human resource management at Google promotes a thirst for data, which means that recruiters prefer analyzing large data pools and derive improved frameworks. Second, Google incorporated the Happiness Project, which is designed to promote the well-being, health, and happiness of its employees. Third, the company developed Project Oxygen, which includes a list of essential traits of Google managers (“3 lessons from Google’s HR policy,” n.d.). These approaches helped to preserve the work-life balance among its workers. In addition, Google could also integrate freedom policies, which would allow its employees to work from any location, including home, as long as the tasks are completed. Last, Google could also encourage hard work and self-development by conducting unbiased competitions among its workers. For example, software developers can have coding competitions with the victor who can get a promotion or raise. By having such events, employees will be willing to improve themselves through independent training and education.
Reference
3 lessons from Google’s HR policy. (n.d.).