Behind-the-scenes: Microsoft’s pandemic playbook

While you may have read about how Microsoft has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, I'd like to give a behind-the-scenes look at how the Microsoft Senior Leadership Team (SLT) has been operating and share some of the lessons we’ve learned so far. 

In January, COVID-19 felt faraway for many people living in the U.S., but as we watched the news unfold, we understood we needed to be ready. On January 22, our crisis management team activated its response plan in the Greater China Region. From there, what unfolded was a series of thoughtful, strategic discussions and decisions that followed the pandemic crisis management plan we've had in place, globally, for years. Investing in a pandemic crisis management plan and a growth mindset culture helped us quickly make decisions that ensured the safety of our employees and our greater communities.

We monitored the global situation closely. On February 28, the SLT began to meet daily to discuss the latest data and news to help make decisions on next steps. Having a set of principles in place was extremely helpful. We spent time confirming that the principles from our crisis management plan were the ones we’d use, and then referred to those principles at every decision point.

The heart of our response and our guiding principles were:

1.     Put life safety above all else

2.     Protect the customer

3.     Protect Microsoft

One of the first things we did was make sure we were inviting the right people to the table. We quickly discovered that many of our employees already had the skills and experiences to help us navigate this difficult situation. Colleen Daly is one of those people. She brought expertise in translating health research and guidance into practice, and has been a guide for us on what local orders mean, what we need to do, and what to expect down the road. Colleen has deep connections with local and global health officials, which has been invaluable as we seek data to inform decisions.

Colleen isn't the only expert we’ve looked to for insight in our decision making. We’ve also worked alongside epidemiologists and statisticians from our Microsoft Research team and partnered with many external experts as well.

We set about to support our employees and the global community and maintain business continuity. The programs we put into place ranged from continuing to pay our hourly workers to making meals for community members in need. There has been a massive team behind all of the efforts and we’ve seen two years of digital transformation in two months. 

As a company, we've learned many lessons in the last few months. As I reflect on those SLT daily sessions, here are the top five:

1.     Lead with empathy

2.     Leverage existing crisis management principles

3.     Move quickly and move together

4.     Listen to the experts

5.     Communicate frequently and transparently, especially with employees

From a marketing perspective, we not only shifted the way we work with each other but also how we reach out to our customers and partners. We quickly realized we needed to support our global community with our technology and put together offers that get our technology to people for free, especially Microsoft Teams. We also got creative—transforming our ads from on-location shoots with a crew to producing and shooting entirely through Teams, and rethinking how we get together when we have to stay apart. The result was relatable storytelling in our advertising and more inclusive and accessible digital-only events. 

Despite the challenges these past few months—and the unknowns ahead of us—I’m inspired by Satya Nadella’s leadership and how the company has come together. I've had the opportunity to connect with more employees over Teams than ever before and build relationships with customers in our virtual executive briefings. And in this past year as co-chair of the annual fund for United Way of King County (UWKC), I've spent a lot of time fundraising and talking to people about how UWKC helps the community with housing and food during these times that are very difficult for many disadvantaged people and families.

While many of us are still trying to find balance—with our work, with our teams, and even in our own lives as we navigate this new normal—we’ll need to lead with empathy and check in on each other. In an interesting way, this time has allowed us to grow closer, learn more about one another, and connect in new ways. I hope you’ve enjoyed getting a peek behind the curtain on how the SLT has operated over the last several months. I’m hopeful that we’ll maintain these learnings to be more inclusive in how we connect and meet with each other.