Short-term employee suspensions are the most frustrating thing for managers, but Sanjay Mirchandani, President of Microsoft Asia, sees this as a new way for the company to grow.
Irchandani convened a workshop among managers from the 10 countries he was responsible for to unify the way of working.
Mirchandani is very particular about reaching out to his employees. He believes that the best ideas often come from the people who are in direct contact with customers or business partners. These are the people who work for the company. “If you don’t listen to them, you’re going to have a lot of trouble because they’re the best people for managers to understand what’s working and what’s not,” Mirchandani says.
It sounds simple, but getting fresh ideas from his staff, which spans India to Australia, is no easy task. So Mirchandani has taken to talking to about 80 of his managers every day over the Internet. And he keeps up the habit of chatting with them whenever he’s online.
Mirchandani also spends about 70% of his time traveling for work, and more than half of that time is spent meeting with employees. He schedules meetings with everyone from support staff to software developers, even over breakfast every day. He believes that the purpose of these activities is not only to praise and encourage his employees, but also to collect new ideas from them.
Mirchandani said that the concept of “unplugging” here does not imply that work is constantly interrupted or that employees turn work into personal matters. Rather, he said, “unplugging” means that they can use certain time funds to discuss, find new ideas to build the company. It is even time for people to discuss their private lives, about the goals they set for the future.
Mirchandani recalls that last month during a “work stop” period, a top executive at the company came into his office and said he felt the need to open up more communication channels for employees. And he immediately put the idea into practice.
Business Forum
