Google Malaysia country manager Sajith Sivanadan believes in hiring employees that wants to make a difference to the world

By CHRISTINE CHEAH
alltherage@thestar.com.my

WHILE our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was visiting Google’s head office in the United States, touted as the “world’s best workplace”, we at R.AGE got our own Google office tour – right here in Kuala Lumpur.

Now you’ve all probably heard how ridiculously awesome Google offices around the world are – free food, free massages, sleeping pods, recreation rooms, Irish pub-styled conference rooms, free outdoor barbecues in the summer, etc. So how would Google Malaysia’s office stack up?

Stepping out of the elevator at the Quill 7 office tower at KL Sentral, you’d expect the usual glass door with a receptionists’ desk and a company logo behind it. But of course, that would be just way too conventional for a Google office. Instead, there’s a stylish, old-school wooden door painted blue – a sign of things to come.

Behind the door was an office space roughly the size of two tennis courts with a quirky – yet sophisticated – design. The walls are about as multi-coloured as the Google logo, and there were cosy cushions, sofas and bean bags pretty much at every turn.

In all Google offices worldwide, the company hires people who are “Googley”, and does all it can to keep them that way. It’s not a strictly-defined term, with Google Malaysia country manager Sajith

Sivanadan saying: “It means different things to different people, but being Googley is all about having fun and being passionate about what you do, and that’s what Googlers are.”

So how do they keep their people Googley? For starters, working hours are not fixed. There’s no real dress code – Sajith himself was wearing a T-shirt and jeans. Also, “Googlers” are allowed to take 20% of their working hours to pursue their own ideas on making a difference to the world. In fact, Gmail was a result of that “20%”.

“What matters to us is the output because we believe that if we give people the freedom, they can do things that will amaze us,” said Sajith.

Of course, there are also the “usual” perks we’ve heard of. Apart from the free food, employees also enjoy a free-flow of snacks and beverages, and with a local touch – nasi lemak, popiah and curry puffs are all on the menu.

They have an arcade machine, darts board, massage chair, sleeping pouches… all just the tip of the iceberg in terms of employee benefits.

The very first Google office, however, was actually a garage where founder Larry Page and Sergey Brin worked for two years in the late 90s before they obtained funding to develop their business.

“We believe in making a difference to the world by being a different company,” said Sajith of Google’s core values. “When (Google’s) initial public offering took place (in 2004), our founders promised investors that we were not a conventional company – and we don’t want to become one.”

Want to see more of the Google Malaysia office? Have a look through our Facebook photo album at facebook.com/thestarRAGE! Or, if you’re into cool tech-y stuff like the people at Google, you can also iSnap this page.