Big data clever use Google to help employees dieting

Last year, Google suffered a "M & M chocolate beans" crisis. It is understood that Google's office has been to provide free snacks to employees, fruits, because of this, Google staff eat too much free candy, and the company fears may have an impact on the health of employees.

To this end, Google's data analysis genius launched a project called "M & M project, the project aims to investigate the pattern of employees eat free snacks, and then reference to food psychology papers and experiments.

Speak with data analysis

If the company hides chocolates in opaque containers and puts healthier snacks such as dried figs and pistachio nuts in clear glass jars, will the total amount of calories consumed by employees eat free snacks? Will Google " The answer given by the M & M Project team was yes - in just seven weeks, Google's New York division consumed 3.1 million fewer calories than light-eaten chocolate beans. This corresponds to a total of 9 packs of chocolate beans consumed by each of the 2000 staff in New York.

Many tech companies offer employees additional benefits such as free snacks and buffets. But at Google, every benefit is translated into data, such as salaries, holidays, the size of the plates the restaurant offers, and even the happiness index for the workplace.

Google is using its best data analytics efforts to boost employee morale and productivity.

Jennifer Cuskey, a member of the Google Human Resources team and Organizational Behavior Ph.D., said that for big companies such as Google, reforms can only be made early in the process. "Our treatment of employees is like a serious analysis in science and technology The same experiment. "

Google said it's hard to say whether the M & M project directly led to employees becoming slimmer, or that employees were happier with fewer calories burned. But Google has been at the forefront of various "best workplace" surveys, and experts say experiments like "M & M projects" have proven that scientific approaches should be used in human resource management rather than just intuition.

Laslo Bock, senior vice president of human resources operations group who studies human resources issues, said: "The data can make people the truth, and when people talk about the data, it includes facts and figures that portray a real problem." Some companies Leaders over-trust their own ideas and decide on their own imagination without gathering data to understand the truth of the problem.

However, Burke also emphasizes that data should be used without ignoring the management's intuition or common sense.

Last August, Google started offering death benefits to employees because "it's the right way." Bock said the decision is not derived from data analysis.

Help overtime?

Some workplace experts question that Google probably wants to analyze every corner of the office. The results of some experiments are obvious, for example, no matter how many free fruits are provided will be taken away.

There are also analysts questioned Google free food, rest stations and massage services will lead to employees in the office to stay longer, contributing to the overtime culture.

Miriam Salpitt, owner of Popeye, said she has some questions about the starting point for those companies that provide extra benefits. "If the company offers you lunch and dinner, you probably will not want to leave the company before the meal The extra benefits should not include only fun activities and games.The company may have a decent starting point, but for a for-profit business, their ultimate goal is to earn money.Everyone is a gear to create wealth for the company. "

However, there are also professionals believe that Google is to prove that they care for employees. In a downturn in the United States, core benefits such as pensions and health insurance have been cut repeatedly by many companies, and efforts such as Google are undoubtedly welcomed by employees.

Occupational analyst John Nielsen said: "M & M projects have a symbolic significance, and employees think the experiment stems from caring for the staff culture and the company's leadership and staff."

Promote employee health

For Google, the reason for implementing this project may simply be that employees eat too much free candy.

Previously, Google also tried to make employees drink less drink plenty of water. To this end, Google bottled water on the shelf with the eyes flush, outside the transparent glass door. The sugary drinks are placed on the bottom of the refrigerator, outside the door is opaque. After a few weeks, the proportion of workers who drink bottled water increased by 47%, while the total number of calories consumed by drinks decreased by 7%.

Google will do some of the experiments and findings announced in the cafeteria and office corridor. Subsequent surveys show that 70% of Google employees said they are happy to know their nutritional status intake.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin insists every Google employee should have free food within 200 steps of his seat. To this end, Optical Google New York Division has four large cafeteria and 35 "mini kitchen."

Brin's idea is to eat something to get closer, and when engineers and company leaders meet in the kitchen or restaurant, they may ponder new products and ideas.

However, Google's food plate is also "Google model." In order to allow employees to eat less, the company also experiments on the plate size. Experimental results show that nearly one-third of employees use small plates in the same time they supply small plates, and they do not come back for another one. After the company announced the results of the experiment, the proportion of employees using small plates has risen by more than 50%.

Hamm, who has been working at Google for six years, said he likes Google's push for employee health. The company now puts healthier foods like kelp and pears in easy-to-reach places. Peanut butter and chips are hidden in drawers in. "This is not because I can get free food, but to work."