Dive Brief:
- With modest increases in the number of African-American and Hispanic/Latino hires and a drop in female employees from the previous year, Microsoft might connect senior managers’ bonuses to the company’s diversity recruitment goals, says Bloomberg Tecnology. The company attributed the decline in women to its separation from Nokia’s handset operation, which hired a sizable number of women.
- As of the end of September 2016, women employees at Microsoft dropped to 25.8% from last year’s rate of 26.8%. Despite the lack of substantial progress in hiring and retaining women, Gwen Houston, Microsoft’s chief diversity and inclusion officer, said she finds the increase in the number of women in technology and leadership roles as well as the company’s modest hiring gains encouraging, Bloomberg reports.
- Bloomberg also reports that Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, is making diversity a major priority. He’s expected to introduce the details of a plan that could base executives’ annual bonuses on how well the company’s diversity goals are met.
Dive Insight:
Microsoft and the entire tech industry has been criticized for the dearth of women, African Americans and Hispanic/Latinos in their companies. However, Microsoft is taking proactive steps to get them onboard. It hired human resources professionals with expertise in recruiting women and racial minorities and recently garnered good press with its successful program for hiring workers with autism.
Companies with disappointing recruitment outcomes can be proactive about reversing their numbers, as well. Taking strong measures like tying bonuses to goals may be necessary. The key to achieving any goal is to get managers’ buy-in, then get their commitment to seeing it through.
