Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Employee relationsEmployee engagementEmployee communicationsLatest NewsHR practice

Google works out mathematical formula to indicate staff who are likely to quit

by Louisa Peacock 20 May 2009
by Louisa Peacock 20 May 2009

Google has come up with an algorithm to work out which of its employees feel under-used and are most likely to quit.

The American internet search giant has begun crunching data from employee appraisals and promotion and pay histories in a mathematical formula which can identify those of its 20,000 employees who feel most unhappy at work and are likely to leave, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The move is one of a series Google has made to prevent its most promising engineers, designers and sales executives from leaving now that the firm’s start-up atmosphere has faded because of the size of the company, the newspaper claimed.

Google’s HR chief in the US, Laszlo Bock, said the formula could supplement traditional engagement techniques such as training.

The algorithm would “get inside people’s heads even before they know they might leave,” said Bock.

Advertising sales boss Tim Armstrong and display advertising chief David Rosenblatt have both quit the company in recent weeks, while senior managers including desginers and engineering directors have flocked to start-ups such as Facebook and Twitter.

Bosses at Google are worried the organisation is losing talent because employees feel they cannot make the same impact they once did.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

However, Bock stressed not all the top talent had left the company. “We haven’t seen the most critical people leave,” he said.

Google UK was unavailable for comment.

Louisa Peacock

previous post
Disabled must not be unfairly affected by recession, says TUC
next post
BNP members should be fired from Civil Service, says union

You may also like

Personnel Today Awards 2025: Final deadline on Monday

20 Jun 2025

Seven ways to prepare now for the Employment...

20 Jun 2025

Sniff a lemon on World Productivity Day and...

20 Jun 2025

Employees want more upskilling and apprenticeships to narrow...

20 Jun 2025

NHS pay disputes: Who could strike again?

20 Jun 2025

BBC Breakfast bullying and misconduct allegations under investigation

20 Jun 2025

AI company did not racially discriminate against Chinese...

20 Jun 2025

Financial analyst guilty of insider dealing while WFH

20 Jun 2025

Only a third of recruiters receive high-quality job...

20 Jun 2025

UK job market shows signs of resilience

20 Jun 2025

  • AI is here. Your workforce should be ready. SPONSORED | From content creation...Read more
  • Preparing for a new era of workforce planning (webinar) WEBINAR | Employers now face...Read more
  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+