Google launched a new internal portal to help employees report workplace issues, and it's hoping the number of reports goes up as a result

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Google launched a new internal portal to help employees report workplace issues, and it's hoping the number of reports goes up as a result

Google campus

REUTERS/Stephen Lam

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  • Google will be launching a new internal portal for its employees and its temp and vendor workforce (known as TVCs) to report issues such as harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.
  • The site - which will bring together multiple channels previously used for reporting issues - was announced on Thursday alongside a broader update from Google highlighting the steps it has taken to address workplace concerns.
  • A Google spokesperson told Business Insider on Thursday that previous methods of reporting workplace issues were complicated and opaque.
  • The spokesperson also said the company hopes that having one, streamlined channel will help to increase the number of incidents reported so that Google can investigate more concerns and take appropriate action.

Amid mounting pressure to address its process for employee-related incidents, Google will be launching a new internal portal for its employees and its temp and vendor workforce (known as TVCs) to report issues, such as harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.

The new site - which will bring together multiple channels previously used for reporting issues - was announced on Thursday alongside a broader update from Google highlighting the steps it has taken to address workplace concerns after its November Walkout - which was prompted by the company's handling of sexual misconduct cases involving high-powered executives.

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A Google spokesperson told Business Insider on Thursday that previous methods of reporting workplace issues were complicated and opaque. The spokesperson also said the company hopes that having one, streamlined channel will help to increase the number of incidents reported so that Google can investigate more concerns and take appropriate action.

The update - which came from Google's recently appointed Chief Diversity Officer, Melonie Parker - also included the company's 13-page internal workplace policies, which is the first time this document has been shared publicly.

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"A big part of my job is to listen to ideas that Googlers have and take feedback on ways we can improve our workplace," Parker said. "We won't implement every idea that our employees (or the outside world) raise, but we always listen, and we consider constructive feedback."

Google's former diversity lead, Danielle Brown, left in early April after a tumultuous year for employee relations at the tech giant, which included a class-action lawsuit by employees over pay discrimination and the 20,000 person walkout.

The workplace updates also come just days after two of the women who helped organize the walkout said Google had demoted them - a decision they considered retaliation for spearheading the November protests. Google denied the allegations of retaliation and said such a practice is prohibited at the company.

Read more: Two Google employees who spearheaded the walkout against sexual misconduct say the company has retaliated and demoted them

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