Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond,

Washington, that develops, manufactures, licenses, supports and sells computer software,
consumer electronics and personal
computers and services. Its best known
software products are the Microsoft
Windows line of operating systems,
Microsoft Office suite, and Internet
Explorer web browser. Its flagship
hardware products are Xbox game console
and the Microsoft Surface series of tablets.
It is the world's largest software maker
measured by revenues. It is also one of the
world's most valuable companies.
Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen on April 4, 1975 to develop and sell
BASIC interpreters for Altair 8800. It rose to dominate the personal computer operating
system market with MS-DOS in the mid-1980s, followed by the Microsoft Windows. The
company's 1986 initial public offering, and subsequent rise in its share price, created an
estimated three billionaires and 12,000 millionaires from Microsoft employees. It is
considered the third most successful startup company of all time by market capitalization,
revenue, growth and cultural impact. Since the 1990s, it has increasingly diversified from the
operating system market and has made a number of corporate acquisitions. In May 2011,
Microsoft acquired Skype Technologies for $8.5 billion in its largest acquisition to date.
As of 2013, Microsoft is market dominant in both the IBM PC-compatible operating system
and office software suite markets (the latter with Microsoft Office). The company also
produces a wide range of other software for desktops and servers, and is active in areas
including internet search (with Bing), the video game industry (with the Xbox, Xbox 360 and
Xbox One consoles), the digital services market (through MSN), and mobile phones (via the
Windows Phone OS). In June 2012, Microsoft entered the personal computer production
market for the first time, with the launch of the Microsoft Surface, a line of tablet computers.

MICROSOFT'S WORK ENVIRONMENT: THE CAFFEINE CULTURE

Microsofts cultural norms could be traced back to the companys start-up days when Gates,
Allen and four programmers created a hot-house of innovation and hard work. Software
developers dominated the company, and up until the early 1980s, Gates knew all their names,
faces and telephone extensions by heart.
Yet to many, Microsofts resource-constrained, intellect-driven management model was
disorganized, even chaotic.
By 1986, Microsofts nearly 1,200 employees moved into new offices in Redmond,
Washington.

The low-slung buildings nestled into the 29-acre wooded campus were

designed in the shape of an X to maximize the number of windows. Unlike in the open-plan
buildings popular elsewhere, each employee still had a fully enclosed 9 x 12 office with a
door, to ensure privacy necessary to sit and think. Numerous cafeterias, with food at prices
subsidized by the company, facilitated social interaction. Microsoft spent more than $8,000
per employee each year on non-mandated benefits, with more than $715 a year per employee
on beverages and food subsidies alone. As one employee noted, Anything with caffeine is
free. In many ways, it had the feeling of a college campus and provided a comfortable postcollege sense of familiarity and belonging.
Although employees average age moved above thirty in the mid-1990s, the culture remained
remarkably unchanged: employees dressed informally, there were no status symbols, and the
early ethos of thrift remained. There were no set work hours, but the culture attracted those
comfortable with fourteen-hour days and working weekends. Yet motivation and morale
routinely measured in internal surveysremained high
Microsoft is considered by many to be an ideal place to work. The company has won several
awards forinnovation, for their commitment to diversity, and for their flexible work
arrangements. It has always been aleader in the market with regard to its compensation. With
a total strength of about 80,000 employees acrossthe globe, and a total revenue exceeding $15
billion, it is one of the biggest and bestknown6 technologycompanies in the
world.Employees have access to the most current resources, from an intranet with source
code libraries to periodicallibraries to stateoftheart research labs. Their work is personally
challenging and on the cutting edge oftechnology. The organization believes in providing the
employees whatever tools and technologies they need toachieve the best results possible; and

the employees are expected to create software and entertainmentproducts that could sell
millions of copies worldwide. The office campuses at most locations are considered
thebenchmark of technology hubs, with fir trees, forested trails, snowcapped mountain
vistas, basketball courts,and even shuttle buses for employees to make use of.Employees at
Microsoft are recognized as the intellectual fuel and are provided with various benefit plans
andresources, which are designed to retain them. Lisa Brummel, who joined as the Chief of
Human Resources atMicrosoft, in 2005, started reshaping the company's HR strategies to
make them more innovative andcustomized to individual employee needs. The focus was to
project Microsoft, from an HR perspective, as anemployeedriven organization. As an
organization, Microsoft offers a lot of flexibility to employees the flexiblework
arrangements and flexible benefit plans offered at Microsoft are often considered Best
Practices by many employers.

HR STRATEGY AT MICROSOFT
Microsoft Corporation has
adopted the Performance
Culture Model`` as the best
approach

to

success.All
people

drive
the

its

critical

metrics

are

categorized andmeasured as
per the Growth Pyramid
shown

in

Figure.The

amount of investment made

in

external

internalsurveys

and
is

very

substantial and projects Microsoft as a leader in this regard across the industry.Some of the
categories across which the surveys are done,analyzed, and the results published are
mentioned below.
1. Organization: Organization size, open positions, line HR ratios
2. Organization Health: Workgroup Health Index,Microsoft Pulse Index, Microsoft Culture
Index 3. Staffing: Hiring stats types of hires, channel wise hiring stats, positions closed
internally, hiring spends,lead time, % of hiring plan, net adds, offer acceptance rates, reasons
for offer decline
4. Talent Management: Good attrition, bad attrition, YOY and QtronQtr tracking, reasons
forbad attrition, % retention of high positions, % of promotions, succession planning
indicator, and successionplanning usage
5. Diversity: % of women (target vs. actual), % of women hired, % of women talent losses,
reasons for badattrition, % of women in leadership succession slate, % of Managers and
employees completing MSDiversity training programs, % of other diversity hiring
6. Manager Capability: Span of Control, Organization Depth, % of Managers
7. Learning & Development: Field Readiness Index, number of employees trained on
employeedevelopment programmes, number of managers trained through management

excellence framework (that provides for management development through career events,
continuous learning and buildingconnections)
8. Leadership Development: % of leadership hires, % of leadership attrition, succession
planningindex (%of successors in stages of readiness for a Leadership role)
9. Rewards: % of budget used on rewards
Besides this, they periodically run market surveys to ensure their competitive positioning on
compensation.
While tracking the above metrics has shown more robust action planning to improve scores
on each of them, there are two that that have made their People Review process much more
meaningful ensuring bothorganizational readiness and talent management. These are the SPI
and the SPU:
The Succession Planning Indicator (SPI) that is designed to help measure how well the
organization is positionedwith weightings assigned to Ready Now and One Move Away
successors for leadership positions.
The Succession Plan Usage (SPU) is an index designed to assess both the quality of the
previous years successionplans and whether an organization is effectively leveraging its
succession plans when filling open leadershippositions. It indicates the percent of leadership
team positions that were filled during the past year by someonewho was on last years
succession slate.
In present times of recession and organizational restructuring, what businesses seek of HR is
to: a)understand the talent needs of the business b) help develop strategic plans regarding
employees c) identifytalent issues before they impact the business and d) very importantly,
help identify new business strategies.
At Microsoft, the HR department is made accountable for maximizing the value of their
people asset to drive business success. Core HR functions, processes and practices are
divided among vertical tower structures foreasier and more transparent flow of information.

The relatively independent functions also enable the businessneeds to be more closely aligned
and measured from a function unit perspective.
1. Talent Acquisition & Development
2. Management Development
3. Leadership Development
4. Management of the evolution of the Microsoft Culture
At Microsoft, the organizational culture is often termed as facilitative by the management
there are significantinvestments made in the development of employees, and most current
support is provided for optimum career growth. The aim is to receive the best talent which is
passionate, capable, and growthoriented.

RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION: Attracting the Best and the Brightest

Beginning from its initial days, Microsoft has believed in recruiting extremely intelligent
staff, favoringintelligence over experience. Cofounders Bill Gates and Paul Allen shared a
preference for hiring extremely intelligent, not necessarily experienced, new college
graduates dated from Microsofts startup days.Microsofts recruitment strategies reflect their
philosophy Microsoft is an aggressive recruiter and is often the first company to offer jobs
to elite graduates at campuses and career fairs across the world.At the beginning, the
recruitment

strategies

at

Microsoft

included

sourcing

people

from

the

elite

educationalfacilities such as Harvard, Yale, MIT, CarnegieMelon and Stanford. Microsoft

recruiters would visit theseuniversities in search of the most brilliant, driven students.
Experience was not required and it was in fact,preferred that new employees had no
experience. The selected recruits would undergo a selection processwhich was focused more
on problem solving and thoughtprocess & composuretesting exercises rather thanthe actual
technical interviews. This interviewing process was seen as one which would push the
interviewees tothe limit of their creative and analytic abilities rather than their familiarity
with a computer programminglanguage. The importance of hiring the right people is also
shown in Microsofts n minus 1 strategy whichmeans less people are employed than are
required. This policy reinforces that hiring the right people is moreimportant than hiring just
to fill a position.Microsoft retains the same basic principles as they have expanded but had to

change their methods when thenumber of new employees required could no longer be
sourced only from universities.The recruiting practices continue to be active rather than
passive, with Microsoft head hunting the best staff.These staff are found, monitored and
recruited from other companies by over 300 recruiting experts.These staffs actively recruit
suitable employees and focus on the right type of person rather than the right typeof skill
level.Microsoft uses human resources forcompetitive advantage, basing its success on having
the very best25 people in the industry and inspiring them tobe the best. It is this that leads to
Microsofts unique recruitment practices.What is most crucial here is that Microsofts
recruitment practices meet its human resource needs. It is animportant sign of the focused
approach of Microsoft, with its actions always leading towards its ultimate goals.Some
important factors to be considered in recruiting staff include that the recruiter should be from
the samefunctional area and that candidates should not be deceived about the negative
elements of a job. The interviewprocess at Microsoft reflects this with the new employee
being interviewed by the manager. The recruitmentprocess also goes further than just
informing the employee about the negative aspects, instead the recruitmentprocess actually
tests the employee on the negative aspects, putting them under the same type of pressurethey
would be put under on the job.

TAKING ADVANTAGE OF MARKET CONDITIONS

Microsoft also took advantage of breaking opportunities such as company layoffs; one
example is with the AOL down size. The CEO announced that when they heard AOL was
downsizing Netscapes operations in the valley,they assembled a team to identify the best
talent and go knocking on doors.
EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION:
The key to supporting the motivation of their employee is to understand what motivates each
of them. Whilethe recruitment and selection process at Microsoft aims to employ people who
will be motivated by theenvironment they are provided, the HR department at Microsoft takes
great care to understand such needs andtry fulfilling them for the employees. Opportunity and
environment to allow the employees to progress and self-develop is a part of the work culture
that the HR staff is expected to adhere to. The fit between employee andorganization is
important to motivation and this is what Microsoft ensures.Microsoftensures that the goals of
the organization are understood via its strong culture and by employees being clearlyaware of
what is required of them.Motivation can be described as providing a work environment in
which individual needs become satisfiedthrough efforts that also serve organizational
objectives. Microsoft achieves this by incorporating their goals intotheir human resource
management programs. The people recruited and the systems within the organization allserve
to motivate the type of people that Microsoft values.Employee motivation can also be related
to Maslows hierarchy of needs theory. This theory has the top level ofthe needs theory as
selfactualization28 needs, which is a person`s need to be selffulfilled. This is exactly
whatMicrosoft provides for its staff and also exactly what it expects, for them to be the very
best they can be. Thelink can also be seen here between the type of people that are employed
and what is expected. Microsoft hiresthe very best people, for these people to achieve self
actualization they need to be pushed harder than mostand given greater opportunity to
achieve than most.
EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION AND LOYALTY:
Microsoft attempts to cater to the needs of its employees by recognizing that the majority
workforce comprisesfresh graduates just out of college. This is the premise behind Microsoft
setting up its offices as campusesrather than plain workspace and parking space setting that
was the norm before Microsoft. The environment itprovides also includes every employee

being free to decorate their office as they please; and the provision ofsubsidized food and
drink.Employee satisfaction was also afforded by the opportunity for growth, development
also occurred byencouraging horizontal transfers, and employees were encouraged to develop
themselves by switching jobs. Topmanagement is required to coach lower levels and assisting
in their development. These practices are designedto increase employee satisfaction and
commitment to the organization, while maintaining the same spirit thesmall company began
with.For many organizations, empowering employees is seen as a relatively new approach to
handling and motivatingemployees one which requires gradual changes to the corporate
government and the work culture. However,in case of Microsoft, it can be seen as an inverted
view wherein the idea of employee empowerment was aninherently intrinsic part of the
work culture since its inception.Three aspects of tasks that affect job satisfaction are job
complexity, degree of physical strain and perceivedvalue of the task. Microsoft manages this
by providing the high complexity high achievers require and byensuring the perceived value
of the task is high. This high value is communicated via the highachieving culturethe
company maintains.
EMPLOYEE REWARDS: The Options drivenEngine
As an organization, Microsoft still follows the firm belief of its followers in linking employee
ownership withemployee motivation and retention. Critical to this is the link between
individual performance and reward, withsemiannual performance reviews linked to pay
increases, bonus awards and stock options. The formal reviewsystem also includes more
common evaluations by managers to ensure no unexpected deviations. The systemalso
includes the process of employees evaluating themselves, these selfevaluations then being
sent to themanager who does their own evaluation. The employee and manager then meet to
discuss the review.Stock options awards are based on whether the employee is considered a
longterm asset of the company andawarded on this basis. This is an important symbol of
Microsofts commitment to retaining good employees. InIdeas That Will Shape the Future of
Management Practice (Bohl, Luthans, Hodgetts& Slocum) human resourcesis described as
being the way of the future with it being argued that they will see a more mature articulation
ofthe importance of people as a firms only sustainable competitive advantage. The change is
described as givinghigh reward for high performance with the focus on a partnership.
Microsoft recognizes the importance of itspeople and this is reflected in the reward systems,
in the sense that not only current achievements arerewarded but also rewarded are stocks to
those employees that are seen as valuable future assets of thecompany. This can be seen as a

prime example of the focus on a partnership that Microsoft aims to foster withits
employees.Important to the reward system is also the fact that there are two reward paths
available, one for thosefollowing the technical path and one for those following the
management path. The skills of employees can bedivided into three areas: conceptual skills,
human skills and technical skills. Typically, conceptual skills becomemore required and
technical skills less required as one moves up the corporate ladder. Microsoft is a
companyvaluing technical skills, due to the nature of its product. In most organizations,
employees with conceptual skillswould be rewarded by moving up the corporate ladder,
while those with technical skills would not advance.Microsoft, however, offers two
advancement paths allowing those with technical skills to advance as technicalexperts, just
as those with conceptual skills advance as managers.By having these two reward systems,
Microsoft effectivelycommunicates that both sets of skills are valued. This is also an
important sign of Microsofts consistency. Theyrecruit people for technical ability and so not
rewarding for it would be dissatisfying to employees.

GLOBAL BENEFITS:
Everyone works differently and is motivated by different things. Thats why they offer
competitive pay and a wide assortment of benefits to help employee make the most of
their life at work and away from it. In exchange for a job well done, they reward employee
well, invest in their health and financial future, and because employee are more than their
job make sure employee have time to pursue their interests and passions away from the
office. Even their products and technologies help employee balance work with their life away
from work by making it easier to work remotely and manage their schedule. They understand
that employee will enjoy work more and do a better job if employee also have a full,
rewarding life.
Compensation

A competitive base salary

Bonuses based on performance and achievements of objectives
Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Health & Wellbeing

Annual Physical Check-up

Stay Fit Program

Insurance

Group insurance for employees and dependents

Travel insurance
Personal accident insurance
Mandatory national health insurance and labour insurance

Employee Recognition

Stock Award
Spot Award
GM Award
Service Award

Allowance & Subsidy/Discount

Holiday allowance for Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, Dragon Boat Festival & Chinese

New Year
Allowance for special occasions, such as marriage, maternity, and bereavement

Social club funding

Discounts on Microsoft products and software

Work & Life Balance

Work From Home Policy

Employee Assistance Program & confidential counseling

Paid Leave

Twelve days of annual leave, and fifteen days each year after service of five years,
plus one additional day for each additional year of service after the sixth service year;

up to 30 days a year.
Paid sick leave up to fifteen days a year
Maternity leave up to ten weeks for female employees
Paternity leave
Volunteer leave up to three days each year

Fantastic Office Facilities

Bi-weekly Happy Hour (tea breaks) for employees

Free breakfast and beverages
Private and comfortable nursery rooms
Recreational and social areas

Employee Welfare Committee Benefits

Year-end party
Personal travel allowance
Family days
Movie days
Discounts on massage service, shops and restaurants
Sports club activities

Career Development

Internal & external training

Mentoring
Career path options & movements across professions
Global career opportunities

CAREER DEVELOPMENT: The doors wide open

A mentoring discussion over coffee.

Whether employee choose a management role, dive deep into a technology, or explore
multiple professions, employee will find everything employee need to drive their career at
Microsoft. It goes beyond trainingalthough with over 2,000 courses available globally in
classrooms or online, employee will have plenty of opportunities for that. They make sure
employee and their manager dedicate time each year to discussing their career development,
and employee can access their online career resources anytime. Plus, to give each other a
hand in getting ahead, they are all encouraged to chooseor to bea mentor.
More Than a Job: While a career at Microsoft will always be about working with smart
people, taking on big challenges and defining the future of technology, it's also about
enjoying their life. Their people really value the idea having a good life, both at work and
away. Their culture, their benefits and their work style truly reflects this.
Vibrant and Passionate Culture: The passion of their employees is at the very essence of who
they are. The energy is totally infectious and the people around employee bring out the best in
employee every day. The camaraderie at Microsoft is unique for a large company.
Their Philosophy: An individual adventure
Defined roles. Each of their jobs has clear requirements for success but lots of room to push
boundaries and grow. Managers provide ongoing support, but ultimately employee are
empowered to shape their personal experience and chart their own career path. Employee can
go deep in an area of expertise, or move across functions or businesses to experience a
breadth of opportunity.
Career path options.Employee dont have to be a manager to move up. Both individual
contributor and management careers progress all the way through senior levelsthey highly
value both.
Movement across professions.They define desired results and consistently apply them for all
professions available in their business groups. This makes it easy for employee to learn about
each profession and identify and develop the skills employee will need if employee want to
make a change.
Their Career Guide: a clear way to manage their career
Their Career Guide is a tool that describes careers across the company and provides visibility
to those opportunities to help employee manage their career. The Career Guide helps

employee understand the skills and capabilities that contribute to success in todays
environment, and provides a variety of ways to develop both in role and for their future
career. As part of their development, employee will have the option to engage in some 2,000
training programs taught by instructors from leading educational institutions and offered
online, virtually, or in classrooms around the globe. Employee cant beat the level of
investment they place on career development.
Mentoring & Networking: Connections to help us grow
At Microsoft they share knowledge, experiences, and resources to help each other achieve
their career goals and grow both professionally and personally.
Mentoring allows employee to learn from the experiences of professionals within and outside
of their own area of expertise, and to build a network to help find opportunities that can
promote their development. Mentoring is a great way to make a big company feel smaller
and its opportunities more accessibleto each of us.
Employee Resource Groups, Employee Networks and Employee social groups allow people
with common interests or backgrounds to connect with each other. Do employee love pets,
vegetarian cooking, or the environment? Do employee share a cultural background or special
need with other employees? Chances are employee will find a network of people with similar
interests and/or needs at Microsoft, and employee can connect with them as employee
develop their career and lifestyle. Being a part of the Microsoft community is a rich, fulfilling
experience.

MICROSOFT PERFORMANCE REVIEW FORM: Key Sections.

Part 1. Performance Review and Planning
A. Evaluate Performance against Objectives

List each performance objective in priority order

Beneath each performance objective summarize and rate results for this Review
period

Discuss specific reasons for the level of performance achieved on each objective, for
example:
Personal factors that helped or hindered performance
Situational factors (e.g., resources, people, events) that helped or hindered
performance

Give constructive suggestions for how performance could be improved

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:

Resources, tools, or other kinds of support
Training or development needs

Performance objectives should be mutually agreed upon by employee and manager

If employee are a manager, objectives should cover their contribution to their group or
organization, as well as their individual contribution

If employee are a senior manager, include steps employee are taking to understand
and value diversity in their organization

Part 2. Competency and Career Development

At Microsoft, each employee is responsible for owning and driving his/her own development.
The employees manager is responsible for providing appropriate mentoring and guidance.
This section of the Performance Review process provides a framework for a useful
employee-manager discussion. Ratings are not used in this part of the Review.
A. Identify and Discuss Strengths and Weaknesses

In this section, the employee should briefly evaluate his/her competencies:

Strengths or personal assets (e.g., attributes, skills, knowledge, experience)
that can be leveraged for career development
Current weaknesses or personal liabilities (e.g., attributes, skills, knowledge,
experience) that may limit career development

The Microsoft Competencies can be very helpful in identifying and articulating

strengths and weaknesses.

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:

Resources, tools, or other kinds of support
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.
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

Part 3. General Comments

A. Employee Comments:

Feel free to comment on work assignment, the Review process, or the company as a
whole.

B. Reviewer Comments:

Note any additional comments regarding employees accomplishments and/or

performance trends.

Both the reviewer and the employee were required to complete the review form which
became the basis of at least two one-on-one feedback sessions. The on-line form was also
linked to other resources and help such as Microsoft Success Factors/Competencies, Giving
and Receiving Effective Feedback and Managing Employee Performance.

Part 4. Overall Rating and Signatures

Rating
5.0

Definition
Exceptional performance rarely achieved. Marked by precedent-setting results
beyond the scope of the position.

Demonstrates the highest standards of

performance excellence relative to individuals with comparable levels of

Rating
4.5

Definition
responsibility.
Consistently exceeds

all

position

requirements

and

expectations.

Accomplishments are highly valued and may be well beyond the scope of the
position. Demonstrates higher standards of performance excellence relative to
individuals with comparable levels of responsibility.
Consistently exceeds most position requirements

4.0

and

expectations.

Accomplishments are often noteworthy. Overall performance is consistently

above levels of quality and quantity relative to individuals with comparable
levels of responsibility.
Exceeds some position requirements and expectations.

3.5

Successfully

accomplishes all objectives. Overall performance consistently matches levels

of quality and quantity relative to individuals with comparable levels of
responsibility.
Meets position requirements and expectations.

3.0

objectives.

Accomplishes most or all

Some aspects of overall performance may require additional

development or improvement to match levels of quality and quantity relative to

individuals with comparable levels of responsibility.
Falls below performance standards and expectations of the job. Demonstrates

2.5

one or more performance deficiencies that hinder acceptable performance

1.0-2.0

relative to individuals with comparable levels of responsibility.

Does not meet minimum requirements in critical aspects of the job and has
numerous performance deficiencies that prevent success at Microsoft.

MICROSOFT AT INDIA
Microsoft Indias HR Approach

Organizational capability & change

Talent management
Leadership
Technical training for developers & software architects

Microsoft Indias HR Growth Model

S

Career Management

Microsoft India provides both vertical and lateral growth. Lateral growth through job

rotation.
Six business units have different business divisions where employees can make

career.
Research,
Development,
Testing,
Consulting,
Sales & Marketing,
Technical support,
Senior Employees behave as Mentors.

Flexible Work Timings

It enables employees work according to their convenience

Sense of responsibility and discipline
Helps in building rapport
Served as retention scheme for employees

Employee Retention at Microsoft India Global Technical Support Center (MSGTSC)

MSGTSC located in Bangalore providing 24/7 services

They conducted a questionnaire survey
Details are collected to frame an Employee value proposition
8 needs in Employee value proposition
Working with technology everyday
Caring for every employee
Working in an energizing environment
People friendly benefits
Building careers in life
Recognizing great work

 Enjoying each day

Making a difference globally
Launched Employee and Microsoft, Living the Experience together!
Performance Appraisal & Compensation System
Brummell changed the performance review system called as forced curve system introduced
in early 1980s. In this system numbers of employees rated with best ranking were limited.
While bringing changes in forced curve system she faced opposition from Ballmer the CEO
proving the concept of David (2003) people resist to change. Brummell was partially able to
cope with situation by modifying the system however she was not fully successful to make
system according to employees suggestions. She also reinstated the stock option to previous
position of 15% discount, resulting in boasting employee morale. Brummell asked the
employees for there need and areas where they want change followed the concept of Maslow
(1934) regarding employees needs. She implemented the change in same manner which was
proposed by Levin and Gottlieb (2009). Higher compensation is now given based on Skills,
Experience of candidates.

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.Employee benefits were standardized.Flexible Benefits in India.

At

Microsoft India they understand that each employee has unique benefit needs and to meet that
they offer flexible benefits. Flexible benefits puts the control in their hands to choose the mix
of benefits that best suit employee and their family. They make the benefits fit employee
instead of just offering a standard set of benefits. Heres a birds-eye view.
Health and Wellness
They provide comprehensive and flexible healthcare coverage for employee and their eligible
dependents. Plus they offer dental and vision coverage, on-site health screenings,

reimbursement of health club memberships, access to medical facilities on campus as well as

office ergonomics resources and tools.
Family and parenting
Their family will enjoy a wide range of benefits, including maternity leave, paid time off for
new moms and dads, and reimbursement of crche fees.
Investing
They provide an employee stock purchase program that allows employees to purchase shares
of Microsoft stock at a discount.
Giving together
They love giving to their communities and to causes that their employees care most about.
They match the money employee contribute to eligible charities or educational institutions up
to Rs 50,000 per employee per year. It's just another way that Microsoft employees are
making a difference!
Learning and development
They encourage constant learning so employee can stay sharp. Engage in any of over 2,000
internal training programs that are offered online, virtually, or in classrooms around the
globe. Employee cant beat the level of investment they place on career development.
Womens Empowerment
Special recruitment drives to raise the female to male ratio in the workforce.
One-India womens conference conducted annually.
Microsoft Corporation is in the list of 100 best companies for working women for
eight consecutive years till 2010.
Work-Life Balance
In 2007 launched a program called Bring their child to work.
Initiated as a family-friend HR policy.
500 children across the country participated.
HR Metrics Followed by Microsoft India
Organization health
Staffing
Talent management

Diversity
Manager capability
Learning & development
Leadership development
Rewards

Community Work by Employees

Microsoft India earmarked one of the months in a year for employees to work for
social cause of their choice.
In 2000, MSIDC started a culture of contribution in which employees donated money
to social service organization.

CSR ACTIVITY OF MICROSOFT

Their commitment to citizenship is brought to life by the work they do in serving
communities, championing the growth of their people, and meeting their commitment to
responsible business policies and practices. Steve Ballmer
This past year they took the first bold steps in their transformation to a devices and services
company. In July 2013, they declared that Microsofts focus will be to create a family of
devices and services for individuals and businesses that empower people around the globe at
home, at work and on the go, for the activities they value most.
Fiscal Year 2013 was a pivotal year for Microsoft and that was reflected in their
citizenship work. This report describes that work and shares their vision for what lies ahead.
Published at the same time as their annual financial report, it provides a full accounting of
their citizenship priorities and performance.
Report Highlights:

 Their 30th employee giving campaign, in which the company matches employee
financial and volunteer contributions. In Fiscal Year 2013, Microsoft and its
employees gave more than $100 million to over 18,000 nonprofits worldwide, and
surpassed $1 billion of total contributions since their first campaign in 1983.
The launch of Microsoft YouthSpark, a global initiative to connect hundreds of
millions of youth with opportunities for education, employment and entrepreneurship.
In its first year, YouthSpark empowered more than 100 million youth in over 100
countries.
Through Technology for Good,they donated $795 million in software to more than
70,000 nonprofits. They also developed a program to donate Office 365 to nonprofits
in 41 countries and help them better serve their communities.
To address climate change,they met their goal of carbon neutrality by establishing an
internal carbon fee to guide responsible choices and practices that help us minimize
their environmental footprint.
They enhanced their transparency practices by releasing their first report of law
enforcement requests for Microsoft account user data. This report detailed the number
of data requests they received from official legal entities, the number of requests they
granted, and the rigor of their review process for each request.

BIBLOGRAPHY
www.google.com
www.wikipedia.com
www.microsoft.com