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Microsoft has always been regarded as the enfant terrible of the IT industry. However, in India, that has not proved to be a deterrent for its employees. Most respondents in the BES Top 20 survey, spanning freshers, relatively less experienced to the senior management seem enamored with the company. And this might be the biggest pull factor for the 1,400 people who come on board Microsoft India during FY 08.

While image helps, a long-standing bonding with the company can only be fostered through more tangible offerings. And, as most of its employees endorsed, these have come in the form of perks and benefits, as well as quality of training. Microsoft has been universally providing a four-week orientation program for its sales teams, six-week for engineering teams, and a four-week program for those involved in IT.

On the flip side, Microsoft seems to have been seriously plagued by the quality of its managers. Most employees feel they dont care about their personal and professional growth; neither are they available when help or advice is needed. Of even more serious concern is the perception that managers do not encourage their subordinates to speak freely at meetings.

Joji Gill, director, HR, Microsoft India, readily admits these drawbacks. Her explanation: Microsofts constant endeavor to promote new managers is responsible for this. Sounds contradictory? But thats the fact, as the company has a large number of first-time managers who are really not yet ingrained in the art of managing people.

Rank - 5

Joji Gill, Director, HR

While this is a problem as of now, Microsoft Indias replicating some of its global practices could soon resolve it; one of these is the initiative called Microsoft Pool, whereby each manager gets measured on how many new managers he/she has been able to nurture; or the initiative whereby any Microsoft employee can have a mentor from anywhere in the world is proving to be a hit.

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