Google CEO Sundar Pichai has asked employees for ideas on how to improve efficiency as pressures from an uncertain economic climate grow.

During what he called a ‘Simplicity Sprint,’ all employees will be asked to submit ideas for improving focus and productivity via an internal survey.

It asks staff what would help them ‘worth with greater clarify’, what ‘speedbumps’ prevent them from getting better results faster and where they see waste in current operations.

According to CNBC, Pichai told an all-hands company meeting: ‘There are real concerns that our productivity as a whole is not where it needs to be for the head count we have.’

Asking employees to pitch in with ideas, he said they could ‘create a culture that is more mission-focused, more focused on our products, more customer focused.’

‘We should think about how we can minimise distractions and really raise the bar on both product excellence and productivity,’ he said.

It’s the latest sign that big tech firms are bracing themselves against a troubled economy. In recent weeks, Apple, Meta and Spotify have announced hiring curbs, while Netflix and Twitter have announced layoffs.

Google, on the other hand, has had a bumper year for new hires, increasing its headcount by 21%, CNBC reported.

However, it has said it will slow down on recruitment as a result of a souring economy.

Chief people officer Fiona Cicconi told the company meeting: ‘We’re asking teams to be more focused and efficient and we’re working out what that means as a company as well.

‘Even though we can’t be sure of the economy in the future, we’re not currently looking to reduce Google’s overall workforce.’

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