My day job as an HR Guy means that I'm always on the lookout for ways to improve life for my fellow co-workers. I'd do well to look no further than Google. Fortune has recently released its list of the top 100 companies to work for, and Google deservedly took the top spot. The Silicon Valley-based company, currently employing over 10,000 very lucky and very talented souls (the minimum requirement for an engineer is 3.7 from a top-tier school, so Debbie Dootson Driving School alums may want to send their resumes elsewhere, and a pre-employment survey geared to see if prospectives will fit in with the company's goals and culture bears an eerie resemblance to the Voight-Kampff Test), offers some great perks for employees. Along with the 11 free on-campus (one of which is all-organic) cafeterias, the $5,000 allowance you get if you want to buy a hybrid car, and the gym featuring a lap pool and rock climbing wall, the Google leadership provides some thoughtful (and relatively cheap and easy) amenities to make Google parents' lives a bit easier.
For starters, parents who are taking time off for the birth of a child receive up to $500 in reimbursement for take-out meals while on maternity leave. Employees have the option of dropping off their kids at the company-run child center. Googlers having difficulty navigating around the mountain of soiled onesies occupying their living rooms can bring it to the Googleplex and use the company's laundry facilities. The company provides on-site medical and dental care. And parents of "furbabies" have the option of bringing their dog to work.
The perks are great, but what's more refreshing is the mindset behind them; that the company's founders want to provide an environment that makes the often long hours not only bearable, but enjoyable. And there's good business sense at work here as well: the ROI is that Google has an extraordinary retention rate, meaning that fewer company dollars, resources, and hours are spent replacing employees who've left for other jobs. A hot button issue for working parents is the ability to maintain a work-life balance, and Google appears to excel at providing that. And yes, they're hiring.
