Integrating Research to Create Retention Intelligence at Microsoft

1
Integrating Research to Create Retention
Intelligence at Microsoft

• Presented by
• L. Allen Slade, Lisa Sandora, Laura Hamill, and
  Kate Suckow
• Microsoft People Research
• at the
• 17th Annual Conference of the
• Society for Industrial and Organizational
  Psychology
• Contact
• L. Allen Slade
• One Microsoft Way
• Redmond WA, 98052
• allens_at_microsoft.com

2
Initial Attrition ResearchA Flurry of Activity

• The Context
• Activity
• The Deal Research
• Terminator Study
• Exit Research
• Monthly Attrition Report
• Retention Initiative Team

3
The Need for Retention Intelligence

• Lack of Integration in Research
• Maturation of Internal Consumers
• Change in Labor Market

4
Retention IntelligenceThe Quarterly Pulse Report

• The Quarterly Pulse Report
• Employee opinion survey
• Internal and external attrition data
• Exit survey data
• Special studies
• Impact Mixed
• HR found it very useful.
• Trouble getting in front of senior leadership.
• Lessons
• Timing is everything.
• Push vs. pull marketing for different audiences.
• Pulling the plug

5
Retention IntelligenceReconciling Attrition Data

• The problem of reconciliation
• Extending the monthly report
• Revising the one size fits all summary report
• Adding a drill down report
• Marketing strategy
• Push summary report with explanatory note
• Encourage users to pull detailed report
• Refine distribution list
• Single source for attrition data,
• Impact
• Well received
• Seems to have solved the reconciliation problem.

6
Retention IntelligenceTotal Rewards
Optimization Research

• Forced trade-offs among traditional and
  non-traditional rewards
• Criterion intention to remain at Microsoft for 4
  or more years

7
Retention IntelligenceTotal Rewards
Optimization Research

• Retention as an outcome to drive compensation
  strategy.
• Merging costs and employee preferences through
  portfolio optimization
• Collected costs, created set of assumptions for
  12 conjoint reward elements, and 20 pick list
  items
• Evaluated programs on basis of incremental cost
  vs. projected savings from increased retention
• Real time modeling of different programs
• Impact
• Drove changes in employee stock purchase plan
• Validated planned changes in internal staffing
  and management training

8
Retention IntelligenceRefining Our Metrics

• Exit Survey
• Simplification
• Addition of global terminations
• Searching for the Good Quit
• From Minimize Attrition to Manage Retention
• Lifetime average performance review scores
• Stock class rating (potential)
• Non-regretted attrition (the good quit)
• Differentiation between employees Review,
  potential, time in level
• Termination for cause
• Management AccountabilityMove em up or move
  em out