Google has argued that everything’s just fine, yet the company seems to be losing employees like never before – a few important people, including Vanessa Fox, have certainly made other arrangements. Several well-informed onlookers also seem to support the “greener pastures” theory.
Kara Swisher put together a piece discussing “Google’s Growing Pains.” Douglas MacIntyre went a slightly different route, and described recent events as “Google’s Brain Drain.” And both of these stories relate to Kevin J. Delaney’s latest article for the Wall Street Journal, “Start-Ups Make Inroads With Google’s Work Force.” Speaking for a moment from Google’s point of view: yikes.
Delaney lists a number of employees who have left the company, and also touches on the stock options that will soon mature and make some Googlers ridiculously rich. Plus, it’s a simple fact that we are seeing more people quit, and turn down job offers, than ever before. But Delaney spoke to Laszlo Bock, Vice President of Google People Operations, and Bock did an excellent job of explaining away those would-be trends.
He “says the company’s staff attrition rate has remained ‘pretty steady’ in recent years at under 5% and the rate at which Google job offers are accepted is similarly stable, approaching 90% or higher depending on the position being filled,” according to the WSJ.
Bock also “chalks any perception that start-ups are gaining on Google in recruiting to the fact that the Internet giant is hiring many more people than in the past. With more staff and more hiring – and steady attrition and acceptance rates – in absolute terms there are more people snubbing Google for start-ups.”
Still, even if Google’s not yet encountering a “brain drain” – and a “pretty steady” rate allows for some wiggle room – it seems possible that the company will do so in the near future.
