Growing Talent In Our Industry allows partners to attract, train and retain the very best staff for the business. A well defined learning culture within a business makes it a more attractive proposition for new employees looking for an employer who invests in skills and learning. Initiatives including the six-step skilling initiative, Microsoft Apprenticeship Network and Digitals Skills bootcamps enable Partners to provide their employees with the types of programs usually associated with much larger corporations.
Enhancing Diversity and Inclusion is a key initiative to ensure that each member of staff is provided with a supportive environment to deliver their best work, a benefit for the company and the individual. Studies have shown that companies with the greatest workforce diversity deliver stronger financial performance than those with less diverse employees. Using this explanation for having a Diversity and Inclusion policy can backfire as employees from diverse populations are more likely to be attracted to companies who explain their Diversity initiatives as the right thing to do for fairness rather than financial gain. Another key element in this area is the generational shift with Generation Alpha following their own path on Gender Identity and are more open to expressing Neuro Diversity. As their impact on the workplace is felt, companies will need to offer Generation Alpha the type of inclusive workplaces they will rightly demand. With strong moral and financial imperatives for DEI, having the guiding hand of a global leader like Microsoft can help Microsoft Partners along the way. With tools like the Women Rising Programme and the D&I accelerator, the Partner Pledge offers Partners concrete, actionable initiatives to help increase their Diversity and Inclusion.
Shaping a Desirable World covers a number of elements. Initially grounded in Sustainability, this area has been bolstered with commitments around Responsible and Ethical AI. When it comes to sustainability, all the major IT providers and Cloud Providers have set admirable targets and arguably, Microsoft has the most stringent reporting and transparency on their Sustainability goals and progress. The Microsoft Partner Pledge has separate sections for ISV and Services Partners with a suite of tools and advice tailored to each audience. Services Partners can calculate their cloud carbon footprint, learn how to study the Microsoft Sustainability guide and use Microsoft Sustainability Manager to record, report and reduce their environmental impact.
Microsoft are also leading the way in AI with Copilot being included in more solutions on a regular basis. As Partners and their customers start to deploy AI, the need to mitigate risks whilst solving problems in a new way is critical. Microsoft provides Partners with a body of research and guidance under their AI for Good banner.
