ORGANISATION & CULTURE
employee growth, high potential and internal mobility. When this new framework was brought in in 2018, Kathleen explained:“ We needed some way for our leaders to be accountable to building organisational capability, to ensure that our processes were rigorous and our CEO could get an endto-end view of the depth of our talent.” This“ forward-looking” approach, she explained, makes it easier for Microsoft to“ avoid being blindsided and also helps cultivate talent in a way that encourages career growth”. For Satya, one of the most important elements of encouraging growth in this way is a culture of learning. This means encouraging employees to think differently by giving them space to fail, which he describes as a“ learn-it-all” approach. Speaking on the Hello Monday podcast, Satya explained:“ If you take two kids at school, one of them has more innate capability but is a know-it-all. The other person has less innate capability but is a learn-it-all. The learn-it-all does better than the know-it-all.”
The science of team effectiveness While Microsoft was rebuilding its culture through leadership philosophy, Google was approaching a similar challenge through data. The company’ s HR strategy has long focused on providing employees with autonomy through a data-driven framework,
CREDIT: MICROSOFT allowing the company to extract measurable insights and drive meaningful change. In January 2026, Google was named the number three best place to work by Glassdoor thanks to its collaborative employee culture, growth opportunities and focus on wellbeing. The business was also recognised by Fortune as one of the world’ s most admired companies, a decision made in part on Google’ s ability to attract top talent. Google’ s HR strategy has been led by Fiona Cicconi, Chief People Officer, who joined the company in 2021 following her role as Chief Human Resources Officer of AstraZeneca. Commenting on the Glassdoor and Fortune recognition
116 March 2026