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What I learned getting acquired by Google

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Re: What I learned getting acquired by Google

#191

Post by bradstewart »

somethoughts wrote: post #148

From the Google side I wonder if the underlying logic of these types of acquisitions is actually more originating on the Google M&A department side. There's probably some infrastructure needed to maintain a corporate Google M&A team which is probably is essential at the size of Google, but I can imagine there is a bit of downtime in between large deals that are actually exponentially value accretive (i.e. Youtube, Ne…

No knowledge of Google specifically, but that M&A team is often part of strategy unit that's constantly looking at potential acquisitions to fill gaps in product offerings, valuing internal business units for possible sale, etc.

So it's not just actually executing M&A. Once the target is identified, the actual deal execution often falls to lawyers/bankers.

Re: What I learned getting acquired by Google

#192

Post by edgyquant »

no_wizard wrote: post #155
JSavageOne wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok but then contractors have the freedom to work whatever hours they want, not show up to the office, and subcontract out their work - right? If so that might be more appealing than being an employee

Not in practice, because they use a hiring entity to dictate the terms. You're expected to show up on a schedule, do the work etc. much like a FTE, but you're not an FTE. I think some folks have this illusion of software contractors that this is somehow common, it really isn't. The norm is you-are-almost-but-not-quite an employee type work environment, and thats at the better places. I've worked at a place where cont…

That’s not legally a contractor then. As someone who has done contracting, both for software and in construction plus has hired them and had to be advised by lawyers around the legality of what makes or breaks a contractor…

If you are setting their hours, bossing them around and/or providing equipment they are not a contractor they are an employee. This is the law in 100% of the United States.

Re: What I learned getting acquired by Google

#193

Post by Nicholas_C »

decaffjoe wrote: post #68
asdfman123 wrote: post #33

The second passport thing is definitely true. When I'm abroad--even, recently, Buenos Aires--I have access to office space, free food, a gym, and even a music room where I can practice guitar and piano.

It's common for Google offices to have gyms and pianos?!

The HQ has a halfpipe (https://ocramps.com/blogs/builds-installations/google-headqu...)

Re: What I learned getting acquired by Google

#194

Post by oh_sigh »

asdfman123 wrote: post #33

The second passport thing is definitely true. When I'm abroad--even, recently, Buenos Aires--I have access to office space, free food, a gym, and even a music room where I can practice guitar and piano.

Another great thing is you can usually find someone who is up to have fun, even if you have no social connections in a place you're travelling to. I was visiting Barcelona a few years ago and emailed the misc- alias seeing if anyone wanted to visit Montserrat with me, and 5 of us went up there and had a great day together. Best part is, it is usually cool people who say "yes" - the abject nerds aren't going to respond to that kind of email.

Re: What I learned getting acquired by Google

#195

Post by thomasahle »

castlecrasher2 wrote: post #134
slater- wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

thank you for mentioning this. i was a red badge. it was fucking demeaning. i have a lot of stories, but my favorite was when everyone on my floor got an earthquake safety kit except me. literally google didn't care if i lived or died. the expectation was that if i sucked up enough ("demonstrated my value") they MIGHT make me a real boy, like some bizarre Velveteen Rabbit fetish game. i loved watching how Google woul…

>it's a caste system One required by federal policy. Companies are legally bound, or at least incentivized to not risk lawsuits, to degrading temporary staff so as to distinguish between regular employees and contractors.

> One required by federal policy.

Federal policy just says that if you don't distinguish between regular employees and contractors, the contractors are considered regular employees.

It doesn't say you are not allowed to hire those people as regular employees and treat them like regular employees.

Re: What I learned getting acquired by Google

#196

Post by [deleted] »

JSavageOne wrote: post #140
peddling-brink wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't just google, it's every company with contractors and employees. Microsoft learned the hard way to not treat contractors like employees. https://www.reuters.com/article/businesspropicks-us-findlaw-... Nobody else wants to learn that same lesson.

Ok but then contractors have the freedom to work whatever hours they want, not show up to the office, and subcontract out their work - right? If so that might be more appealing than being an employee

[deleted]

Re: What I learned getting acquired by Google

#197

Post by hughesjj »

gumby wrote: post #136
ajross wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For those unaware, these rules are pervasive in the US corporate world, and stem directly from Vizcaino v. Microsoft in 1996. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permatemp Effectively the fact that an employer treats a temporary employee "the same" as a regular one (i.e. by granting them the same perks) is construed by courts as evidence that they are not temporary . So, if a company wants to hire temp/contractor empl…

> Blame the courts, basically. No, blame these companies for trying hard to avoid workplace protection.

Yup, these companies could always just hire outright

Re: What I learned getting acquired by Google

#198

Post by thomasahle »

eloisant wrote: post #169
mikeyouse wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not illegal - they'd just have to provide them employee-like benefits which would be expensive. So it's just costly to treat contractors too well.

I think the way it works is that if they provide some benefits, then they would have to make them into FTE and give them all the benefits.

Exactly. And that's perfectly legal to do.

Re: What I learned getting acquired by Google

#199

Post by jjwiseman »

I find this part inspiring, regarding how to "respect the opportunity":

  Practically, what this means is to first do the work that is given to
  you. But once that's under control, to reach out into the vast Google
  network, to learn what's being planned and invented, to coalesce a
  clear image of the future, to give it shape through docs and demos, to
  find the leaders whose goals align with this image, and to sell the
  idea as persistently as you can.

Re: What I learned getting acquired by Google

#200

Post by hudsonjr »

ajross wrote: post #118
CobrastanJorji wrote: post #79

The "red badge" thing was very real. It was really weird having TVCs on your team. You'd all work hard together to launch a thing, and then everybody except the red badge would get a celebratory team tchotchke or a team lunch or something. If you asked about it, the manager would say "we can't give Jim things directly because that might be like compensation and they'd be like an employee." There'd be all-hands meetin…

For those unaware, these rules are pervasive in the US corporate world, and stem directly from Vizcaino v. Microsoft in 1996. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permatemp Effectively the fact that an employer treats a temporary employee "the same" as a regular one (i.e. by granting them the same perks) is construed by courts as evidence that they are not temporary . So, if a company wants to hire temp/contractor empl…

I do think the net result of this wad bad.

I remember before this decision, I worked somewhere where people could take longer to be promoted as a temp, maybe even 2 years. I don't know that this was exploitive, it was usually a mix of developing competency and department having budget. If someone left the company, usually someone got immediately promoted out of being a temp. If not that, it was dependent on department budget increase in the next fiscal year.

The legal change meant some roles like QA were put on a company switching treadmill.

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