As a publicly traded company, Google is required to disclose certain types of information related to its employment and compensation practices to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which then makes the documents public. Google today submitted screenshots of a compensation tool available to Google staffing employees and certain employment candidates. The tool models the potential value of Google equity awards, including transferable stock options.

Essentially, the tool acts like a customized spreadsheet that lets users do “what if” modeling showing how variables including cash, stock options, and Google stock units could potentially change over time. It’s an interesting insight into the competitive landscape of the high-tech world right now, where jostling for talent has become brutal (hat tip to Gary Price for spotting the filing).

Related Topics: Google: Employees | Google: Legal

About The Author: Chris Sherman (@CJSherman) is Executive Editor of SearchEngineLand.com and President of Searchwise LLC, a Boulder Colorado based Web consulting firm. He also programs and co-chairs the Search Marketing Expo - SMX conference series. See more articles by Chris Sherman