Google responds after settling lawsuit racial bias; Microsoft addresses HR chief change amid review process shift
Plus, a study reveals how AI is viewed differently by leaders and employees.
Greetings, comms pros! Let’s take a look at a few news stories from the past week and see what we can learn from them.
1 . Google pays out but disputes race bias lawsuit
Google paid an ex-employee $28 million after settling a racial bias lawsuit but continued to claim that the company maintained fair employment practices. The class-action suit was originally filed by former employee Ana Cantu and claimed that employees of Latino and Native American ancestry were paid less for similar work than their white and Asian counterparts. The suit relied on a leaked document revealing employee compensation data.
The tech giant settled the suit but hit back at the allegations, stating that maintains a commitment to fair employment practices.
“We reached a resolution, but continue to disagree with the allegations that we treated anyone differently, and remain committed to paying, hiring, and levelling all employees fairly,” a Google spokesperson told the BBC.
It’s important to note here that Google is among the many big companies that have rolled back DEI commitments since the beginning of the new presidential administration. For its part, Google removed web pages referencing DEI at the company and stated that it was evaluating changes “ following recent court decisions and executive orders on this topic,” a direct reference to federal pressures.
While Google claims a fair employment environment, in the eyes of some employees (over 6,000 of them if you look at the names added to suit after Cantu’s initial allegations) take issue with that — and it’s tougher for the tech company to dispute that allegation when it’s rescinding initiatives that affirm a diverse work culture, regardless of the veracity of any claims against the organization.
Employer reputation (and the employee retention that comes with it) hinges greatly on there being cohesion between what a company claims to be as an employer and what it is in reality. A discrepancy between those two things will make it hard to transparently communicate about your work culture. Alignment between values in statement and practice is a cornerstone of good internal communication and go a long way toward helping sow the seeds of a positive work environment.
2. Microsoft CEO tells employees changes are coming to reviews
Microsoft chief Satya Nadella told employees in an internal note they’re getting a new chief people officer and will change how performance reviews are conducted. CPO Kathleen Hogan will shift into a new role at the company and she’ll be replaced by Microsoft HR exec Amy Coleman.
Nadella said in his note that the shift in leadership and review strategy is due to factors in Microsoft’s business environment and a need to adapt to a new reality.
According to Business Insider:
“As we’ve seen time and again throughout our 50-year history, times of great change for the world and for our industry require us to have a mindset that enables us to continually adapt and transform ourselves,” Nadella said in the email. “There’s no question that we are at the forefront of another such moment, with the rapid changes across every industry and business function in this AI era.”
In moments of major change like a leadership shift, people need to hear directly from their leaders. Nadella being the one to formally break the news here is good practice. He’s also careful to do so in a tone that speaks confidently about a clear path forward for the company amid the changes in the marketplace.
But we need to examine this message through the lens of recent news that Microsoft let go of around 2,000 employees with a curt notice in January.
According to the layoff memo obtained by Inc.:
“The reason(s) for the termination of your employment include your job performance has not met minimum performance standards and expectations for your position.”
It’ll be worth watching to see if Microsoft’s employee comms tactics change under a new regime. Recognition through clear and ever-present comms that employees are the top resource a company has is also a must in these types of change situations. Anything less than those risks stoking the flames of employee discontent and damage to workplace reputation.
3. Study: AI has widely different perceptions at work between colleagues
AI may be causing tensions in the office, according to a new study.
According to research from Writer, leaders and employees have vastly different approaches to AI in the workplace. The data found that 89% of C-suite execs in the study reported their companies had an AI strategy, but just 57% of employees agreed with that assessment. Further illustrating the expectation gap between these two groups, 64% of C-suiters said their companies had a high level of AI literacy — just 33% of employees agreed.
The fact that there are so many executives who feel their companies have a handle on AI and employees feel the opposite way is striking. This could mean two things. First, executives may be a bit too bullish on their organizational AI capabilities. Second, communication about AI might not be making its way to employees effectively. Both of those situations are problematic.
Effective AI communication needs to be transparent and leave room for a two-way discussion. Anything short of that will open the door for consternation and misunderstandings about the implications of this workplace-altering tech.
- How about some good news?
- There was a very rare sighting of four snow leopards in Pakistan.
- A man in New Zealand found an ancient Polynesian canoe washed up on a beach.
- A study found that looking at nature can reduce pain.
- Ragan Training is great for communications pros to find inspiration and resources.
- You should be rewarded for your work. Find out how to earn an award here!
Have a great weekend comms all-stars!
Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. In his spare time he enjoys Philly sports and trivia.
