Human resource management is the process of finding, developing and keeping the right people to form a qualified workforce (Williams & McWilliams, 2010, p.219), Microsoft as one of the wealthiest and most successful corporations in the world, it succeed with effective employees not only manufacturing techniques, or technology, because Microsoft has there own methods to manage employees. This study will focus on Human Resource Management at Microsoft Corporation. This process undergo Recruitment, Selection, Training, Performance Appraisal and Retainment.
Bill Gates is the driving force for Microsoft and from beginning of the company, he believed in recruiting extremely intelligent staff. He prefers to hire talent rather than hire people who have experience. Because he and cofounder Paul Allen believe that smart people are aggressive, as Steve Ballmer says, “when ever you meet a kick-ass guy, get him”. The recruitment strategies including sourcing people form the top universities such as Yale, Harvard, MIT, Carnegie-Melon and Stanford in the beginning.
Once selected, these students have to undergo a thorough selection process.
First of all, through interview to test students how they thought processes, problem solving abilities, and work habits, or not knowledge. Then, interviewers will send e-mail to interviewees whether they are hire or not, and comments on the problem area, and deep investigate whatever issues there were with the interviewee. This interviewing process will push them to their limit, if they thrived and survived this meant they would also thrive and survive in the Microsoft working environment. After this series of interviews, if over half interviewers were favorable, the interviewee would meet manager and managers make a final decision to hire or not. The last step is finding someone outside the hiring group so that his opinion is unbiased. This person is meant as a final check on that particular person if he is a good Microsoft person and also to prevent managers from hiring the wrong people because they need to fill a certain position. One of the most important hiring strategies is “n minus 1” strategy which means less people are employed than are required. This policy supplies that hiring the right people is more important rather than hiring a person just to fill a position.
Actually, the interviewing process is like a mini human resource process. Students are recruited from school, Microsoft select information uses interview, then interviewees are trained by improves the problem area and performance appraisal is like manager final meet interviewees.
Microsoft recruit staff from other companies as well. Once someone had been identified as “hard core”, Microsoft will be in touch with this person like regular telephone calls at discreet intervals, conversation at industry conventions, invitations to formal dinners. Furthermore, Microsoft took advantage of breaking opportunities such as company layoff, when recruiting team find someone with best talent and do not have job, they will go knocking on doors.