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Tag: Kathleen Hogan

  • Microsoft Now Offering Unlimited Vacation to Some Employees

    Microsoft Now Offering Unlimited Vacation to Some Employees

    Microsoft is giving salaried employees in the US a major perk, offering unlimited vacation under its new “Discretionary Time Off” policy.

    Companies are trying to find a new normal post-pandemic, and Microsoft’s change to its vacation policy is being pitched as an adaptation to new, flexible ways of working. The company outlined its thinking in an internal email sent by Kathleen Hogan, Microsoft’s chief people officer, and seen by The Verge:

    “How, when, and where we do our jobs has dramatically changed. And as we’ve transformed, modernizing our vacation policy to a more flexible model was a natural next step.”

    The new policy goes into effect January 16 and will be in addition to the paid holidays Microsoft already provides. As an added benefit, the policy will also apply to new employees, meaning they will not need to be at the company a certain amount of time in order to build up vacation days.

    Those employees that have already accumulated unused vacation days will get a one-time payout in April.

    While hourly employees are not included in the new policy, Microsoft says the reason is because of the complexity of US federal and state laws, which would make it difficult to extend the policy to include them. The same is true for employees outside the US.

  • Microsoft and Amazon May Be Headed for a Fight Over Charlie Bell

    Microsoft and Amazon May Be Headed for a Fight Over Charlie Bell

    Microsoft scored a major victory when it poached longtime Amazon exec Charlie Bell, but the fight to use him may be just getting started.

    Charlie Bell was a 23-year veteran of Amazon and a leading candidate to replace Andy Jassy as AWS CEO when the latter replaced Jeff Bezos as Amazon’s CEO. Needless to say, Bell surprised many when he accepted employment at Microsoft, Amazon’s main cloud competitor.

    Initially, Bell was listed as reporting to executive vice president and HR head Kathleen Hogan, an odd place for a veteran cloud executive to land. As we mentioned in our coverage, the listing was likely temporary until an official announcement could be made.

    It appears Bell has now been given an official role, at least in name, leading the newly formed Security, Compliance, Identity, and Management team. He made the announcement on LinkedIn.

    I’m thrilled to join Microsoft to take on one of the greatest challenges of our time, leading a newly formed engineering organization: Security, Compliance, Identity, and Management. As digital services have become an integral part of our lives, we’re outstripping our ability to provide security and safety. It’s constantly highlighted in the headlines we see every day: fraud, theft, ransomware attacks, public exposure of private data, and even attacks against physical infrastructure. This has been weighing on my mind and the best way I can think to describe it is “digital medievalism,” where organizations and individuals each depend on the walls of their castles and the strength of their citizens against bad actors who can simply retreat to their own castle with the spoils of an attack.

    Bell also had high praise for his new employer, and its ability to help address these challenges.

    We all want a world where safety is an invariant, something that is always true, and we can constantly prove we have. We all want digital civilization. I believe Microsoft is the only company in a position to deliver this and I couldn’t be more excited to work with this talented team to make the world safer for every person and organization on the planet.

    The elephant in the room, however, is how Amazon will respond. The company is notorious for suing employees that leave for rival companies, citing the non-compete agreements they signed.

    Microsoft, along with CEO Satya Nadella, hinted at the potential issues Amazon might raise.

    “We’re sensitive to the importance of working through these issues together, as we’ve done when five recent Microsoft executives moved across town to work for Amazon,” Microsoft said in a statement, according to Bloomberg.

    Nadella told employees in an email that Bell would start in his new role when “a resolution is reached with his former employer.”

    Microsoft’s statement is an interesting choice of words, drawing attention to how it handled losing five of its own executives to Amazon. The not-so-subtle implication being that Amazon should tread carefully lest Microsoft give it a taste of its own medicine.

  • Microsoft Snags Charlie Bell, Former AWS Heavyweight

    Microsoft Snags Charlie Bell, Former AWS Heavyweight

    Microsoft has scored a big win, snagging Charlie Bell just two week after he left rival AWS.

    Charlie Bell was a heavyweight inside Amazon’s cloud business, a 23-year veteran of the company. When Jeff Bezos stepped down as CEO, and AWS head Andy Jassy succeeded him, many saw Bell as the most likely candidate to take over as AWS CEO.

    Instead, Bell left the company he had spent more than two decades with, sparking a major reshuffling to help fill the gap.

    CNBC has now confirmed that Microsoft has hired Bell, although he’s currently listed as reporting to Kathleen Hogan, Microsoft’s head of HR and an executive vice president. It’s a somewhat odd placement for Bell, given his background, and is likely temporary.

    However things shake out, Bell joining Microsoft is a big blow to AWS, especially since Microsoft is Azure is the AWS’ closest cloud competitor.

  • Microsoft Making Remote Work a Permanent Option

    Microsoft Making Remote Work a Permanent Option

    Microsoft is joining the list of companies that is making remote work a permanent part of its corporate culture.

    As the coronavirus pandemic forced companies to send their employees home and adopt remote workflows, many companies were surprised at how smooth the transition went. As a result, companies began to announce permeant adjustments to their corporate policies, making remote work a permanent option.

    Microsoft is now the latest to join this trend. According to a blog post, the company will allow employees to work remotely for less than 50% of their schedule. According to The Verge, Microsoft will also allow employees to transition to permanent remote work with manager approval. Those employees that choose to do so will lose their office space, but will be able to use “touchdown” space for those times they need to be in the office.

    “Flexibility can mean different things to each of us, and we recognize there is no one-size-fits-all solution given the variety of roles, work requirements and business needs we have at Microsoft,” wrote Kathleen Hogan – Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer.

    Microsoft’s announcement is just the lastest indication that remote work is here to stay. While some jobs require in-person attendance, the pandemic has shown that the vast majority of traditional office jobs can just as easily be performed remotely.