The Google Pay Up: Desperation or Innovation in HR?
November 13, 2010
“Google Gives All Employees Surprise $1,000 Cash Bonus and 10% Raise” reveals an internal email from Google showing the company has announced that it is giving absolutely all of its 20,000 employees bonuses and raises. The bonus is an automatic tax-free $1,000 for the holidays and the raise is an across the board 10% increase plus an additional raise equivalent to 1X the employee’s target bonus for the year, effective January 1. In addition, there may be additional merit increases based on performance. In these tough economic times should we call this altruism or insurance when other companies like Facebook love to lure knowledgeable Googlers away? The article points out that $1,000 isn’t much, but it’s a lot more than nothing, and spread across 20,000 employees, it’s costing the company $20 million. A 10+% raise on a total cost base of $20 billion, meanwhile, will probably cost the company $1 billion a year, assuming a third of those costs are compensation. Google has had trouble holding on to its employees in the past, but obviously they are hoping that this kind of outlay will keep the ranks of wizards happy and snug in their bean bags. I don’t know. The upside of a Facebook gig with some stock options may be like the sizzle from a roadside Bar-B-Q. Put on those brakes and check that joint out.
Alice Wasielewski, November 13, 2010
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