Best companies to work for 2014: What ensures Googlers are always on cloud nine

BANGALORE: Being able to share their ideas with top management and the feeling of being cared for has made Google the best company to work for yet again this year. The 29-year-old Shivayani Raju joined Google as a fresh college graduate seven years back and the Hyderabad campus of the Silicon Valley company has since become her second home.

“The open culture at Google allows one to explore their true potential,” says Raju, who works as a Strategist at Google’s Adwords division at Hyderabad. “You can walk up to any senior management to share your ideas as well as concerns and they do listen to you,” Raju said. Google has a culture built around "audience participation".

The weekly companywide townhall meetings are where anyone can ask anything to senior management, and employees are encouraged to share their feedback with their peers and with senior management.


"Working at Google means tackling the toughest problems in information technology and developing innovative products that make a positive difference in tens of millions of lives every day," says Sharad Goyal, Head of People Operations, Google India - Sales. “We offer employees opportunities to take on responsibility and to take an idea from start to finish.”

To encourage collaboration, Google cafes have been installed with long tables to bring together employees from across the organisation. “The micro-kitchens can be thought of as “water holes” where employees gather to discuss ideas or just take a break,” Goyal said.

Google thrives on the exchange of ideas and has created a strong yet adaptive culture that provides employees with access to incredible people across job title and position. To keep its young and energetic staff pumped up, the Mountain View, California-based company offers a plethora of activities to its employees.

In the last one year, the company started with two new initiatives to help employees with their career path. The newly launched 'Career Program' allows women professionals with diverse backgrounds and experiences who have been out of the workforce for a year or more, to step into the digital advertising space.

Similarly, the 'Ggrow' program is a one-stop career development platform to help Googlers engage in development opportunities and resources, manage feedback and take action. Google also encourages its employees to pursue their passion, be it in music or drama or some other form of art. Also, fitness and fun are woven into Google’s history. Before there were fancy fitness centers, G-Fit or Zumba, there were Googlers trying to stay active and get to know their co-workers through self-organised sports leagues and fun runs.