Latest news with #Googlers'
Time of India
23-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
'What am I going to do?': Trump's Social Security chief, hired from Wall Street, admits he had to Google his job
'I am one of the great Googlers' Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel US President Donald Trump 's pick to run the Social Security Administration Frank Bisignano said he had to google the job after the president tapped him for the position. Bisignano told agency staff this week that when he was first offered the job in the Trump administration, he wasn't familiar with the position and had to look it up online, according to ABC News.A former Wall Street executive, Frank Bisignano admitted in a town hall with agency managers this week that he was not looking for a job at the time and that he had searched Google to learn what exactly the position entails.'What the heck's the commissioner of Social Security?' Bisignano recalled asking himself, according to an audio recording of the phone meeting obtained by ABC News. 'What am I going to do?'According to a report by ABC News on Thursday, Bisignano told the Social Security brass during the meeting that the offer to become agency commissioner nudged him to play internet detective."So, I get a phone call and it's about Social Security. And I'm really, I'm really not, I swear I'm not looking for a job," Bisignano said, the report said, citing an obtained audio clip. "And I'm like, 'Well, what am I going to do?' So, I'm Googling Social Security. You know, one of my great skills, I'm one of the great Googlers on the East Coast.""Put that as the headline for the Post: 'Great Googler, Googler in Chief. Chief in Googler' or whatever," Bisignano said in a clip posted to social media by ABC News, while adding that he likes "to have fun at work."After researching the role, the 'great Googler-in-chief'—who has no experience in government or with the Social Security system—accepted the Trump administration's offer. He now runs one of the largest federal agencies, in charge of programs that provide disability insurance, survivor benefits, and retirement benefits to more than 70 million the town hall, Bisignano tried to ease concerns about the future of the SSA, noting that he and Trump agreed that Social Security is 'not going away.' Bisignano said that DOGE plans to help bolster the agency, from helping rebuild the Social Security website to incorporating artificial intelligence into its phone support to ABC, sources have said that these changes to help modernize the SSA are just another effort by DOGE to cut costs, claiming that Musk's department has also been reassigning staff and outsourcing administrative his appointment as the new head of the SSA, Bisignano faced sharp criticism from Democrats, union leaders, activists, and lawmakers. Many voiced opposition to his selection before his Senate confirmation, which was held on May 6.'Did you guys know there was a protest against me?' Bisignano asked during a town hall event. 'Who here knew there was a protest?' 'I actually liked that protest,' he added. 'I'm going to prove them so wrong—this might be the most fun I've ever had.''Clearly, Commissioner Bisignano was poking fun at himself so that everyone in the room felt comfortable having an open conversation about improving service for the American people,' a Social Security official told his nomination by Trump in December, longtime Wall Street executive Frank Bisignano officially took over as head of the SSA this month. His appointment sparked strong opposition from Democrats, union leaders, activists, and lawmakers, who voiced their concerns before his Senate confirmation on May assumed leadership after the DOGE made sweeping changes within the agency—removing senior personnel, closing internal offices, and gaining access to sensitive data systems. In response to growing unease, Bisignano sought to reassure SSA staff, stating he had no plans for additional mass layoffs and aimed to bring stability to the of Americans rely on Social Security for both disability income and retirement his 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump pledged not to cut Social Security. Since taking office, however, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has undergone significant changes, largely driven by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Business Insider
30-04-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Google is shaking up its compensation to incentivize higher performance
Google is making changes to its compensation structure in a bid to incentivize higher performance from staff. The company announced on Tuesday that it will change how employee performance ratings work. The change gives more staff the opportunity to achieve one of the highest scores in their annual review and, therefore, higher compensation, while lower performers receive smaller bonuses and equity. In an email to staff with the subject line "Strengthening our performance culture," John Casey, Google's vice president of global compensation and benefits, said that managers will be able to allocate the "Outstanding Impact" score to more employees than previously. "This means more Googlers will have the opportunity to achieve that rating during annual reviews, and their bonus and equity award will be modeled using the O's individual multiplier in 2026," he wrote in the email, which was seen by Business Insider. Googlers' performances are rated once a year using an internal system known as Googler Reviews and Development (GRAD). An employee's impact is scored on a scale, with "not enough impact" being the lowest and "Transformative Impact" being the highest. The ranking a Googler is given usually determines their bonus and equity. Most Googlers fall into the second-highest bracket of "Significant Impact." The "Outstanding Impact" bucket captures a smaller number of higher performers, while the "Transformative" bucket is reserved for a very small number of excelling Googlers. Casey said Google will also increase the discretionary budget it gives to managers so they can dish out more rewards to high performers who fall within that "Significant Impact" bracket. He added that the changes would be "budget-neutral," meaning employees with lower ratings could receive smaller bonuses and equity in their compensation packages as more of the budget is allocated to the higher brackets. "We want to be upfront that to fund this we'll be slightly reducing the bonus and equity individual multipliers for Significant Impact and Moderate Impact ratings," Casey told staff. "It's important to note that Significant Impact will remain a strong rating — achieving it will still get you more than your target bonus." Google spokesperson Courtenay Mencini told Business Insider in a statement, "We're making these changes to further reward top performers and continue our momentum across the company." The changes at Google come amid a broader shift across Big Tech to run their businesses more efficiently and push employees to perform better. Microsoft recently rolled out new policies aimed at dialing up performance pressure on employees, while in January, Meta announced it would cut 5% of its workforce, focusing on low performers. While Google hasn't gone to such lengths itself, the changes to its performance ratings are designed to push staff to work harder and aim higher. "High performance is more important than ever to achieve the goals we've set," wrote Casey in the email to staff, adding that the changes were being made to "further reward top contributors" at the company. Read the full email sent to Google employees: Hi Googlers, As recent moments like the Gemini 2.5 Pro launch and Cloud Next have shown, there's incredible momentum across the company right now — it's so exciting to see Googlers pull together to deliver on our ambitious product roadmaps. High performance is more important than ever to achieve the goals we've set, and so we're making some changes to further reward top contributors, in all teams across the company. First, we'll increase the ratings distribution guidance we give to leaders for Outstanding Impact (O). This means more Googlers will have the opportunity to achieve that rating during annual reviews, and their bonus and equity award will be modeled using the O's individual multiplier in 2026. Second, we're increasing the discretionary budget we give to managers so they can further reward high performers within the Significant Impact rating. We want to be upfront that to fund this we'll be slightly reducing the bonus and equity individual multipliers for Significant Impact and Moderate Impact ratings. It's important to note that Significant Impact will remain a strong rating — achieving it will still get you more than your target bonus. The above changes are budget-neutral, and overall we're continuing to invest in comprehensive and highly competitive compensation and benefits. These changes apply to the end-of-year reviews and 2026 compensation planning. John Casey
