Every organisation needs great people managers. At Google, we know from our own internal research that the best managers have better performing teams, better retention, and happier team members. People managers motivate and inspire their teams, provide direction, create a supportive and inclusive environment, foster communication and collaboration, and harness their team’s strengths to deliver results.

In addition to making a real impact, people management is a path to career progression, allowing you to take on more responsibility and leadership within an organisation. This opens up opportunities for advancement and increased compensation, with people managers typically earning significantly more per year than non-managers.¹

At Google, we’ve been studying what makes managers and teams effective for nearly 20 years. We’ve analysed millions of data points and conducted hundreds of interviews— and we continue that research to this day.

Google People Management Essentials is the result of all that research, distilled into practical, actionable lessons designed by management experts at Google. In this course, you’ll learn the same management skills that Google managers learn too.

People Management Essentials is an online course that you can complete at your own pace.

The course is self-paced and takes about 8 hours to complete.

This course does not have any prerequisites, and you don’t need any management experience to get started.

This course is designed for new and aspiring people managers who want to build the skills to be confident and effective, as well as managers with experience who are looking to sharpen their existing abilities. No prior management experience is needed to get started.

Google People Management Essentials gives you the practical, job-ready skills required to succeed in roles with people management responsibilities. This course is designed to equip you with the essential attributes of effective managers, whether you are an aspiring individual contributor or a current manager seeking to sharpen your abilities. Upon completion, you’ll earn a professional certificate from Google and be ready to apply your new management skills across any industry.

The content features readings and interviews with leaders at Google that discuss the ways in which AI tools can help managers in their day-to-day work. You will learn how to use AI to enhance your management skills and gain access to AI prompts to help you with management tasks like setting goals and running effective check-ins. One example is using AI to set goals using the SMART goal framework.

Throughout the course, you will complete practical, hands-on activities, which will allow you to develop key skills you can apply to your work right away. These activities range from practising allocating work to team members, to preparing to give a performance review, to using AI to write a SMART goal.

Google People Management Essentials distills the best of Google's knowledge about great management into an actionable course. This course reflects Google’s data-driven approach as it is built on a foundation of nearly 20 years of research and millions of data points. The curriculum covers the same core people management skills and responsibilities that Google managers learn, offering you insights directly from the source. You'll learn from Google leaders who have extensive experience managing people and teams, ensuring you receive practical guidance and insights.

A people manager is someone who is responsible for the work, development, and overall experience of employees in an organisation. The main goal of a manager is to develop each individual on the team, foster team growth, and ensure the team meets company goals and objectives.

In Google People Management Essentials, you’ll learn the skills required to become a confident, effective manager. Designed by The Google School for Leaders, this program distills decades of Google’s management research into actionable insights on how to build high-performing teams.

Through hands-on activities and advice from over a dozen managers at Google, you'll learn to set clear goals, develop coaching skills, foster open communication, and leverage AI as a modern management tool.

Whether you're an aspiring leader or already managing a team, you’ll leave this course with the practical skills to drive results and build a team where people can thrive. Upon completion, you'll earn a professional certificate from Google.

This course distills insights from Google's research on management excellence into practical lessons, helping you become a more confident and effective leader.

The content is built around Google's Manager Responsibilities (Deliver Results, Develop People, Build Community) and integrates foundational research on successful teams conducted by Google.

The course includes four courses:

Course 1: Create a High Performing Team
Course 2: Set and Achieve Team Goals
Course 3: Support Individual Growth and Development
Course 4: Grow as a Manager

You’ll complete hands-on activities to develop key people management skills you can apply right away, and gain the practical skills and confidence needed to apply AI tools to your daily work, enhancing your effectiveness as a modern manager.

The course was designed by The Google School for Leaders, Google’s centre of excellence for manager and leadership development, and part of Google People Operations. The content is informed by decades worth of Google’s internal research on management and high performing teams.

Through our extensive research on people management, we identified the top skills needed to be a successful people manager, including how to foster open communication and a culture of learning, set clear goals and expectations, and coach and give feedback effectively.

Google People Management Essentials is available on Coursera, an online learning platform that offers access to online courses.

In Australia, the subscription cost is $49 USD per month after an initial 7-day free trial period. All Google Career Essentials are completely self-paced, and many learners complete their certificate within one month.

After you complete the course, you’ll earn a certificate from Google to share with your network and potential employers.