What Can HR Teams Learn from Google's Eileen Naughton’s Resignation?

Last Updated: December 16, 2021

Google’s VP of people operations, Eileen Naughton, decides to step down and pass on the reigns for championing the culture at Google to other leaders. Here’s our take on the reasons that culminate in sudden changes in leadership such as these and how these shifts could be handled in a way that makes employees feel assured and like they are an integral part of the bigger picture.

After serving as the vice president of people operations at Google for four years, Eileen Naughton decided to step downOpens a new window and take up a different role within the organization. For a company that created its own brand of HR operations around its unique culture at work, Google has been through some difficult times over the last couple of years. What were the major crises along the timeline? In such tumultuous times, what does a shift in leadership such as Naughton’s signify for employees?

Learn more: 4 Succession Planning Best Practices for Millennials and How Tech Can HelpOpens a new window

The Rocky Road to An HR Leader’s Resignation

Let’s take a closer look at certain aspects of Naughton’s resignation that might help us to understand how the role of leadership needs to change with agility, foresight, and people focus to manage challenging situations better:

1. Breaking the loop of bad press
 

Forrester vice president and principal analyst James McQuivey says that “The most obvious issue at play here is the lingering anger from the past claims of sexual misconduct, many of which were handled poorly at the time and which triggered a 2018 walkout of 20,000 employees in protest.”

They say that there is no such thing as bad press, but clearly, history begs to differ. It takes years to build a strong employer brand, but even one publicized incident could tarnish the best of reputations. While Naughton worked tirelessly to address employee concerns regarding discrimination and harassment at workOpens a new window , setting up mechanisms to make it easier and safer to voice out misconduct, it often takes a lot more than a tight POSH policy and a series of initiatives to break the loop of negative publicity.

What people managers and leaders need to focus on today is building a culture that can truly uphold a sustainable brand image.

2. Going beyond retribution and redemption

The role of HR leaders has been changing over the last decade. “Managing tension requires the most mental and emotional flexibility from the people in charge,” says McQuivey. “That’s hard to sustain for any individual, no matter how well compensated,” he adds.

HR leaders today need to understand how to enable the organization and the employer brand to bounce back after any glitches, irrespective of how big or small. The point is to think beyond amending a situation – beyond redemption and retribution – to think about a collective future that every present and prospective employee is proud to be a part of.

3. Keeping an eye (and a heart) on employee experience
 

When the going gets tough, employees often get going. That is when you know that you have not been able to manage the brand tension well enough. McQuivey rightly points out that “The upshot of HR having to care as much about the experience the employee has at work as about managing the details of payroll while also protecting the company from liability means that the burden of employee experience is now officially on the shoulders of every executive.”

How is Naughton’s resignation related to employee experience? Every leadership change has repercussions felt directly or indirectly across the organization. It makes one ponder over how leadership changes are communicated to employees, how well these shifts are explained in terms of individual context to employees and how every employee is guided at a time when their organization is not being portrayed in the best light by the media.

Learning Points for the Future

What is the longer-term upshot of moves like Naughton’s resignation? The focal points that demand attention are:

  • Open and transparent communication
  • Managing the employer brand
  • Understanding the employee context
  • Championing a culture that speaks for itself and lasts
     

McQuivey mentions that, “Many of Google employees’ recent protest actions focus not on their conditions, treatment, or management, but on how Google’s business practices affect the way they feel when they are not at work.”

What becomes clear with such movements is that employees often crave for a curious mix of a sense of belonging and the freedom to stand up for what they believe is right.

While Naughton’s move is dissected and scrutinized keeping all the above points in mind, it is probably also important to remember that human resource leaders are human too – with human needs, fears, and aspirations.

It may be easier to put them under the microscope, but could it be time to take a closer look at the culture that we all play a part in creating at work and ensure that it is one of honesty, inclusion, and passion for work?

What are your thoughts about Eileen Noughton’s resignation? Let us know what you feel on FacebookOpens a new window , LinkedInOpens a new window , or TwitterOpens a new window . We’re always listening.

Prarthana Ghosh
Prarthana Ghosh

Copy Editor, Spiceworks

Prarthana is Copy Editor for Spiceworks. She has created in-depth content assets around strategic themes that matter the most to the world of work, technology and leadership today from digital transformation to the role of AI. This involves researching and developing globally relatable long-form content like eBooks, Buyer Guides, White Papers, and Survey Reports - all rooted in subject matter knowledge and passion for the subjects. Prarthana also loves traveling, reading, baking, and trying weird food from around the world. You can reach out to her at prarthana.ghosh@swzd.com.
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