Google Uses Algorithm to try to Stem Brain Drain

Keeping Employees Engaged Found to be Key to Talent Retention . Although reluctant to share details of the formula, Google is using an algorithm to cull data from employee surveys and peer reviews to identify which of its 20,000 employees are most likely to quit.  Google says the formula is still being tested but they are combining the use of “heavy data” with more traditional measures, like employee training and leadership meetings, in an effort to prevent its most promising engineers, designers and sales executives from leaving the company. 

Google is one of only a few companies that are early in taking a more quantitative approach to personnel decisions.  “They are clearly ahead of the curve, but a lot of companies are waking up to the fact that there is a lot of modeling that can provide you with critical data on human capital,” said Edward Lawler, director of the Center of Effective Organizations at the University of Southern California.  

The algorithm has already identified employees who feel underused – a key complaint among those contemplating leaving.  Google has been losing top executives, especially to other start-ups such as Facebook and Twitter.  Two of the company’s key attractions for employees – its start-up atmosphere and soaring stock prices – have been increasingly diluted because of its growing size.  Current and former Googlers say the company is losing talent because some employees feel they can’t make the same impact as the company matures. 

“They need to come up with ways to keep people engaged,” said Valerie Frederickson, a Silicon Valley personnel consultant who has worked with former Google employees. 

For full details, see the article in the Wall Street Journal 
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124269038041932531.html