Why companies are crowdsourcing office decisions

Many U.S. companies, facing fierce competition for skilled workers, have been finding that office amenities that were once all the rage — like free snacks, ping pong and beer taps — don’t always cut it.

Some employers are using a new strategy for rethinking their offices as a recruitment tool — asking current employees what they want. That’s how a Microsoft office in Boston got a top-to-bottom makeover that included team rooms instead of a full-on open office plan — and freestyle soda machines.