Microsoft's Secrets to HR Success

Ever wondered how a company like Microsoft approaches human resources to recruit, hire and retain some of the world's top IT talent? Scott Pitasky, vice president of human resources at Microsoft, spoke to an audience of federal HR leaders at the Office of Personnel Management earlier this week and gave participants several principles to focus on when looking at their federal HR strategies.

Pitasky opened the session by playing clips of three songs -- one by the Rolling Stones, one by the Talking Heads and another by a regional band that no one could identify. "I love the Rolling Stones; I can tell you I know the lyrics in every song, and sometimes I think we do our work that way," he said. "I encourage our teams to be experts in what they do and to be forward-thinking to focus on what business need we are trying to address .... Maybe we should think about a new tune and some new way to think about the recruiting work we do."

Pitasky first encouraged federal HR leaders to know the market by taking workforce planning beyond just an Excel spreadsheet. He also encouraged HR leaders to analyze the quality of their hires and the sources of those hires. A Microsoft analysis showed the company's best hires came from college, for example, while employee referrals resulted in a less than average quality of hire, he said. "I think our problem is not that we're not hiring good people, but we're not disciplined enough to hire for the right job," he said.

Pitasky also noted that all hires are not created equal and encouraged HR leaders to first identify the most critical positions where good and great performance can be differentiated. A great pilot will not get cargo to its destination any faster than a good pilot, he said. Once agencies identify those key positions, they can put recruiting incentives out there, he said.

Employment branding is also key, Pitasky said, and organizations should consider that employment brand is different from corporate brand. "Just because they know you as a company doesn't mean they know you as an employer," he said. "Whatever the perception is, if you don't give them information on which to form an opinion, they will form their own opinion."

HR leaders also should look at their goals and challenge themselves to achieve them, Pitasky said, noting that it's often more common to look at the process of recruiting than to think about the strategy. At Microsoft, for example, the most important source of hiring is from colleges and universities, so the strategy is to have a robust internship program that can convert those interns into full-time hires, he said.

Finally, Pitasky encouraged HR leaders to measure their success by considering the number of hires, the impact of hires on the organization, the ability to collaborate and share candidates, and the effect of hires on operations. "Success is a function of what you measure," he said. "It's not all about numbers and then what?"