How Google Can Succeed with Groupon by Hiring for Psychological Fit
There was a very interesting article in Business Insider last Wednesday titled Here’s The Problem With Google Buying Groupon: A Massive Culture Clash.
The article discusses Google’s most likely acquisition of the rapidly growing social networking meets local advertising company, Groupon. The author, Dan Frommer, warns that if Google acquires Groupon it could ruin Groupon by trying to make Groupon googly.
Groupon is a very people focused company. When Groupon sponsored a music festival it gave out weird buttons like “My vestigial tail, sponsored by Groupon” and posted porta-potties with messages like “Your impending relief, sponsored by Groupon.” What’s even weirder, Groupon’s office has a bedroom of an imaginary employee which contains among other bizarre things, a bicycle that plays Sade’s “Smooth Operator” when someone pedals it and a toilet replete with Almond Joy bars.
Here’s the issue. Groupon’s and Google’s cultures are drastically different. The key to success is for Google to understand that the 4 Psychological Dimensions that describe a job position at Groupon are different than those for the same position at Google.
Let’s examine the differences more closely by looking at a signature strength profile for a customer service representative position in Groupon versus a customer service representative job at Google.
Many of the customer service reps at Groupon are actually improv actors, which seems to aid work performance by developing their ability to think quickly and respond positively.
For a customer service representative working at Groupon the top 5 signature strengths required for the position mostly likely would look something like this:
- Humor [playfulness]: Liking to laugh and tease; bringing smiles to other people; seeing the light side.
- Creativity [originality, ingenuity]: Thinking of novel and productive ways to conceptualize and do things.
- Vitality [zest, enthusiasm, vigor, energy]: Approaching life with excitement and energy; feeling alive and activated.
- Hope [optimism, future-mindedness, future orientation]: Expecting the best in the future and working to achieve it
- Curiosity [interest, novelty-seeking, openness to experience]: Taking an interest in ongoing experience for its own sake; exploring and discovering.
This profile differs from the profile we would get if we looked at a customer service representative position at Google. If you’ve ever come across a Google interview question like, “How many piano tuners are there in the entire world?” you know that Google values analytic, IVY league type employees.
A position as a customer service rep at Google would probably require the following top 5 strengths:
- Self-regulation [self-control]: Regulating what one feels and does; being disciplined; controlling one’s appetites and emotions.
- Social intelligence [emotional intelligence, personal intelligence]: Being aware of the motives and feelings of other people and oneself.
- Kindness [generosity, nurturance, care, compassion, altruistic love, "niceness"]: Doing favors and good deeds for others.
- Open-mindedness [judgment, critical thinking]: Thinking things through and examining them from all sides; weighing all evidence fairly.
- Integrity [authenticity, honesty]: Presenting oneself in a genuine way; taking responsibility for one’s feeling and actions.
As we can see even though the positions require the same skill sets and responsibilities, they draw upon psychological strengths that differ depending on the company.
By assessing each position psychologically, Google can ensure that it hires the right people that fit within the respective cultures in order for the acquisition to be successful for both Google and Groupon.
REFERENCES:
(2010) Here’s The Problem With Google Buying Groupon: A Massive Culture Clash. Business Insider.