Microsoft: Building a Collaborative Work Culture to Foster Innovation
| Case Code: HROB206 Case Length: 12 Pages Period: 2013-2019 Pub Date: 2020 Teaching Note: Available |
Price: Rs.300 Organization: Microsoft Corporation Industry: Technology & Communications Countries: United States Themes: Organizational Culture, Corporate Strategy, Leadership Style, Employee Development |
Abstract Case Intro 1 Case Intro 2 Excerpts
Excerpts
Basis of new system
The primary objective of adopting the new system was to promote new levels of teamwork and agility for breakthrough business impact. Also, Microsoft intended to put in place an efficient feedback process since the previous feedback tool had taken time to convey valuable feedback to the employee who needed it most. The new P&D system laid emphasis on four important elements..
Connects-fostering continuous feedback
Connects conversations were designed to be held frequently, a minimum of two and a maximum of four in a year. The leads and managers were required to implement this with the senior managers accountable for tracking whether their subordinates were adhering to the mandate. Interested teams had the freedom to even have a monthly Connects session. Connects conversations were based on two categories of questions that employees were required to answer..
‘Perspectives’ – creating a friendlier workplace
The earlier peer-to-peer feedback process encouraged employees to gather and give feedback and used a Likert-type scale – strongly agree to strongly disagree – with room for comments in the feedback tool. Instead of employees receiving the feedback directly, managers were given the responsibility of gathering, synthesizing, and providing it to all the employees and they rarely included actionable input. According to Liz Friedman (Friedman), Director of global performance and development in Microsoft Human Resources..
Benefits accrued
The initiatives taken since 2013 through Connects and Perspectives to build a friendlier and more collaborative culture led to various benefits for the company. It helped improve collaboration across and within project teams, increased the pace of innovation, improved communication and feedback between managers and employees, and fostered leadership excellence..
Looking forward
The new initiatives Connects and Perspectives were only one part in the company’s journey to improve the process of performance management and allow employees and managers to give each other continuous and friendlier feedback. According to Friedman, “It takes time to shift culture and this is just one way, though a valuable one, to help us get there,” Microsoft believed that the initiatives would play a pivotal role and would be essential in further activating and sustaining its growth mindset. The efforts to improve innovation, collaboration, and communication also led to a business shift. Satya’s push for a cultural shift and for recruiting employees who believed in continuous learning created an enthusiasm for a new era of innovation..
Exhibits
Exhibit I: Microsoft’s Products Launched in the ‘Lost Decade’
Exhibit II: Brummel’s E-mail to Microsoft Staff
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