Interview with Fabio Coelho - CEO (Google Brasil)

Leaders League. How does Google Brasil encourage a culture of innovation amongst its employees?

Fabio Coelho. In Google’s experience, innovation happens when you create the right environment, hire the right people and get out of their way. Making innovation a part of the business means making it a valuable part of how people think, work and interact every day. Giving Googlers the autonomy to define their own working schedule as much as possible is one of the policies which contributes to the development and implementation of new ideas.

Research suggests that giving people the autonomy to define their own roles and make their own decisions is positively linked to behaviour which leads to innovation such as communicating ideas and suggesting changes. Once the company’s goals have been shared with your team, it is important to get out of their way and let them discover how to best achieve them. A good Google manager is someone who does not micromanage. Managers are encouraged to take a step back and let Googlers determine the best way of doing their jobs. Naturally, good managers are always at hand to offer advice and guidance, if necessary. If a company expects employees to present new ideas, it must trust them to do their jobs but also to take risks.

There are steps we believe are important in creating an innovation-friendly environment:

Equip people with information. From sharing upcoming product launches, to access to the code database, to the post-mortem paperwork, Googlers have access to an enormous volume of information. This provides them with the necessary context and inspiration to come up with new ideas at work. By trusting your employees, you empower them with a sense of ownership over the company and its future.

Encourage curiosity and question-asking. If you give employees access to information, they will have opinions. At Google, half of our general meetings are frequently dedicated to questions and answers. Google places great value on a person’s natural curiosity. Studies associate curiosity to higher rates of learning, commitment and performance at work. Give employees the opportunity to speak regularly, be it when asking questions, requesting feedback or performing internal surveys. 

Give people time to explore ideas. This might mean removing traditional barriers such as time, money and other resources. One way through which Google encourages a sense of ownership is through its “20% time” policy. The original concept was that engineers were free to use 20% of their time to work on ideas which were not essential to their roles, but still relevant to Google’s operations. Some ‘20%’ projects have become essential Google products such as Gmail, whilst others have helped to preserve historic artefacts such as Google’s partnership with Yad Vashem. Although not all ‘20%’ projects end up launching, employees still have the opportunity to learn new skills and collaborate with different teams. The 20% policy is not compulsory and many Googlers do not spend time working on side projects, however, everyone is encouraged to explore new ideas.  

Encourage a culture of learning. Another way for employees to feed their natural curiosity is through learning. Googlers are encouraged to develop and increase their skill-set by taking and/or teaching one of the many classes offered internally via our learning program. Googlers teach one another abilities which range from coding Python to learning how to pilot light aircraft. Feeding this internal unity can lead employees to be more creative and solve problems more efficiently.

What have been Google Brasil’s major initiatives in 2018?

In June, we announced during ‘Google for Brazil’, our annual event about new products through which we emphasize our commitment to Brazil, the arrival of Android GO, a lighter version of our operational system now optimized for input devices. As Brazil is amongst the three markets which most use smartphone virtual assistants, we also announced that we are working with over 30 local partners to bring additional voice commands to Google Assistant. In terms of Google Maps, we have included a feature which takes São Paulo’s vehicle restriction schedule into account and we’ve also more than doubled the number of Brazilian cities on Google Maps with real-time traffic news, going from six to 15.

A robust network infrastructure is essential for Latin America’s internet potential to take off. That is why we recently announced MONET, the submarine cable connecting Boca Raton, in Florida, to Fortaleza and then Praia Grande, in Brazil, is now operational. By the end of the year, MONET will be joined by two other cables: TANNAT (Praia Grande – Maldonado, Uruguay) and JÚNIOR (Praia Grande – Rio de Janeiro). JÚNIOR will be equipped with eight pairs of fibre optics and, unlike its two ‘brothers’, will be exclusively operated by Google. These three cables will expand Brazil’s network infrastructure and make data transmission more efficient.

As it’s an election year, we want to connect voters to useful and reliable information. We have announced new ‘search’ features which will allow Brazilians to monitor key dates on the electoral calendar, the candidates on the ballot and other important information. Presidential candidates are also being given the option of posting their opinions on key issues directly on Google. And, on election day, users will be able to monitor results directly via our ‘search’ feature.

Furthermore, we announced new investments into the Brazilian ecosystem. Our engineering office in Belo Horizonte is growing 30% and we will have nearly 200 engineers working there by the end of the year. As we believe technology can play a fundamental role in reducing gender inequality, in March, we brought ‘Womenwill’ to Brazil, an organization whose goal is creating economic opportunities for women. Up to now, over 2,500 women have undertaken training for leadership, negotiation techniques, personal finances and digital marketing.

What measures are needed for Brazil to foster an ever more innovative technology sector?

Unrestricted digital access is a fundamental pillar for the emergence of innovative companies such as startups.

Minimizing bureaucracy is another pillar we must invest in if we want a thriving digital economy. One area which urgently needs less bureaucracy is the Internet of Things. We need to speed up the regulation and ratification of new devices, as well as the necessary communication and frequency protocols in order to integrate the internet with any type of device.

At the heart of these pillars are important structural reforms which permeate the economy as a whole and, of course, also impact digital businesses. Without the revision of tax burdens and the reform of public systems which are unsustainable in the long-term, we run the risk of seeing the transformative social and economic potential of the digital economy disappear due to the uncertainties regarding Brazil’s long-term stability. 

With modern legislation, less bureaucracy and the execution of necessary reforms, we can unlock the investments required for our digital expansion and the development of new technologies. For example, this could mean an improvement in the quality of conditions for individuals to go online, particularly in areas where access to broadband is still restricted. 

New internet users bring new demands and the opportunity to create innovations with the potential to positively impact the economy and revolutionise the way we use digital technology. It’s not an easy task, but the challenge becomes slightly easier when companies and entrepreneurs have solid foundations as well as a clear and safe path to focus on what matters: always innovating.

By: François Le Grand