One day, Google shareholders will stop putting up with stuff like this. It’s one thing to do it, and another to rub it in everyone’s faces.
They’ll argue internally that these perks make people want to come and work for them. But every study I’ve ever read says that people don’t work for the perks, or even for the best salary. People work somewhere because they enjoy the actual work they do. Specially packaged, trans-fat-free goodies do not get better employees. They just make your shareholders think you are incredibly lame.
Google smugness is at an all time high.
Update: A commenter below points to this story about a Windows Vista soft drink, which I have to say is lame, too, although in a different way.
Actually, most people go to work for Google now *because* it’s a successful company. I’ve learned that some of the best employees one can have are the ones that join a company *to make it* successful, not *because* it already is.
Culture is a huge part of what makes a company and Google is oozing with it–whether it’s your style or not, it will most definitely attract and retain employees. I worked for a company where I liked the work but which suffered from an incredible lack of culture, the turnover was (and is) outrageous and loyalty non-existent.
Are you a Google shareholder? Or are you just making assumptions here?
You didn’t even bother pointing us to some of these stories or any shareholders who might consider this lame (or other companies’ shareholders that have considered a similar act lame). And even if you had done all the above, you are well aware that Google doesn’t let shareholders run their company.
I have yet to figure out why you have such an obsessive vendetta against Google.
No, I’m not a Google Shareholder, because I won’t put up with stuff like that. Free soda? Sure. Specially packaged healthified versions of It’s It Ice Cream? No.
“People work somewhere because they enjoy the actual work they do.” what part of that don’t readers get?
May be acquisitions like Yahoo! does would help get better employees?. Duh!. I dont think they try to say ice cream got them better employees. But I can only imagine how you brainstromed to convert a simple blog post in google into bashing them. Ok, delete this as spam
Whether or not it is good for attracting talent, this sort of stuff is great a getting under the skin of competitors. Especially those that are trying to throw off an image of boring or cost cutting. I don’t think that this is an example of the dot-com style excesses.
RE: Culture vs “What you like to do”
The two often go hand in hand. I just left a job with a great culture for a new job where I could “do what I like to do”, but has no culture. I’d switch back in a heartbeat.
Additionally, is your concern cost? It’s entirely possible that the vendor in question was able to provide the treats at a minimal additional cost, considering the volume.
Even some smaller companies go well beyond free soda (Fog Creek Software and The Omni Group are notable examples).
Hey, Michael, if that’s what you really believe, put your money where your mouth is.
Short the stock.
Like most casinos, the market will let you bet either way.
Otherwise, if you’re going to prentend you’re advocating for the interests of the stockholders, admit it’s just that — pretend.
Or, if you *already have* shorted the stock, disclose you’ve done so, and admit you have a vested interest.
Who decides what should be in a corporate blog? Should it not be a mix of the culture and function? What better way to say thank you to the makers of this product than to blog this to thousands of people?
Wow… you really don’t like Google at all, do you? Making a connection between an ice cream sandwhich and smuggness. You want to talk about lame? Why not point to this… http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/windows/windows-vista-soft-drink-191357.php
Now that is lame!
But then again, it’s Microsoft so you go easier on them
Free soda is good but free ice cream is bad. You gotta be kidding right? Now we’re supposed to believe that this type of pettiness and biased thinking does not enter in to your analysis of issues that actually matter. That you are so bitter that Google does not give you preferential treatment befitting your ego is very sad.
Diego – that’s hilarious, I updated the post.
Scott – umm, yeah, I just missed that story about the soda. Or there’s a conspiracy. You choose.
And just for the record – I like a lot of what Microsoft is doing just because I like a lot of what Microsoft is doing. I used to be corporate counsel for Netscape in the 90′s. I…really…disliked Microsoft. But the things they are doing around live.com deserve recognition. Most of what Google’s doing these days does not. That being said, my last two posts on techcrunch are about google video.
“But every study I’ve ever read says that people don’t work for the perks, or even for the best salary.”
Hey Mike, could you point us to those studies?
Thanks in advance.
Ooh, that’s going to be difficult to fit into the Valleyschwag satchels.
So they are selling (note – SELLING – not giving away) a branded ice-cream in their cafeteria. Why would anyone have a problem with that? It doesn’t look like it costs Google anything – What exactly should shareholders be upset about? This seems to be roughly the same level as branded t-shirts.
As far as perks not being a motivator – that is generally true. But showing employees that you listen to them is a motivator – and who doesn’t like ice-cream?
Aw, come on Mike: ice cream when the weather is sweltering? This strikes me as very different than most perks: that’s an employer showing they’re attentive and care about their employees. It’s also a way to convey they’re still hip and keep recruiting those brains.
Given the type of employees, the recruitment, internal culture and the fact that they are already very well paid, I doubt these perks will replace intrinsic motivation.
Mike, what have you got against Ice Cream??
You’re very wrong.
While I wouldn’t join a company due to the perks they offered I WOULD appreciate the gesture of my company offering something such as ice-cream in the middle of summer.
If the ice-cream was branded with our logo I’d actually think it was pretty neat, it shows thought and effort rather than just buying a batch from the local Cost-Co..
Lame? This topic is lame.
The Vista branded water is an internal marketing effort to drive awareness on Vista since not everyone works on Windows. It may be dumb but it is not even close to the Google special recipe ice cream.
I think this kind of thing has a huge effect on recruiting and publicity. Relative income these expenses don’t even show up.
Google is buying massive amounts of good will and making Google a place people want to work. The same can not be said about yahoo and microsoft.
It’s just ice cream
1. Having worked at Google I can tell you that the snacks are integral, a source of pride, and probably the easiest perk to point to when chatting up recruits.
2. Shareholder pressure is more often than not bad for a company. Brin/Page know this and structured their stock offering expressly to avoid it. Shareholder whims are as volatile and as stupid as the stock market, listening to them gets you Enron. Trust in a company gets you Berkshire Hathaway.
3. You are an ice-cream hater. Why be a hater?
-Ian
You’re right, Mike (no matter what everyone else tells me about you). Companies should not let employees have fun. Ebenezer Scrooge: best boss ever.
Hmmmm. Slow news day.
Indeed.
Man, if ONLY my company offered me ice cream, free or not. As a long time Bay Area resident, I’m a big It’s-It fan. If my company gave me an eco/fat friendly It’s-It, I’d think, “Whoa, these people really Get It”. How can you write a blog about all these web 2.0 companies, and not realize that most people want to work in a place that’s special?
I can’t imagine this costs that much more money than the regular version of the ice cream, and good grief, doesn’t Google already give its employees free food three meals a day? Shareholders are probably way more concerned about the cost of the next data center than the pittance this must cost.
Another way to think about this:
If someone offered you ‘Google Ice Cream’, you’d think, “Wow, It’s going to be cool!”
If someone offered you ‘Microsoft Vista Soda’, you’d wonder, “Am I going to get dysentery from this?”
Hey, Michael, once again, you should follow my advise and get professional help for your acute googlephobie. It seems it’s getting worse.
Man, you should ask people around you, I’m sure somebody could advise you about a good therapist. I’m sure that in a few visits you would get better…
Hate to say it, but I have to agree with several here – ice cream during a heat wave seems like a nice thing for the employer to do. If they didn’t do such things, they’d be getting railed on for not spending company revenues on treating the employees better.
I’m curious… how much were these ice cream treats? Did the company cut a deal with Google, or perhaps give them for free in exchange for the shout out? I have to imagine that this was an incredible PR/advertising stunt for them that would be 1000x more effective than TV/Print/Radio/Billboards in the local area…
Who knows.
Hate to say it, but I have to agree with several here – ice cream during a heat wave seems like a nice thing for the employer to do. If they didn’t do such things, they’d be getting railed on for not spending company revenues on treating the employees better.
I’m curious… how much were these ice cream treats? Did the company cut a deal with Google, or perhaps give them for free in exchange for the shout out? I have to imagine that this was an incredible PR/advertising stunt for them that would be 1000x more effective than TV/Print/Radio/Billboards in the local area…
Who knows.
As long as Google is minting its own money and creating loads of shareholder value I’m hard pressed to think of a reason why the shareholders would focus on the perks. You can bet the large investment firms and financial analysts have sampled the ice cream, and all of the other goodies, no doubt wiping the dribbles with glee.
So has anyone tried these ice cream treats? Do they taste all right?
“As far as perks not being a motivator – that is generally true.”
Wrong. There have been numerous studies that have shown that giving a desired object to employees is more valuable than just giving them the extra cash (within limits of course) The motivation resides in the fact that every time the use or see the object (A special cell phone, or a watch, or a laptop case) the connection between the employer and the reward is made. There exist companies that have built their entire business plan on designing these incentive programs (Maritz of Saint Louis is one).
Second, recall that these companies are in effect brokers in many ways–they get employees, who are stars in their field, and they retain them and their energy, to build innovation. These are creative individuals, not assembly line workers.
I work as an Architect, and observe the same kind of things at my firm–from logo-ed tee shirts, designed for each event, to free cappuccino/espresso service.
So give me a break…
i agree 100%…the google kids are losing it!. especially Larry Page, the man truly believe that he is the next thomas edison:) what a joke.
Nerds Gone Wild!
Nick you are a dick;)
Hello, I agree! I am from google’s marketing department, and since all this free marketing about ice cream and crazy happiness in googleland, my budget has been cut! Apparently things like this capture people’s imagination more vividly than boring tech data.
I agree that they should stop this and divert their funds to my budget,and do honest to goodness PAID for advertising.
I have a friend in adsense, I was hoping to help him get his bonus by making google spend millions to advertise itself on google.com, but now it won’t happen.
Oh, sorry, I meant:
stfu u n00b lolz.