Microsoft Canada Development Centre

Number of Employees: 250
Head Office: Richmond
Quote: “We are constantly looking to make things possible, and the
work I do will be used by hundreds of millions daily”

If my company were a celebrity, it would be: DAVID BECKHAM
“He is the ‘best dressed,’ but still has an edge to him. He’s young, powerful and a driver”

Richmond is the virtual next-door neighbour to Redmond, the Washington town made famous by Microsoft. Each day, hundreds of Richmond programmers and managers contribute to a wide range of products put out by the software giant. The centre has a slew of programs to keep these satellite workers content, including free fruit and pop, corporate cash if workers want to form a club to go golfing, for instance, and a chance to contribute back to the community (workers recently helped pick fruit and vegetables for the Richmond food bank). But perhaps the one thing that keeps this workplace swinging is connectivity. The research centre runs a bus service to help its Lower Mainland workers get to the front doors and offers a host of high-tech teleconferencing systems so its teams can easily collaborate with others around the world – minus the jet lag.