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It’s exciting for Google’s Nuha Elkhiamy to see the company’s Austin business grow into one of Google’s largest hubs.
Elkhiamy, who was recently named site lead for Google’s Austin hub, said Google has been very welcome in the city since it opened 14 years ago. She said she wanted to make sure Google maintains “responsible growth” as it continues to expand in central Texas.
“On a personal level, it’s a place I call home, and in my role at Google, I’ve made a commitment to investing in the place I work and live. For me and I think many of our other Google.” -Staff, it’s personal, “Elchiamy said.” We want to build on the really positive feedback we’ve had about the Austin tech industry and we want to continue as partners in our growth in the city of Austin. “
The company opened an office in Austin in 2007 and today employs more than 1,500 people in central Texas. Google plans to occupy the entire new 35-story tower that will be built in 601 W. Second St.
Elkhiamy, who is also the director of Google’s Corporate Engineering Division, sees her role in supporting 800 engineering staff based in Austin and the broader Google hub in Austin. This includes everything from helping with development and career goals to building and maintaining collaborative relationships.
Prior to heading the Austin hub, Elkhiamy was responsible for Google’s diversity, equity and inclusion operations in the Austin engineering division. In this role, she also worked with the wider Austin community, including a number of partner organizations such as Code to College and Huston-Tillotson University.
Elkhiamy spoke to theAmerican-Statesman about her new role, her vision for Google’s Austin hub and Google’s involvement in the community. The interview was edited for reasons of space and clarity.
American statesman: Austin is a growing site for Google. How do you work to keep track of inclusion as it expands?
Elkhiamy: One of the things we did last year was a three-pronged approach to diversity and the inclusion of equity within the Austin site.
We looked at leadership development because we knew our leaders are critical to creating inclusive environments, providing a safe space for them to talk about different topics, and also really focusing on their development as they create those inclusive environments .
We also had a focus on allies. We have a really rich presence of employee resource groups within the Austin facility … We are looking at how we as a community enable strong allies and partnerships. We did things like listening sessions where people who didn’t necessarily belong to a community but who cared about a community could learn more about different communities.
The latter is really trying to make a more representative tech industry wider. We focused on bringing STEM education, as well as computer science-based curricula, into middle and senior grades and working with universities. Our goal is to build and build a more representative technology industry. This is one of the ways we think we can help create a more representative Austin.
How is Google working to be inclusive in hiring people in a competitive market for technical talent?
We’ve found a healthy influx of tech talent into Google … Whether it’s in-house candidates, or we’re entering the market, or building relationships with universities, we really want to build a representative tech industry. We invest in students’ careers earlier to make sure we have a healthy talent pipeline going forward. For example, in the average market, women make up less than 30% of the tech industry. We really want to question that and say how we can invest in younger students earlier and change the dynamics to build a more representative tech industry and talent pipeline.
Ultimately, we want the best and brightest minds. We believe different perspectives are the right thing to do, but it’s also great for the communities we live and work in. We know that companies that are represented differently actually do better. I think the more perspectives we bring to our workforce, the higher quality products and solutions we develop every day for our customers and for our communities.
Why is Google getting involved in the community? How does the company work with local organizations?
Our missions are heavily focused on building a representative technology industry that offers technology for everyone. Our partner Code to College, for example, has set itself the goal of increasing the number of STEM students from minorities. When we work with them, we host an annual job interview and resume workshop where we support and help the students every year to further their education and prepare them for future interviews and interactions with companies.
We also co-sponsored a STEM workshop at the beginning of the year, at which students worked with around 30 Google volunteers to suggest the future of video conferencing. I think we have a shared mission to build a more representative and accessible technology industry for everyone. We see this as part of our core business, benefiting the places we work and live in, even if it doesn’t necessarily benefit the Google workforce directly.
You will take over the management of the site at a time when there are many changes between the pandemic and the growth of the hub. What do you see for the future of Google Austin?
I am very happy about this time. It is new territory for all of us when we return to the office environment. It is a time for me when I was very consciously empathetic. I know a lot of our employees have questions about what this might look like and I really take the time to ask questions and help them feel supported in the transition.
I think we have a really bright future here. Just anecdotally, I hear that there are existing employees who are genuinely interested in moving to Austin, and so we expect Austin to continue to grow as a location. We’re building a new office for 2023 so I’m very excited to see Google Talent grow. I am also very happy to hear from our employees that they like to come back and work with their colleagues and also get involved in the community.
I spoke to someone who asked about ways she could get involved in the community. So I see a continuous growth of our employee presence here in Austin, but also of our engagement in the community, which is really encouraged by our Google colleagues.
Overall, how does the Austin hub fit into Google?
I see our growth footprint as very strong. As I do my laps and hear about my return to the office, Austin is always one of the locations in which our managers and the employees themselves have expressed interest. I think our future looks very bright years to come.
Austin’s tech scene is booming. How does Google fit into this growing ecosystem?
I think we will continue to be partners with local communities and local community organizations. That will be critical to the fabric of what we believe to be responsible growth. We also use the power of some of our Google-wide programs. For example, in 2020 our Grow with Google program hosted hundreds of small business owners and job seekers at the Austin Public Library, where we offered workshops and training. It is the same program and presence that enabled us to apply to Huston-Tillotson and be accepted into Grow with Google’s (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) Career Readiness program.
We hope to continue to grow the community by supporting local organizations like Us Together, harnessing the power of Google-wide programs, and demonstrating the economic impact in the places we work and live.
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