A few months ago, I had the opportunity to work with a terrific executive team as they did some forward-thinking work about FY30. We held the session at Microsoft Canada’s impressive Toronto offices. The view is worth the journey to the 44th floor even for someone who’s not a fan of heights. I had the opportunity to tag along for the Microsoft teams presentation of their workspace and their new AI features. It was eye-opening and impressive.
As we toured the space, I was really struck with the way Microsoft has thought in a broad, systems way about their office space, office policy and rewards systems.
Let me share the highlights.
1. Rather than adopting mandatory full time return to office, Microsoft requires 3 days a week on average at the discretion of employees. On average meaning some weeks you may be in one day, other weeks you may be in more.
2. When you come to the office, you have the opportunity to sit in cubicles or book one of over 120 meeting rooms that are available across their four floors.
Why so many meeting rooms?
Because Microsoft expects team members to collaborate and work together. Rooms are set up with incredible tech and in inclusive ways that meet the needs of all employees.
3. What gets measured, gets done. Performance conversations focus in three areas:
– your achievement of personal goals
– how you learned from others cross functionally
– how you contributed to others learning cross functionally
Two out of three measurement metrics are centred around how you collaborate.
In the work we do at The Roundtable Inc. to help organizations shift from the heroic mindset of leadership to a more collective mindset, some of the barriers that get in the way to leaders sustaining those shifts is in the supporting structures that exist.
I love the connectivity that the leadership at Microsoft have created between the need of the business to increase collaboration in order to drive continuous innovation, how they have set up their space and in-office policies and how they reward and support people to make a shift in behaviour.
As you think about the key imperatives in your business, how well connected are all the pieces in your system to support what you’re trying to accomplish?
