Creating a great Workplace Culture to Develop and Retain Great People Sarah Sherertz HR Manager Microsoft Australia

Where do you focus? Organisations don’t exist – people do A company’s ability to perform is reliant upon its ability to attract and retain great employees who can drive success in today’s complex environment.

The things we have in common Our company values The language we use Culture The things we have in common Our company values The language we use Who we hire Who we don’t hire How we communicate to each other Our location Our social interactions The systems and processes in place How we make decisions The things we don’t have in common How we get involved with the community The design of our buildings and offices Our incentives Our passions

Microsoft Company Values who we will become – our journey!!! 4

Building workplace culture 3 Critical ingredients Is your CEO a “believer” in people? Set your people strategies with the Leadership team Are your Leadership Team believers? Get 100% of the Right People in the Right jobs Is your HR Lead a “believer” in being a true business partner? Do they understand your business? Are they strategic? Do they have a seat at the decision making table? Your Managers are key to making your people strategy live Be clear on what is expected of them and how you will support them Meet regularly on how to execute on the people strategy Agree on what values and behaviours are needed

What we know Our People stay because... and they leave because... Passion for their work People Great company/Culture of Microsoft Clear goals Empowerment – ability to decide how to do their job Being on the winning team, sharing in credit for Microsoft’s success and they leave because... Frustration with their manager Work isn’t challenging or interesting Next career steps are unclear; no one’s thinking about it Lack of recognition and reward Exclusion from strategy thinking and key decisions Dissatisfaction with work/life balance 6

Employee Value Proposition

Great place to work – People Strategy Initiatives Make the Values REAL – off the wall and into hearts & minds Values workshops and Values Plus Feedback training for all staff Capability Leaders Manager Community Increased Change Management skills Development Meaningful development plans for all staff

Meaningful Development From “You own your own career” Manager involved Disparate, informal resources To Three way partnership Employee drives, manager assists, Microsoft supports Manager accountable Consistent framework across Microsoft

Our Approach Managers Employees Microsoft Accountable Quality Discussions Honest assessment & feedback Follow up on actions “Career Broker” Employees Personal Career Direction Needs Awareness Drive Action plan Follow up on actions Regular focus Microsoft Formal Career Discussions Online Resources Manager Commitments Manager Training Employee Training Career Models

Focused Development – Career Models Integrated components Career stages What is expected in current stage and how to get to next stage on chosen career path Competencies Set of behaviors that differentiate outstanding performance Experiences Building blocks for learning and growth

Great Place to Work – Our results Internally 89% of our employees would recommend Microsoft ANZ as a great place to work Employee engagement 80% - up by 5% YOY Manager effectiveness increased on average 8% Employee satisfaction with career development plans increased by 9% 84% feel employees act consistently with Microsoft Values Attrition lower than industry average (8%) Externally The Australian HR Awards “Employer of Choice” 2004 & 2005 100 applications per week

Final thoughts Agree on what values and behaviours are needed Engage your leaders and all of your managers Recruit/retain people who will take you to where you need to be rather than give you what you need today Understand why people leave and why people stay – listen & open channels of feedback Invest in a compelling employee value proposition 13

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