Why does Microsoft need the Arab employees community?
A diversity of opinions and of people is an important part of organizational innovation, and of adopting new ideas and new ways of working in general. Right now it's hard to recruit and retain Arab employees, for a range of reasons, so Microsoft's leadership set out to find ways to bring more people from Arab society into the organization. The Arab employees community drives that goal forward and helps talent from Arab society integrate and feel at home at Microsoft.
How was the community founded?
The idea came from leadership, but we were already "ready," because we were already doing most of what the community does today on our own: networking, helping each other, and promoting diversity and inclusion in all kinds of small and large ways across the organization. What was missing was the organization's formal structure. We knew where the pain points were, because we'd experienced them firsthand, and now we had a chance to spare others from them. 5 of us Arab employees at Microsoft stepped up and founded the community together with the nonprofit Co-Impact, an initiative that advances the employment of tech professionals, women and men, from Arab society.
Leadership first reached out to Dr. Tamer Salman, one of the senior people in the organization, and asked him to lead the community. In the end we brought together 15 employees who wanted to take part. It was easy to find people who cared and wanted to get involved, because the need was huge and everyone understood it.
Every community at Microsoft has a sponsor, and ours is the Head of HR. The leading team (the 15 volunteers) held 6 sessions with an organizational consultant from Co-Impact, and together we built the community's infrastructure and structure. To grow the community, a few months ago we sent an email to all employees explaining our projects, with a call to join and contribute. Each project has a lead and a point of contact, a description of the plans we're advancing, and a call for help. The door to join and contribute to the streams is open to everyone, not just to Arabs. Anyone who wants to contribute is welcome.
What is the Arab employees community and how does it work?
We meet once every few months. We set ourselves a goal of 10 projects and split into small streams of 2 to 3 employees. Each stream took on a project, headed by a lead who manages it and reports on its status. It's very similar to how you run a project in tech.
We've already finished 6 projects, with up to 4 more on the way. The project I lead is called the Candidate Buddy Program. We realized there's a gap between Arab and non-Arab candidates interviewing for the same role that has nothing to do with their quality or ability. The gap is most noticeable among students and juniors. The project's goal is to create equal opportunity through full support during the interview process: tips for the interview itself, how to prepare beforehand, how to conduct yourself in the room, and what the hiring stages look like. Experienced people have a lot of tips to offer, because unfortunately they experienced those gaps and anxieties firsthand, and we all want to spare "the younger generation" from that. It's a gift we want to give them, for free.
Another project that matters to me personally is recruiting and empowering Arab women in tech. In this project we pair outstanding Arab female students with mentors from inside Microsoft: highly successful, senior women who guide them for 6 months through personal empowerment workshops, soft skills and everything they need to succeed at large companies like Microsoft.
One of our future programs is to guide managers on how to work with Arab employees, how to interview them and how to onboard them.
On retention: just as we pair a buddy with every candidate who comes to interview, we do the same after they're hired, especially for juniors and students, pairing them with someone who helps them settle into the company. There's another dimension too. We want employees who join Microsoft to reach senior positions and genuinely take a bigger part in the tech industry. We create programs and tools that help high-potential employees reach senior positions and roles within the company.
When did you realize the community was succeeding?
In all kinds of moments, small and large, where we saw more diversity and inclusion and a broader view of Israeli society. Take the donations project: the most natural thing for Microsoft is to work with well-known Israeli nonprofits. We realized that very few of them worked with nonprofits operating in Arab society. We've already run a first campaign for a nonprofit that works in Arab society, and we raised the amount they needed in a short time.
Microsoft also opened a center in Nazareth. That's a powerful statement, and a recognition that there's talent in the Arab world and that the company is willing to work for it. We're starting to build networking and an ecosystem in the north that will bring more people into the field, into the big companies, and into Microsoft in particular.
Another achievement, in my eyes, is that Microsoft now has a page in Arabic and publishes everything in both Hebrew and Arabic.
Cracking the win-win: how do you make sure both the community and the organization get value?
The win for the community: members feel they're working both for the organization and for the society they came from. We're all driven by a sense of mission, and we achieve goals like developing tech in the periphery and bringing Arab women and disadvantaged groups into a major organization like Microsoft. It's fun to do something beyond the day job, and of course it creates a sense of connection to the organization.
The win for the organization: Microsoft realized it wants to attract employees from Arab society, because there's a huge amount of talent and excellent people who don't always make it to companies like Microsoft because of all kinds of barriers. The company wants to open itself up to all the talent in Israeli society and make hiring and retention easier and more effective.
What challenges did you face?
Beyond recruiting Arab employees into tech, one of the biggest challenges is making sure they advance and grow within the organization. That's why we've promoted projects that give high-potential employees the tools to reach senior positions and roles within the company.
Tips for the community's success
- Microsoft gives us the freedom to be ourselves. It doesn't dictate what we do. We feel comfortable at the company. I feel comfortable being myself and voicing my opinion, and I know that even people who disagree with me will listen. That's one of the basic conditions for a community to succeed.
- Just do it now. Doing it will make you feel good, and you'll even give something back to your community.