Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Microsoft is the leading and the largest Software Company in the world. Found by William Gates and Paul Allen in 1975 Microsoft has grown and become a multibillion company in only ten years. It all started with a great vision a computer on every desk and every home - that seemed almost impossible at the time. Now Microsoft has over 44,000 employees in 60 countries, net income of $3.45 billion and revenue of 11.36 billion. Company dramatic growth and success was driven by development and marketing of operational systems and personal productivity applications software.
Experienced employees conduct interviews and it is very important to note that the team managers are the people that actually hire, not the recruiters. That gives the managers the flexibility of selecting and hiring the best of the best. It is an interesting fact that only two to three percent of all recruits expressing an interest in Microsoft are hired. Once hired the new employees are assigned to teams where they start doing projects by close supervision. The new employees are expected to know the specifics of their job responsibilities and how to perform different tasks. That is why in May 1997 Microsoft launched the new Microsoft Skills 2000 initiative. The purpose of Skills 2000 is to reduce the growing gap between company needs and available skills by reaching out to employees in the computing work
force as well as those interested in developing an IS career. Microsoft pays relatively low salaries and often does not pay for overtime, but employees are compensated by excellent benefits. The company offers Savings Plus 401(k) plan, Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP), paid maternity and paternity leave, tuition reimbursement, annual bonuses, etc. The companys culture is also an important HR factor as it refers to employee motivation, development and quality of work. Microsoft has anti-bureaucratic atmosphere that gives the employees the freedom to take risks. Microsoft has been criticized about not training its new employees. Today in the software business new hires are required to know the material and the specifics of their job responsibilities. Also, they are assigned to more experienced employees, where they can learn during the work process. To help applicants to the Skills 2000 program determine their technical aptitude, Microsoft offers an online Information Technology Aptitude Tool. It asks a series of questions that identifies an individual's potential in eight career categories: database administration associate, information systems operator/analyst, interactive digital media specialist, network specialist, programmer/analyst, software engineer, technical support representative, and technical writer. The tool also describes technical training to help users develop the skills they need for the career categories that best suit them, helping them set a course for a new career. Compensation for these newly trained Microsoft Certified Professionals varies. The average salary for an entry-level MCP is $61,200, according to MCP Magazine's 1998 salary survey. The starting salary was $57,300 in a similar 1997 study. If recruiters are searching for staff from this group, they will gain highly motivated employees who are certified in the latest Microsoft technologies as systems engineers, developers, or trainers. The program is not only an excellent source of technical training for a diverse set of employees, but it also offers additional training for IS old-timers. Creating the Microsoft Skills 2000 program was a great idea for recruitment. At the end the company is not only having the brightest and the most talented workers, but is also making profit from training and developing their future employees.
Delivering Microsoft mission requires great people who are bright, creative, and energetic, and who share the following values:
Integrity and honesty. Passion for customers, partners, and technology. Open and respectful with others and dedicated to making them feel better. Willingness to take on big challenges and see them through. Self-critical, questioning, and committed to personal excellence and self-improvement. Accountable for commitments, results, and quality to customers, shareholders, partners, and employees.
Microsoft values organizational learning, which encompasses individual employee, manager, leader, business group, region, and discipline-specific needs as they relate to the companys mission, values, and business priorities.
Engineering Excellence
As one of the core learning organizations at Microsoft is a strategic performance improvement team primarily responsible for driving learning across all Microsoft engineering disciplines worldwide (35,000-plus people) and for building engineering processes, tools, and practices. The groups primary goal is to ensure delivery of prescriptive, authoritative
guidance for engineers in the form of product engineering processes, training curricula and resources, career guidance, subject matter expertise, community experiences, and customer informationall tied directly into Microsoft business priorities.
other interviewers, starting with the words Hire or No Hire, followed by specific feedback and suggestions for follow-up by the next interviewer.
to as the disease model of management. Review sessions were routinely punctuated with questions such as, What did we learn? or What could we have done better? In the late-1980s the performance review system incorporated a 1-to-5 performance scale tied to a forced evaluation curve in which 25 percent of employees received evaluations of 3.0 or lower, 40 percent 3.5, and 35 percent 4.0 or higher. At the end of each six-month period, every employee filled out a performance review form, describing what he or she achieved and what did not go well and providing a self-evaluated score. Then, in a face-to-face discussion, the manager provided the employee with his or her rating. A score of 3.0 or lower was regarded as undesirable and a 2.5 rating or below usually meant the employee was on the way out the door. On the other hand, a score of 4.0 or above was good news; there were very few 4.5 and only two or three 5.0 scores each year, an honor that warranted a personal visit from Gates.
B. Identify Performance Plan for Next Review Period List 5-7 specific, measurable performance objectives in priority order for the next Review period Identify keys to success for achieving each objective, for example: o Resources, tools, or other kinds of support o Training or development needs Performance objectives should be mutually agreed upon by employee and manager If you are a manager, objectives should cover your contribution to your group or organization, as well as your individual contribution If you are a senior manager, include steps you are taking to understand and value diversity in your organization
B. Identify Development Plan for Next Review Period Identify 1-2 development objectives for the next Review periodstrengths to be leveraged, weaknesses to be addressed Identify keys to success for achieving each objective, for example: o Resources, tools, or other kinds of support o Training or personal development needs Information provided for each of the Microsoft Competencies can be helpful in developing objectives.
C. Discuss Career Interests and Goals This section is for discussion only. Written comments are not required. o In the Review meeting, it is important to have a brief discussion of the employees longer-term interests, goals, and concerns. This discussion could cover a variety of issues such as: things that are motivating or de-motivating to the employee about his/her job and working at Microsoft; perceived opportunities for learning, growth, and contribution; jobs or assignments of interest to the employee; support or assistance the manager can provide
Employee Overall Rating (employees opinion of the overall rating): _______________ Reviewer Overall Rating Signatures _______________
Attrition Rates
Microsoft Worldwide 1994 9.3% 1995 8.5% 1996 7.5% 1997 7.6% 1998 6.9%
Software and IT Services Industry 1994 N/A 1995 13.7% 1996 16.4% 1997 17.2% 1998 15.3%