Introduction
Microsoft is a world leader in the field of information technology, supplying a wide range of devices and services, software, and IT services. It is one of the world’s largest corporations operating in more than 190 countries (Bellis, 2020). Microsoft’s portfolio of products and services includes desktop and network operating systems, devices, desktop business applications and office applications for end-users, cloud solutions, services and games, tools for working on the Internet, development tools, and other. One of the critical areas at Microsoft is working with technical audiences: developers, IT specialists, startups, and students. The company’s devices compete with various manufacturers of computers, tablets, and equipment, which offer a unique combination of high-quality industrial design and innovative technologies across multiple price categories (Vinayachandra et al., 2019). Even though the company is one of the largest in the market, it faced a problem caused by COVID-19, namely staff reduction, due to the transition to remote work.
Problem
The coronavirus, which led to a massive pandemic worldwide, forced people to switch to remote work from home. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, about 5% of employees worked remotely, and in 2020 this number increased to 37% (Yang et al., 2021). This measure was taken in order to stop the spread of the epidemic of the virus. Smith (2020) claims that Microsoft also decided to transfer staff to work from home, but the company involved people whose work could not be performed outside the company’s office. Many employees once working for this company will be forced to look for a new job. In addition to the pandemic, the company decided to reduce staff because some positions were no longer needed due to the transition to work with artificial intelligence (Goodison, 2020). Jobs in the company were cut, as well as some stores were closed, as a result of which, employees of these stores were also left without work.
Need assessment
Person analysis
The enterprise has made these strategic decisions because competition is growing, and it is necessary not only to maintain competitiveness but also to surpass its rivals. Undoubtedly, the company needs to look for ways to become more attractive to consumers, but nevertheless, staff reduction can harm the company itself. Microsoft hires employees who are highly qualified professionals, which means that by firing co-workers, the company may lose valuable personnel that could bring significant benefits to the company. Some employees may demonstrate a lower performance indicator than others at some time. Still, if to set them another task or help and guide them in the right direction, they will be able to open and show that they are worthy of staying in the company. Such employees include young people who have recently got a job and have not yet had time to demonstrate themselves in business. These people may have hidden potential, and their dismissal or transfer to another company may negatively affect its activities.
Task analysis
The main tasks of Microsoft are that they strive to become market leaders, as well as that they want to make people’s lives easier and more comfortable through their technologies. This can be achieved by developing and manufacturing new products, increasing the enterprise’s capacity, and increasing productivity. In order to implement these tasks, the company needs to retain its employees with the above solutions. Naturally, among the prospective candidates for dismissal, some people probably will not be able to bring the company the expected results, but those who can benefit the company may also fall under discharge. It follows from this that while the central staff is at remote work, it is worthwhile to conduct training for employees who can be potentially valuable to the enterprise, which can help identify precious personnel and influence the decision to reduce staff.
Key findings
It can be concluded that members of the company who have the potential necessary to achieve their goals and objectives may be dismissed. In order not to make a mistake when firing precious employees, the management of departments should conduct staff training and set tasks for them that will demonstrate how successful an employee can be who was previously planned to be cut. There are various ways of training and development of personnel that need to be applied in their work to preserve the part of the team that will not only develop on its own but will also help in the development of the entire enterprise.
Solution
Personnel training and development is a set of methods and approaches aimed at continuous professional development, development of professional skills, knowledge, and competencies, and improving the psychological characteristics of employees and their ability to communicate effectively. Forming an effective personnel training system is usually a joint task of the company’s management and the personnel management department. A properly structured method of training and development of personnel is beneficial both to the employee himself and the organization for several reasons. By developing employees, the company receives motivated and qualified, up-to-date personnel, which ensures the effective development and competitiveness of the organization.
Employees, gaining new knowledge and skills, acquire the opportunity to increase their career ladder or increase their value in the labor market as a more knowledgeable specialist. In order to maintain a staff of employees who may have talents, abilities, and knowledge, it is necessary to train co-workers and promote their development. In the future, based on the training results, it can be seen that people with the required qualities for the company to develop could get fired. it is necessary to draw up a training plan, highlight the main concepts and control points that will allow managers to track the progress of students (Rodriguez and Walters, 2017). The company has various platforms for training, such as LinkedIn Learning and Microsoft Learning.
The training, which is conducted personalized for each student, will help in the development and formation of a real professional. In addition to these platforms, it is possible to conduct training with speakers who have succeeded in their field (Jeffrey and Prasetya, 2019). This type of training can also be completed online using various platforms. Seminars with well-known successful people can give specific new knowledge and thoughts to people who have not yet realized themselves as professionals.
In addition to the proposed options, the company also has its strategies for teaching students. For example, a joint discussion of specific problems or tasks by students in the office or creating group chats on online platforms. For people who want to get a leadership position, the company conducts special seminars and mentoring courses to help aspirations and achieve goals. These courses are taught individually and with the support of other professional coaches. The company chooses the most appropriate training for different groups of employees to get exactly the knowledge and skills they need.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Microsoft is one of the leading companies in its field. Undoubtedly, innovations and the modern approach of the company played a significant role, but still, the work of employees who were able to develop these latest technologies and demonstrate their professionalism is paramount in the company. Without employees and their knowledge, it would be more difficult or almost impossible for the company to reach the heights at which they are now. Nevertheless, some problems can lead to staff reduction and dismissal of employees whose potential will help the company in its subsequent development. Currently, the coronavirus has become such a problem, which forced the company’s management to transfer some of its employees to remote work and dismiss another part.
However, to prevent a mistake and save valuable employees, it is necessary to work with the entire staff. As one of the work areas, it is possible to single out the training of personnel of different levels. The training will help unlock the potential of some employees and show that they can be effective and will be able to benefit and succeed the company in the future. Naturally, there will be those who will not prove themselves, and the company will have to part with them. Nevertheless, through training and control over this, people will remain in the company who will become a valuable part of the collection and, together with other team members, will be able to develop innovative breakthrough products, even while working remotely. Training can be conducted on different platforms and in various formats, but it is still necessary so that employees can realize themselves and help the company compete with other strong companies in this field.
References
Bellis, M. (2020). A short history of Microsoft. ThoughtCo. Web.
Goodison, D. (2020). Microsoft layoffs confirmed across its divisions: Report. CRN. Web.
Jeffrey, I. and Prasetya, A. (2019). The employee performance assessment and employee training, on employee intension. Journal of Applied Management, 17(1), 56-65. Web.
Rodriguez, J. and Walters, K. (2017). The importance of training and development in employee performance and evaluation. World Wide Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development, 3(10), 206-212. Web.
Smith, B. (2020). As we work to protect public health, we also need to protect the income of hourly workers who support our campus. Microsoft. Web.
Vinayachandra, & Krishna Prasad, K. (2019). Executing product broadening procedures for the sustainability of an innovation organization – A contextual analysis of Microsoft Corporation. International Journal of Case Studies in Business, IT, and Education, 3(2), 28-40. Web.
Yang, L., Holtz, D., Jaffe, S., Suri, S., Sinha, S., Weston, J., Joyce, C., Shah, N., Sherman, K., Hecht, B. and Teevan, J. (2021). The effects of remote work on collaboration among information workers. Nature Human Behaviour, 1(1), 1-12. Web.