Thought Leadership
Microsoft has introduced new guidelines and tools for managers to increase the pressure on employees to perform. This emerges from an internal email that Business Insider was able to view.
Amy Coleman, Microsoft‘s new chief human resources officer, on Friday briefed executives on “new and improved tools to help you accelerate high performance and quickly address low performance.” The measures are intended to create a “globally consistent and transparent experience for employees and managers” and “foster a culture of accountability and growth”.
New measures in detail
The internal memo contains several specific changes in personnel management:
- Performance Improvement Process (PIP): A new, globally standardized approach that sets clear expectations and a timetable for improvement. Employees can either accept the plan or leave the company with a Global Voluntary Separation Agreement (GVSA).
- Restricted internal mobility: Employees with low performance ratings (0-60% on the rewards scale) or in an active PIP can no longer transfer internally.
- Two-year re-employment ban: Former employees who left with low ratings or left during a PIP cannot be re-employed for two years.
- Improved transparency in the evaluation process: The rewards processes are to become more transparent, with additional guidelines for each evaluation result and the presentation of payout percentages.
Coleman also refers in the email to CEO Satya Nadella ‘s recent remarks at an employee town hall: “Our success as a company depends on our relevance in our 51st year and beyond – in terms of our innovation, the products we deliver, and the impact we have for our customers and partners.”
AI-supported management tools
Microsoft has also announced “Manager Excellence Initiatives” for the coming months, which are intended to measure, manage and motivate teams. These include “scenario-based, AI-supported tools” to help managers prepare for constructive or challenging conversations.
