August 1, 2022

Google CEO Sundar Pichai unveiled a new effort called “Simplicity Sprint,” which will gather ideas from its 174,000-plus employees on where to focus and how to improve efficiency.

Pichai said the company will open the door to employees by August 15 to share their ideas through an internal survey that asks if management can reach out to them if they have follow-up questions.

The need for crowdsourcing ideas comes after Google on Tuesday reported its second consecutive quarter of weaker-than-expected revenue growth, slowing to 13% in the quarter from 62% a year earlier when the company benefited from post-pandemic reopening.

Pichai therefore calls on employees to help “create a culture that is more mission-focused, more focused on our products, more customer focused. We should think about how we can minimize distractions and really raise the bar on both product excellence and productivity.”

While employees expressed concern about possible layoffs, HR chief Fiona Cicconi said the company is “not currently looking to reduce Google’s overall workforce,” but reiterated the need for greater efficiency and focus.

The sources for this piece include an article in CNBC.