A company official talks about the redesign of the headquarters

Sep 15, 2012 16:11 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft is considered one of the best companies to work for, but the leading position still belongs to Google, which is more like a god when it comes to this topic.

However, the Redmond-based firm is clearly doing a lot of efforts in this regard, and the living proof is the recent announcement that each of the 94,000 employees will get free tablets, Windows 8 Phones and computers.

The ace up its sleeve? More workplaces and less desks, says Dr. Joseph Williams, managing director for SaaS partners at Microsoft.

During a speech at TechEd Australia 2012, Williams revealed that Microsoft’s headquarters has been designed in such a way that it now focuses on IT, allowing employees to boost productivity by providing them access to the newest technology on the market. This is probably another reason why Microsoft’s employees will get so many free goodies: they have the chance to try the devices, find problems and fix them faster.

“We’re leveraging productivity tools in a way that allows us to reinvent the future,” he was quoted as saying by Gizmodo Australia. “We did a lot of ‘imagineering’, driven by IT. The design principle doesn’t emphasise desks, it emphasises working areas. We don’t have offices anymore; we have workspaces.”

So, the idea is pretty simple: Microsoft employees aren’t forced to work in an office, because they have the necessary technology to do their job wherever they are. This way, Microsoft boosts productivity and even allows employees to work on their projects without being at the office.

“Instead of having a focus on desks, we had focuses on workspaces. The vast majority of Microsoft Sydney does their work in the cafeteria. They sit down and they talk through the day. Employee satisfaction has gone way up. People like working in this environment,” Williams concluded.