Insights for hiring managers
When hiring cloud professionals, having the right knowledge can make all the difference. Understanding what motivates candidates and learning the most effective strategies to position your organization as a preferred employer can help build sustainable talent pipelines, ensuring a steady flow of top Microsoft professionals into your business. So, what are today’s candidates looking for in their roles?
What strategies are employers using to stay competitive in attracting talent?
64%
37%
36%
| Engaging employees around the mission, vision, and values of the organization | 36% |
| Increased benefits and perks | 36% |
| Investment in training programs | 34% |
| Salary increases | 34% |
| Equality, diversity, and inclusive hiring practices | 33% |
| Increased leadership visibility | 22% |
| Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policy | 21% |
| Company profit sharing | 20% |
| Introduction of a bonus (monthly/bi-annual/year-end bonus) | 19% |
| Developing a business case for more resources | 17% |
| None of the above | 11% |
| Other | 3% |
| Engaging employees around the mission, vision, and values of the organization | 36% |
| Increased benefits and perks | 36% |
| Investment in training programs | 34% |
| Salary increases | 34% |
| Equality, diversity, and inclusive hiring practices | 33% |
| Increased leadership visibility | 22% |
| Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policy | 21% |
| Company profit sharing | 20% |
| Introduction of a bonus (monthly/bi-annual/year-end bonus) | 19% |
| Developing a business case for more resources | 17% |
| None of the above | 11% |
| Other | 3% |
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Hiring Microsoft professionals
LinkedIn poll
What are your top tech staffing challenges over the next 12 months?
36%
33%
32%
26%
24%
| We struggle to pay the market rate/what candidates demand | 23% |
| Lack of skills in-house | 22% |
| Talent attraction | 20% |
| An increase in demand for contractor/freelancers | 16% |
| Buy-in from senior leadership on the need to recruit | 13% |
| Personnel change (e.g., redundancies, restructure, and role changes) | 11% |
| Disengaged employees | 11% |
| Virtual recruiting | 11% |
| Our current training program is not effective in upskilling inexperienced candidates | 9% |
| We struggle to identify the skills we need/lack | 4% |
| Not sure | 12% |
| Other | 3% |
| We struggle to pay the market rate/what candidates demand | 23% |
| Lack of skills in-house | 22% |
| Talent attraction | 20% |
| An increase in demand for contractor/freelancers | 16% |
| Buy-in from senior leadership on the need to recruit | 13% |
| Personnel change (e.g., redundancies, restructure, and role changes) | 11% |
| Disengaged employees | 11% |
| Virtual recruiting | 11% |
| Our current training program is not effective in upskilling inexperienced candidates | 9% |
| We struggle to identify the skills we need/lack | 4% |
| Not sure | 12% |
| Other | 3% |
Are Microsoft professionals experiencing burnout?
Burnout is characterized by prolonged overwork and stress, leading to physical and psychological exhaustion. It can have severe impacts on both mental and physical health, causing employees to become disengaged by reducing professionals’ effectiveness and productivity.
According to our respondents, what were the main reasons they experienced burnout?
What are the main consequences of experiencing burnout for our respondents?
How is employee burnout impacting organizations?
| Reduced productivity and output at work | 51% |
| Apathy, diminished morale, and decreased enthusiasm for work and the workplace | 30% |
| Presenteeism (i.e., being physically present at work but not fully productive) | 24% |
| Lack of creativity in tasks, including generating innovative ideas | 24% |
| More mistakes in my work | 20% |
Conclusion
Burnout within the Microsoft community is showing signs of improvement, with fewer professionals reporting it than in previous years. Currently, 36% of Microsoft employees in permanent roles and 30% of freelancers report experiencing burnout, down from 42% and 34%, respectively, in our last survey. However, it’s critical for organizations not to become complacent.
Respondents noted that employee burnout can have a significant impact on organizations, leading to decreased productivity, lowered morale, and an increase in presenteeism—where employees are physically present but mentally disengaged. For those directly affected, the consequences are most notably fatigue and diminished job satisfaction.
But what exactly is causing these feelings of exhaustion and disengagement among some employees? The top contributors, according to respondents, are an excessive workload and a lack of autonomy.
Proactively addressing these factors can help organizations retain talent, boost productivity, and foster a positive work environment that promotes long-term growth and sustainability. Prioritizing manageable workloads and employee autonomy not only supports individual wellbeing but also strengthens organizational resilience and competitiveness.
The future workplace
Are Microsoft professionals happy to work in the office five days a week?
Microsoft Cloud professionals show a preference once again for a hybrid working arrangement (48% compared to 45% in our last survey).
We asked hiring managers of organizations that offer remote working whether they considered it gave them a recruiting advantage:
| Yes | No | Not sure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| An advantage in hiring new staff | 89% | 8% | 3% |
| An advantage in retaining staff | 89% | 8% | 3% |
| Yes | 89% |
|---|---|
| No | 8% |
| Not sure | 3% |
An advantage in retaining staff
| Yes | 89% |
|---|---|
| No | 8% |
| Not sure | 3% |
Are other employers offering remote working opportunities?
The future of work
With the transition into the ‘new normal’ now very much in the rearview mirror, it has become increasingly clear the direction professionals want to head. Preferences for how, where, and when to work were mixed as employees and employers first adjusted to new working models, but with the dust now long having settled, a strong trend has begun to emerge year-on-year.
In the tech industry, it’s safe to say that full-time office work is old news. Just 13% of Microsoft professionals indicate they’d be happy to work in an office five days a week, marking a decline from the previous survey for the third consecutive year. On the flip side, more than a third (36%) of respondents tell us they’d prefer to work fully remote—a proportion consistent with our last three surveys, though 1% lower than last year.
This means hybrid working once again comes out on top for most Microsoft professionals, with 48% of respondents citing a flexible arrangement as their ideal approach to work. Offering the best of both worlds, it’s no surprise that hybrid working models have topped employees’ preferences for three years in a row. With this year’s results up 2% from 2023 and 3% from 2024, it’s evident that this trend is here to stay, providing employers with a strong indication of what candidates expect from them in today’s market.
That’s not to say that offering a remote or flexible approach only benefits employees. On the contrary, a massive 89% of employers surveyed agree that remote working gave them an advantage in hiring and retaining staff, opening opportunities to tap into wider talent pools beyond geographical restrictions and providing a healthier work-life balance to both current and prospective employees.
Insights from currently unemployed Microsoft professionals
Top factors that are important to unemployed professionals when seeking a role
64%
64%
60%
57%
| Remote working | 57% |
| Company's values and culture align to your own | 51% |
| Overall benefits package | 43% |
| Company security and stability | 40% |
| Flexible/agile working | 38% |
| Health/medical insurance | 32% |
| Remote working | 57% |
| Company's values and culture align to your own | 51% |
| Overall benefits package | 43% |
| Company security and stability | 40% |
| Flexible/agile working | 38% |
| Health/medical insurance | 32% |
How likely are unemployed professionals to accept a role that involves working in the office five days a week?
Takeaways for hiring managers
Competition for talent poses a significant challenge for hiring managers within the Microsoft ecosystem, with 36% identifying it as the biggest hurdle to hiring in the upcoming year, closely followed by talent retention at 33%. Consequently, many organizations (64%) are investing in employee skills training to create an attractive work environment, with 37% focusing on work-life balance through flexible working arrangements and 36% prioritizing employee wellbeing.
Organizations in the Microsoft space planning to grow their teams over the next 12 months should take this into consideration. While offering higher salaries may yield short-term advantages, many businesses focusing more on employee upskilling and promoting a happy, healthy workforce as part of their sustainable talent strategies.
