The Goal
Google is currently one of the most successful organizations in the world. Google found a smart way to link focused advertising to user searches. More than 99 percent of its sales have come from the fees it charges advertisers for using its network to deliver their messages on the Internet.
Google keeps its workers happy by providing them with innovative workplaces, gourmet food, toys and games, free bus services, and other generous perks. A good example of such a workplace is the new Zurich office, the biggest R&D centre outside of Mountain View, California. Google has created a workspace where people literally ‘slide into space’.
Google indicated a need for greater exploration of the impact of their innovative Zurich workplace on knowledge creation, sharing and use.
The role of YNNO
YNNO was asked to conduct a comprehensive study on workplace performance to determine what the key factors of success are in the Google innovative workplace. A scientific research model of Jan-Peter Kastelein, one the partners of YNNO, was used as the basis for gathering data and determining correlations between multiple workplace factors. In the analysis, gathering data was performed through interviews, observation, space syntax analysis, social network analysis and online surveys, YNNO pinpointed the workplace factors that lead to actual knowledge creation, sharing and use.
The Result
The result of our research has driven the identification and implementation of workplace interventions that further aid in knowledge sharing, creation and use. The outcomes also served as comparative data for use in creating design guidelines for Google workplaces globally and brought to Google a greater understanding of the way Googlers work, and the impact of the workplace on achieving the overarching goals of the organization.
