Cisco, An Excellent Place to Work

Running Head: CISCO, AN EXCELLENT PLACE TO WORK 1

Cisco, An Excellent Place to Work

CISCO, AN EXCELLENT PLACE TO WORK 2

Abstract

Cisco is the worldwide leader in networking has transformed how people connect, communicate,

and collaborate. In 2011, Cisco was ranked twentieth place for the “100 Best Companies to

Work for” by the Fortune Magazine’s. The company’s steady growth, low turnover, high pay

and an array of perks gives Cisco a competitive advantage; highly satisfied employees perform

better and assist in contributing to increased profits. It is not a surprise that most of the new hires

are referred by employees. Amongst five comparable practices that Cisco personalizes to its

employees needs to differentiate itself from other “best companies to work for” include:

embedding a collaborative working culture; ensuring employee’s safety, and promoting their

physical and mental wellbeing; engaging employees and promoting diversity and inclusion;

realizing the potential of employees through development and training opportunities; rewarding

employees through competitive, performance-based compensation and benefits. (Cisco, 2010) As

a result, Cisco has been able to satisfy and accommodate its employees that have led to a higher

retention rate and increased productivity.


Introduction

Companies of the 21st century have gone through multiple challenges to remain

competitive and continue to grow. The new century brought drastic changes to the business

world including increased technology, world market integration, and more demanding

consumers. Organizations face the challenge of creating new strategies to remain competitive

and lead in the market place, while keeping control of its own internal complexity. A crucial

component of that success is the organization’s employees and the satisfaction that they have in

their roles and with the company. Cisco has been able to remain a leader in their field while

providing outstanding working conditions to their workforce.

Cisco has been able to be a leader in the technology, networking, and communication

systems markets while keeping its employees as a top priority; recognizing the importance of

employee relations and satisfaction in relation to the company’s success. Cisco understands that

their employees are in the heart of their business and for that reason; the company employs many

of its resources to make sure that their workforce feels valued and appreciated. Cisco Systems is

a great place to work for the multiple benefits and packages but it also offers flexibility, trust,

and empowerment to their employees. There are several areas such as the company culture and

policies that will exemplify what makes Cisco Systems a great place to work; this differentiates

it from other organizations. In addition, several challenges associated with having a premier

Human Resource provider will be examined, as well as implications for Human Resources

practices will be discussed to determine what other companies can learn from Cisco Systems.

Overview of the Company


Since its founding, Cisco Systems primary focus has been its customers. In 1984, Len

Bosack and Sandy Lerner, husband and wife, both worked at Stanford University and wanted to

email each other from their respective offices located in different buildings. However, they were

unable to do so because of technological inadequacies. As a result, the multi-protocol router was

created to deal with their challenge (Cisco Systems Inc. [Cisco], 2012). Since then, Cisco has

become the worldwide leader in networking by designing, manufacturing, and selling Internet-

Protocol (IP)-based networking products that are related to communications and to the

information technology (IT) industry. Cisco also provides excellent services associated with their

products and uses. These products are installed in enterprise businesses, public institutions,

telecommunication companies, commercial businesses, and personal residences worldwide.

Cisco conducts and manages its businesses in the United States, Canada, European Markets,

Emerging Markets such as Eastern Europe, Latin America, Middle East, Africa, and Russia, and

Asia Pacific Markets (Cisco, 2011).

Furthermore, Cisco provides a variety of products for transporting data, voice, and video

within buildings, across campuses, and worldwide, providing a major competitive advantage for

Cisco and its business customers. Cisco’s products and services are designed to help its

customers use technology to address their business needs and opportunities, such as improving

productivity, reducing costs, and gaining a competitive advantage. Its products are also intended

to help businesses connect more effectively with their customers, business partners, suppliers,

and employees. By integrating Cisco products and services into a single business network,

business customers can reduce complexity, increase productivity, and reduce their total cost of

networking into a single multi-service data, voice, and video network. Cisco’s products are also

used individually to connect personal and business computers to networks or other computer


networks, making it efficient for consumers to communicate with others or simply work from

home (Cisco, 2011).

Cisco is constantly using technology to update its products and services to effectively and

efficiently meet the demand of its customers. The organization has also implemented many

strategies to satisfy employees within the company. Cisco has been able to primarily focus on the

needs of its customers, and yet provide substantial benefits for its employees. As a result, in

addition to providing top of the line technology to its consumers, Cisco’s success is largely due

to the excellent working conditions within its workforce.

Distinctive HR Policies and Practices

Working Together

One of Cisco’s human resources policies that make it a great place to work is its

collaborative working culture where communication, technology, and innovation are essential

ingredients to the organization’s success. Cisco promotes flexibility and allows its employees to

join forces from any remote locations, allowing them to telecommute through advanced and

reliable technology. The company stated that 95 percent of its employees take advantage of this

flexible opportunity (Cisco, 2010).

The flexibility of working remotely, also known as telecommuting or telework, has

grown dramatically in the 21st century. World at Work reported that in 2009 over 11% of the

United States workforce utilized telework (as cited in Golden, 2009). Golden (2009) explains

that the popularity of telecommuting can be attributed to the multiple benefits that it generates

for both, employees and employers. These advantages along with the quick decreased cost and

wide availability of technology have spun the way business is conducted in today’s world

market. Advanced technology such as databases, communication devices, software and hardware


programs allow employees to work closely and have direct relationships with each other,

overcoming the geographical gaps. Cisco reports to have a reliable and high-speed remote access

system that allows employees to access their work from home, providing the same access to the

equipment and resources of being actually at work (Cisco, 2008).

Accordingly, employees benefit from telecommuting as they enjoy the flexibility of

managing their increased family demands while excelling in their careers. Workers that are able

to telework report having less stress associated with traffic, uncertainty of weather, and long

distances. In addition, Hackman and Oldham comment that employees that telecommute are

more autonomous in their decision-making, enhancing their psychological state, and providing

satisfaction (as cited in Golden 2009). Cisco conducted a Teleworker survey in June of 2009 that

included 2,000 employees in which they evaluated the social, economic, and environmental

impact of telecommuting. The results reveal a positive job satisfaction from working remotely

and the benefits of work-life flexibility and productivity (Cisco, 2009).

On the other hand, employers also benefit from telework, as they are able to attract and

retain talent while reducing costs; fewer employees housed in buildings represent less overhead

expenses. Golden (2009) affirms that corporations nowadays are also sponsoring “green”

business initiatives which include reducing the amount of pollutants and carbon footprints such

as fuel consumption and auto emissions. Additionally, telework provides the opportunity of

business continuity in case of weather or security emergencies, allowing employees to remain

actively working without having to be physically present in a facility. Cisco reported that the

organization has been able to reach optimal levels of efficiency by allowing people to work

together even if they are physically away. According to Cisco’s Internet Business Service Group,


the company has saved approximately $277 million in productivity from telecommuting annually

(Cisco, 2009).

Telecommuting brings abundant benefits to an organization if it is well managed. Some

of the possible challenges are the lack of communication amongst employees and the company,

which can affect open innovation practices. However, if organizations have a culture of open

innovation, as Cisco does, then telework can be used as a mean to promote innovation.

Naqshbandi and Kaur (2011), explain that technological advances had created pressure for

organizations to create innovative methods to gain or remain competitive and to be able to

advance in the new world market. Chesbrough, Vanhaverbekem, and West describe open

innovation as a model that gives importance to internal and external ideas and allows such ideas

to enter and exit the company and the market freely (as cited in Naqshbandi and Kaur, 2011).

Cisco Systems has been identified by Chesbrough as an organization that “embraced open

innovation, relied heavily on external knowledge retention by forming alliances thereby adopting

external knowledge strategy” (as cited in Naqshbandi and Kaur, 2011). Technology and telework

have been used as tools to allow information to flow amongst Cisco, other companies, and the

market.

Similarly, exchanging of ideas amongst employees can be a challenge but according to

Cisco, their policy of open communication is in place to constantly promote open interaction and

information flow with the use of technology. Cisco Systems consider that this policy is an

essential component for the organization’s success. It is crucial that all employees understand

Cisco’s culture as well as the goals and expectations. Their vision and goals are available to all

employees and also communicated to them, as it is essential that each worker understands the

impact and importance of their roles. Cisco promotes a culture of openness around the


company’s goals. They encourage their workforce to participate with senior management in

virtual meeting and activities, as well as the usage of the intranet to promote open lines of

communication (Cisco, 2010).

Above all, the increased demand for telecommuting in today’s world has driven

companies to implement policies and practices in order to keep a well-balanced work

environment and to make sure that telework is a well-utilized benefit. Golden (2009) explains

that Cisco has implemented such policies to avoid misunderstandings, establish effective ways of

communications between employees and their manager, set mutual expectations, clarify goals,

reach agreements as far as working hours, and provide standardization. He further clarifies that

telework has been shifting away from being an informal program to be a well-recognized and

utilized method implemented across global enterprises and it has developed to be an accepted

work practice.

A Safe and Healthy Environment

Cisco’s Human Resource practice of a safe and healthy work environment also ensures

the company’s success. Cisco is committed to protecting the health and well-being of their

employees by offering their employees the freedom to choose how, when and where they work.

Through Cisco’s technology, employees are able to work from home or any location worldwide

and still have access to the equipment and resources at headquarters (Cisco, 2012). Research

shows that coordinating effective health promotion, job safety, and health programs all tackle

individual and organizational variables simultaneously as they improve employees’ health and

safety while on the job (Goetzel, Ozminkowski, Bowen & Tabrizi, 2008). Although the

worldwide spread of employees presents many challenges in monitoring the health and safety of

their employees, Cisco has implemented several ways to provide a healthy work environment.


Health and safety.

Cisco’s work environment supports their employees’ health and wellbeing by providing a

wide-range of health and wellbeing programs. For example, the Occupational Health and Safety

Program helps identify and reduce the risk of injury and illness throughout the company. Cisco

uses location teams to monitor the effectiveness of the program across their operations by

making sure management is practicing standardized health and safety instilled by the program.

According to Cisco’s 2011 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report, the majority of the

employees’ injuries at work are ergonomics issues. As a result, Cisco raises awareness and

prevention of ergonomic-related injuries through their Global Ergonomic Program. Office-based

employees benefit the most from this program because it provides in-person and virtual support

to help identify, measure, and reduce ergonomic risks (Cisco, 2011).

In its Lab Safety Program, Cisco follows global regulations and industry standardizations

by using a risk-based approach that provides assistance on assessing, communicating, and

managing lab-based safety hazards. Cisco also measures employee injury and illness rates to try

to improve rates each year. In the past year, Cisco saw significant drops in the rate of injuries and

illnesses for U.S. operation based employees. For example, according to the Cisco’s 2011 CSR

Report, employee injury and illness rate fell 0.03 per 100 full-time employees and the rate of

injuries and illnesses that resulted in lost work time decreased significantly as well, from 0.14 in

FY10 to 0.03 per 100 employees in FY11. However, research has shown that some companies

have excess costs in medical, pharmacy, and time away from work because of excess health risks

implemented for employees (Edington & Schultz, 2008). Cisco, on the other hand, has been able

to establish the employee benefit programs without having the excessive costs in health-related

amenities, which lead to the decrease in injury and illnesses. Furthermore, Cisco’s Global Safety,


Security, and Business Resiliency department is responsible for the protection of employees,

along with property, revenue, and physical assets, in any natural disaster such as tsunamis,

earthquakes, typhoons, etc (Cisco, 2011).

The many programs established by Cisco’s Human Resource department help provide all

employees with the feeling of safety and security in their work environments. These attributes

can bring about increased productivity and attitude improvements. According to Downey and

Sharp (2007), their research revealed that “such programs will provide savings in indirect costs

such as productivity, recruitment and turnover” (as cited in Goetzel, Ozminkowski, Bowen &

Tabrizi, 2008). Furthermore, Cisco also provides other benefits to their employees such as health

insurance and programs that cover common health-related issues.

Health and well-being.

Cisco provides health insurance that offers several benefits, such as medical, disability,

and life insurance to eligible employees. In addition, Cisco has developed more programs that

cover health-related issues such as pregnancy, healthy living, and condition management to

encourage healthy, balanced lifestyles. For example, Cisco’s Wellness Challenges are six-week

programs that are offered once per quarter to employees and their spouses or domestic partners

that encourages healthy behaviors. The challenges focus on eating healthy, improving sleep

habits, and increasing exercise. Winners of the challenges are offered $100 per challenge, which

provides a great incentive for employees to participate. Furthermore, U.S. based employees have

access to support programs such as prenatal and eldercare assistance. In other worldwide

headquarters and campuses, Cisco offers clinics, health centers, pharmacies, and vision centers

(Cisco, 2011).


Cisco is also committed to helping employees balance between family and work. In the

past year, Cisco has opened childcare center in some of their worldwide facilities in addition to

the facilities already located in some U.S. headquarters. Additionally, Cisco offers referrals for a

variety of services such as employees having difficulty balancing work and personal demands, a

global employee tuition assistance program, and a child scholarship fund for the children of

deceased employees (Cisco, 2011).

All these benefits and programs help employees balance their lives while being

productive at the workplace.

An Open and Diverse Culture

As companies try to globalize, they have had to become more interactive among people

from diverse cultures, beliefs, and backgrounds than ever before. People are now part of a

worldwide economy with completion coming from nearly every continent. Maximizing and

capitalizing on workplace diversity has become important for companies; Cisco has been able to

achieve this Human Resource success. Diversity Inc. ranked Cisco 37th of the 50 top diverse

companies. Working Mothers magazine named them one of the top five companies for

multicultural women. In 2000, Cisco exploited the market by making a profit of $550 billion,

making it the most valuable company in the world. (Chatman, O’Reilly, & Chang, 2005).

Cisco has not invested in the next generation of leaders to be charitable. They have

realized the propensity to implement its tactic in diverse competitive environment it is key to

have leaders who have unique skills and different managerial culture than the previous

generation. Cisco has acknowledged the obstacles corporate leaders face during the different

cycle an organization phases. Cisco’s leaders have learned to evolve through diversity,

challenges and has continued to grow. Cisco has developed a template that organizations can


utilize in attempting to grow their employees in a diversified way. “From 1993 through 2000,

Cisco acquired seventy companies. These acquisitions provided not only technology, but also

served as a source of management talent needed to run the company. Cisco not only liked to hire

people acquisitions, but also from their competitors” (Chatman, O’Reilly, & Chang, 2005).

Acquisitions is a method used by Cisco to acquire new gifted employees, and also looked

for employees whom were “passive job seekers”, in other word, people who were happy and

successful at the companies in which they currently worked. These particular people would be a

challenge to lure and Cisco had to think outside the box. Gaining insight of the likes and dislikes

of potential hires, rigging its corporate website to spot visitors from rival company to greet them

with a page that said, “Welcome to Cisco, would you like a job?” (Chatman, O’Reilly, & Chang,

2005) were just a few of Cisco’s acquisition tactics. Once Cisco found these great talents, they

had to create a plan to retain and keep good employees. Cisco used methods that included such

things as placing the executive offices in the middle of the floor and giving regular employees

window offices. Cisco offered a state-of-the-art daycare center equipped with nanny camera so

employees could check on their children. In addition, Cisco has an employee reward systems

"were aligned with company's strategy and values as well. All employees received stock options,

with over 40 percent of all Cisco options in the hands of individual employees without

managerial rank. Other rewards were smaller but still meaningful, such as a free dinner or cash

bonuses of up to $5000, that could be approved in 24 hours, simply for working hard" (Chatman,

O’Reilly, & Chang, 2005). Cisco encourages their management to reward the employees for hard

work. Cisco has systems to measure employee performance and ensure that the programs in

place are effective.

Pulse survey.


Cisco established many programs and strategies to construct its company, but how would

they measure development. Cisco applied the "Pulse Survey". The Pulse Survey is an annual tool

used to understand the employee experience and assessing engagement. Eckenrod said, "We

measure our progress by looking at whether the people who were discussed three years ago are

being tracked and are moving successfully within the company. We're looking at mix of our

leadership talent and the development of individuals in our pipeline. We're getting better at this

process because we see different people being identified and discussed now than we're in our

initial dialogue three years ago. We're improving our assessment skills and are learning to focus

on specific development outcomes" (Chatman, O’Reilly, & Chang, 2005). In 2010, up to 85

percent of employees participated in the survey, 5 percent more than 2009. Cisco attributes the

increase to the realization by employees that their opinion does influence leadership and

management decision making. As a result of the survey, Cisco takes the low scores areas and

implements a plan to improve them. In 2011, Cisco continued to review their reward strategy and

launch career development initiatives across the company and worked with employees to

develop new definitions for their experience that employees can expect from their employment

(Cisco, 2010).

Diverse culture.

“Diversity orientation represents an integration of human resource policies and practices

that combines into a ‘Bundle’ that directs the organization towards diversity and diversity

management” (Richard, & Johnson, 2001). The keys to diversity are organization culture,

acculturation process, human resource policies, employees, and results. An organization’s culture

must be one that values diversity, and make diversity a priority. Acculturation process - means

that the organization must accept and support all cultures and their different beliefs and


behaviors. Human Resource policies must consider holistically between different culture and

traditions and Human Resource policies must be evaluated on their effects on diversity and

performance. Employees must understand the organizational goals, and should be evaluated and

appraised based upon diversity objectives, for example their understanding and respect for

others. Results show an organization understands the impact diversity has on their company.

Cisco believes that inclusive and diverse culture brings value to their business. Diversity

gives Cisco large range of talent, resources, and help to ensure that their workforce reflects their

customers. Cisco Global Inclusion and Diversity Board regulates in four key areas: “Promoting

diversity on [their] leadership and management councils and boards. Offering development and

progression programs for employees from diverse backgrounds, such as the Inclusive Advocacy

Program that provides mentor and training to high-potential Cisco employees. Building a culture

of inclusion through 11 Employee Resource Group. Supporting our customers with inclusion and

diversity practices through an external Inclusion and Diversity Resource Center that provides

tools and resources for customers to build their diversity approach” (Cisco, 2010).

Employee Opportunities - Training and Development

Another Human Resource practice that makes Cisco successful is the wide range of

training and development that it makes available to its employees. In 2011, Cisco spent more

than 113 million dollars on training and development (Cisco, 2011). Cisco’s employees learn and

develop through the three E’s: experience, exposure, and education. 70% of development comes

from experiences, 20% comes from exposure, and 10% comes from education (Cisco, 2005).

Experiences include job experiences such as working on problems and tasks. Exposure includes

feedback or working around coaches and mentors. In one new type of mentoring, reverse

mentoring, younger employees are paired with older employees, and serve as the mentor. This


type of mentoring, introduced by Jack Welch, CEO of GE, has been found beneficial to closing

the generation gap between young and old workers. In the case of Cisco Systems in Canada, it

has helped one neophyte president learn how to video blog and tweet from a twenty something

year old (Johne, 2012). Lastly, education includes e-learning and instructor-led courses.

Employees have the support of management to develop their career goals and are able to

achieve this through Cisco University. Cisco University is a one-stop shop for an employee’s

career development needs and includes “training, coaching, mentoring, and job opportunities”

(Cisco, 2005). Cisco University provides a flexible combination of online and ground classes to

meet the individual needs of employees. Cisco University offers over 4,000 courses, with an

average of 70,000 course registrations per year in the areas of management, technical, and

professional development (Cisco, 2005). 82 percent of employees are enrolled in at least one

course (Cisco, 2011). Additionally, those employees seeking to transfer to other departments are

equipped with resources to prepare them, including interviewing skills, and resume writing and

preparation.

In 2002, the Technical Assistance Center Development Institute (TDI) was launched as a

solution for Customer Service Engineers (CSE) to improve their skills and performance and

contribute to Cisco’s emphasis on providing superior customer service. TDI employs the 3 E’s

along with four developmental pillars: technical training, professional development, leadership

development, and industry awareness. As a result, an employee would be able to achieve three

certifications: Cisco TAC Associate (CTA), Cisco TAC Professional (CTP), and Cisco TAC

Expert (CTE). With each succeeding certification, an employee would increase their success rate

of resolving their cases (Bothra, 2004). This would make the employee more profitable and

valuable to the company and at the same time greatly increase customer satisfaction.


Through Cisco’s intranet: Cisco’s Employee Connection, the company’s executives are

able to be in tuned to their employees and help improve their experiences from the numerous

short surveys, including what is known as “Pulse Surveys” (Cisco, 2011). From there, Cisco has

listened to its employees and launched Cisco’s Talent Connection and Cisco’s Performance

Connection, resources to ensure communication among all employees to maintain organizational

effectiveness. Cisco’s Talent Connection was developed and launched in 2010 and it allows

Human Resources, employees, and managers work effectively together to fill internal positions.

This system has helped to drop the rate of filling a vacant position by 22 days (Cisco, 2010).

According to surveys, employees are satisfied with this initiative. Cisco’s Performance

Connection allows employees to track their performance and improvements. Annual

performance reviews allows employees to review past performances and plan goals for the

upcoming year. Also, employees have the opportunity to meet with the managers halfway

through the year to explore career development opportunities. About 76 percent of employees

have found this to be effective (Cisco, 2010).

One of the challenges that many companies face are retaining a talented human resource

pool and for Cisco, this is especially the case being that their focus is on expertise in the fields of

science, mathematics, and technology. To face this problem, Cisco has created an advisory team

that supports public policies that promote and protect technology, investing in knowledge, and

innovation (Cisco, 2005). This advisory team is known as the Cisco Worldwide Affairs Group

(WWGA). An extension of this commitment to education around the world, known as Cisco

Network Academy, provides training to numerous global communities. In 2011, more than 1

million students were registered in 165 countries (Cisco, 2011). In turn, this allows employees to


make the connection of how their field of work is making a long lasting difference around the

world.

Cisco’s training and development opportunities for its employees and society contribute

to the company’s vision to make it a socially responsible, employer of choice, keeping it ahead

of its competition with the latest in innovations and strategies to provide networking solutions for

its customers.

Rewarding Our People

“Rewarding employees through competitive, performance-based compensation and

benefits” (Cisco, 2010), this is Cisco’s philosophy in relation to benefits and its employees.

Benefits are proclaimed the most complex aspect of an employee within an organization. Salary,

benefits, and compensation package can keep or lose valuable assets, the employees. It is said

that to have a healthy and thriving company it starts with its employees. Companies just like

Cisco have come into the realization that workers are people and not just numbers and these

people have children, spouses, and family obligations, personal and social needs that must be in

order, to work productively. Of these concerns, salary and benefits are the most important factors

to support their family life. Benefits and compensation assists in overall job satisfaction. There a

time where the cash package, being the salary, was heavily preyed upon and the benefits were

rarely ever used due to not understanding the value of the benefits package or less use due to a

younger generation of workers, the roles have reversed; the benefits package is the most complex

and important part of the compensation package. Cisco states, “We have a long-standing culture

of sharing our success with our employees. We provide competitive, performance-based pay and

benefit that reward innovation, collaboration, and profitability.” (Cisco, 2010). With that


philosophy in tow, Cisco has put in place various packages and valuable rewards to entice

employees to join the Cisco family as well as remain loyal.

Compensation.

A salary is just the tip of the iceberg when discussing compensation. In relation to a

generation that does not truly believe in company loyalty and job security due to the recent

catastrophe in the financial sector of our country, salaries are just the opening statement in

attempting to coerce a new employee or keep an existing asset. The advantages of cash are

perhaps the quickest and most effective form of compensation. Cisco prides itself on awarding

its employees through performance-based objectives. Cisco provides cash payouts for the most

productive employees. Another form of compensation is by rewarding exceptional employees

with stock options, this allows employees to share in the earnings they worked so hard to obtain

for the company.

An effective tactic Cisco utilizes is its relationships with its corporate partners.

Employees are offered employee discounts through many of their customers and merchants. Paid

holidays and time-off are also part of the compensation package offered by Cisco. To assist in

the growth and development of its employees, Cisco offers tuition assistance which also

employees to gain additional training for the job without fear of racking up debt. When one

leaves their job after putting in 20 plus years they would like to have security in the ability to

support their family while in retirement; Cisco has a tax-efficient retirement plan and the

company also makes a generous contribution towards those efforts as well. Recently many

company’s like Cisco have recognized the value of their employees and the importance of having

the right person and the right fit within the organization. “Cisco's bonus program provides a


direct link between the company's performance and employee pay, helping to align employee

and company goals.”

Benefits.

Cisco has a wide array of benefits for its employees to promote health and wellness, as

well as personal and professional growth. Cisco benefits including but not limited to:

Adoption Assistance Autism Benefit (Global) Children's Scholarship Fund (Global) Death Benefits for Family (Global) Education Benefits: Employee Tuition Assistance (Global) Education Benefits: Family Services Family Crisis Assistance (Global) Elder Care Program (Global) Employee Assistance Program (Global) Employee Bonus Program (Global) Employee Discount Program (U.S. and UK) Financial Education (U.S.) Flexible Work Practices (Global) Health & Wellness Programs (Multi-country) Health Insurance: Medical, disability and life benefits; dental and vision where

prevalent (Global) Insurance: Healthcare Domestic Partner eligibility (Global) On-site Cafeterias On-site Child Care Centers (two centers in San Jose, CA, one in Bangalore, India,

opening November 2010) On-site Fitness Center (Multiple Locations) On-site Health Centers (San Jose, CA; Bangalore, India; HealthPresence in RTP) On-site Pharmacy, Vision Center (San Jose, CA) Relocation Assistance (Global) Tax-Advantage Long-Term Savings with company contribution (ex. Retirement:

401(k)) Off/On Ramp Program (Up to two years off work, first year with medical

benefits) Employee Stock Purchase Plan

(Cisco, 2010)

The abundance of benefits offered exemplifies Cisco’s awareness and attendance to its

employee’s needs. The main categories of family friendly, medical- health and well-being, and

flexible working hours are at the forefront of the benefit plans. Cisco wants to ensure that when


workers are at work they are able to fully focus on their task at hand opposed to being concerned

with home or personal life.

Childcare is one of the most important aspects when it comes to developed and growing

families. Women in particular may need places to nurse their babies or even just feel comfortable

with going back to work; Cisco affords them that comfort and luxury by offering on-site day-

care services. Cisco’s flexibility efforts, in assisting with the balance of employees work and

home life, allowed them to be named one of the best places for women to work.

An incentive for living healthy has been a phenomenon to many companies. People want

to be healthier and companies want to assist in the well-being of their employees because not

only it is beneficial to have healthy optimal productive employees, but also cost can lower, as

companies do not have to support surgeries and additional medications due to poor nutrition and

health. Cisco has implemented a online healthy living community to assist its employees with

breaking bad addictions such as unhealthy eating, smoking and attempting to entice them

monetarily with a better way of life through the support of co-workers and others struggling with

the same temptations. Cisco provides its employees with healthy living coaches and programs to

assist them in reaching their ultimate health goal.

Flexible working is also an exceptional benefit when attempting to satisfy work and

home life obligations as an employee. Telecommuting, flextime, part-time, and Cisco’s off/on

ramp program. Telecommuting and flextime are great opportunities for employees to work from

home and continue to fulfill household responsibilities as well. Instead of quitting because of

constraints at work, Cisco allows employees to transition from full-time to part-time employees.

If there is a need for an employee to take a leave of absence Cisco has a program called “off/on

ramp” that allows employees to embark upon a career break for up to 2 years; employees are not


paid but are eligible for benefits. In working in collaboration with its employees, Cisco is

creating a safe and comforting work environment where employees can thrive and advance while

still maintaining a healthy, well-balanced home life.

Implications for HR Practices and Other Companies

Working Together

Cisco is a leader in today’s global business world. The organization has been able to

maximize efficiency in many areas while providing excellent benefits to its stakeholders,

including its employees. This company promotes innovation and communication through the

effective use of technology, which makes them a market leader and an example for other

companies to follow. Cisco has been able to understand the changes in the world market and

adapt quickly and efficiently. One of the major changes that revolutionized the traditional way of

conducting business is technology and the benefits associated with the same. This organization

has maximized these benefits to improve its relationships with the customers and employees.

Employees at Cisco benefit through flexibility, most of Cisco System’s employees

telecommute and manage to work well together while being physically apart. Telecommute, or

telework, has become a common practice for businesses operating in the second decade of the

21st century. This organization has been a great example of the how telework can be well

implemented and used as a formal business platform. Cisco was able to anticipate possible

conflicts and therefore has been able to embrace this business strategy. The company put policies

in place to make sure that the program was efficiently utilized. They provided clear regulations

and expectations that are well communicated and understood by their staff, as well as ways to

manage any possible conflicts.


Telecommute brings multiple benefits to employees, employers, and the ecosystem as

stated in the paper. However, it also brings challenges associated with it such as the possible lack

of communication amongst employees, the company, and the stakeholders. This lack of

communication can affect morale and business practices such as open innovation. Cisco has been

successful at keeping communication open through the proper use of technology and by

promoting innovation and originality. This company understands the importance of keeping

employees happy and listening to their requests and ideas. Employees feel free to share ideas,

which created a culture of open advancement and creativity. In return, Cisco gets high levels of

production, is able to come up with innovative ideas, and continue to be a leader in the

technology, networking, and communication systems markets.

A Safe and Healthy Environment

Cisco is a successful worldwide company that demonstrates many practices that should

be followed by other companies. The company has been able to provide many excellent benefits

to its stakeholders, including its employees. As a result, it is considered one of the greatest

companies to work for. Cisco has developed many different technologies to simply improve its

relationship with its employees. It has also provided many programs that give employees a sense

of security and well-being.

In organizations that have established themselves worldwide, it is a challenge to monitor

the efficiency and productivity of each of their business locations. As a result, Cisco uses

location teams to monitor the effectiveness of each of their employee benefit programs across

their operations. By having these location teams, Cisco can ensure that management is practicing

standardized health and safety. Other worldwide companies can use Cisco’s location teams as a

benchmark to ensure that health and safety is being practiced in all their business locations.


In addition, Cisco has learned that employees should practice well-being to reduce health

risk. In order to ensure employees’ well-being, Cisco monitors its employees’ injury and illness

rates, established programs to raise awareness and prevention of work-related injuries, and

established Wellness Challenges, which provides incentives to those employees that demonstrate

the practice of well-being every quarter. Because Cisco was able to effectively analyze the injury

and illness rates and take the proper steps to prevent injury and illnesses, they saw significant

decreases in injury and illnesses the past year. For these reasons, Cisco has shown its employees

that they care about their well-being, which increases productivity on a grand scale. Other

companies should be aware of Cisco’s success in ensuring well-being so they themselves can see

a greater effectiveness and productivity amongst their employees.

An Open and Diverse Culture

Companies have significant terms for qualification for employment. Some firms carefully

screen application for education, experience, and skills. For example, the Ritz-Carlton uses a

selection process that combines interviews that determine a person’s natural talents and abilities

with skills assessment tests for the position. AGA Catalog Marketing and Design requires a team

to carefully select employees to interview applicants for cultural fit, while Cisco require job

applicants to complete 5 to ten face-to-face interviews, ensuring the applicants will be a good fit

for the company.

Likewise, Disney provides extensive initial training on a wide range of topics and follow-

up with continuous on-the-job training and mentoring. At Edward Jones, new brokers attend 17

weeks of training at costs ranging between $50,000 and $70,000 per person (McAfee, Glassman,

& Honeycutt, 2002). While other companies provide a minimal initial training, little on-going

development programs, and poorly implemented on-the-job training. While others follow the


laggard method, Charles Schwab has taken the position to provide outstanding customers

service, employees must also be treated well, so after five years services with Schwab employees

are eligible for a four-week paid sabbaticals that can be combined with vacation times. Cisco has

an employee reward systems that consist of free dinners, up to $5,000 cash and company stocks.

Employee Opportunities - Training and Development

Cisco understands that a talented human resource pool is the key to their success.

Especially in their industry, it is important to stay ahead of the competition by having employees

that are experts in their field. As a result, Cisco has launched several practical solutions to ensure

this. For example, Talent Connection allows employees to remain dedicated to the company

while at the same time providing room for growth. This helps to retain talented employees that

may be seeking a slightly different career path. Cisco’s Performance Connection allows

employees to monitor their performance and keep track of performance goals and challenges. In

this way, there is an open dialogue between the employee and the manager. With management

being the top reason why many employees leave a company, a manager can now be viewed as a

type of career development coach. Lastly, Cisco’s Networking Academy is Cisco’s way of being

socially responsible and it allows employees to make the connection of how their work affects

not only those in their communities but around the world. This is important because it makes

Cisco employee’s work more meaningful and significant. These three initiatives allow

employees to assess where they are within the company, follow a customized development plan,

choose from a variety of flexible means to achieve their plan, and allow them to see the bigger

picture of their career through numerous volunteer opportunities. Thus, the likelihood of having

a complete and wholesome employee that lives and breathe the organizational culture is

increased.


Another implication is for companies to have an advisory group focused on finding

solutions to external environmental factors that affect or limit them. This can be a small group of

experts that are dedicated to promoting their industry in a profitable way and at the same time

benefiting society at large. This group would influence public policy and issues that concern

their company. For example, this group can affect the challenge of not having enough skilled

human resources, in the field of networking technology, by advocating for legislature that

promote and provide scholarships to students studying the field of science, mathematics, or

technology.

Many companies can benefit from the example set by Cisco. Cisco demonstrates that it’s

not enough to invest millions of dollars in training and development but to be committed as well.

In the training and development process, it is important that all departments are effectively

working together. It is also important that Human Resources are onboard as well. In this case, it

was Human Resources that suggested the effective 70-20-10 framework for training and

development. Also, it is critical that top executives are kept abreast to what is going on in a

company, especially one as large as this. The common denominator in the aforementioned

initiatives is effective communication between employees and top management. This can be

achieved through use of the company’s intranet and short surveys, for example.

What makes Cisco so special and an interesting place to work is that it invests heavily in

the development of its employees. Their return on investment is huge as their employees are

highly skilled and their customers are highly satisfied.

Compensation

All companies attempt to remain competitive not only through their work environment

and culture but mainly through compensation. It is important to not only compensate through


monetary funds but also show appreciation for contribution through verbal confirmation. A

simple “thank you” or “job well done” can go a long way in improving job satisfaction and

compensation. Many times when compensation is discussed the first thing that comes to mind is

cash. This recent generation believes in its self-worth and gains self-fulfillment through

advancement and recognition. Companies have realized the worth of the employees and

evaluated the cost of searching, obtaining and training a new one; it is worth the effort to offer

what the employee is worth and apply programs that also reward them for extra efforts that are

aligned with the company goals. Companies should use “pay policies and programs for

encouraging desired employee behaviors and discouraging undesired behavior”. (Noe,

Holleback, Gerhart, 2010, p. 505) To ensure that employees are receiving a fair pay in exchange

for their work companies should benchmark the specific job and pay against similar

organizations. Compensation is only a small portion of what employees expect when entering a

company that demands their time and sometime overlap with their personal and family life; next

to review are beneficial benefits.

Benefits

It is imperative for companies to be cognoscente of their employee’s needs, as individuals

as well as a whole company. Each individual is an important investment and asset to the

company that has to be nourished and maintained in order to produce at its highest level. Being

able to go to work with the idea that everything is taken care of at home opens the possibility to

great ideas and efficiency. If companies want the highest return on their human capital

investment they must begin by educating employees of what the company has to offer and how

the employee can get the most use out of these benefits. Human Resource Management has the

responsibility of ensuring that employees have adequate information to make the correct


selection of benefits pertaining to that person’s lifestyle. Employees should be aware of what the

company has to offer; this clarity can promote trust, appreciation and job loyalty. The healthy

living and awareness shows employees that their employer does have interest not only in the

work that is to be done, but also in the well-being of the employee. Flexible hours are an

excellent benefit that can be offered for no cost to the company. When the company is well the

output should be outstanding.

Conclusion

Cisco is an excellent place to work for several reasons. Embedded in their corporation is

a collaborative working culture, a safe environment concerned with promoting the mental and

physical health of its employees; a diverse and talented population; opportunities for employees

to further develop skills, and rewards and compensation like no other. These five distinctive

practices help set Cisco apart from other competitors in its industry.

Employees are able to enjoy such benefits as working from home, the opportunity to

collaborate and work with diverse groups, which brings about innovation and creativity. The

employees can do their work in an environment that promotes safety while working. They can

enjoy additional perks such as; wellness programs, childcare, opportunities to develop and

further skills, and competitive performance based compensation and benefits such as, employee

stock purchase plans and elder care.

Other companies would do well to benchmark this company. Cisco has demonstrated

through its practices that they work collaboratively and strategically with their Human Resources

department to reward, and retain their most valuable resources: human capital. As well, their

practices reveal that they find ways to effectively communicate with their employees to

understand, appreciate, and develop them. Their practices demonstrate that Cisco understands


that if their employees are satisfied, they are less likely to leave the company, and be more

productive, thus contributing to the organization’s effectiveness and success.

Most importantly, Cisco has shown that it maintains an open line of communication with

its employees, management, executives, and human resources to address challenges and

concerns.

For them addressing these five practices has enabled them to gain and maintain a

competitive advantage. It is for this they are again being recognized as the one of the “100 Best

Places to Work For.”


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doi: 10.1002/npr.10100

Criterion Does not meet basic criterion

Meets basic criterion

Proficient Outstanding

Provides overview of team’s employer-of choice through effective Table of Contents, introduction and conclusion

Does not provide Table of Contents with authors’ names, introduction and conclusion (0)

Introduction and conclusion related to the chosen employer-of-choice; may lack Table of Contents with names.(2.75)

Provides sufficient information about the chosen company to provide robust context for the rest of the paper; provides conclusion and Table of Contents with names. (3)

Gives detailed and compelling information about the company and why it was chosen, provides robust conclusion and Table of Contents with names. (4)

Discusses at least 5 distinctive HR policies and/or practices of chosen company

Does not discuss at least 4 distinctive HR policies and/or practices (0)

Lists and describes 4-5 HR policies and/or practices (5)

Assesses at least 5 HR policies and/or practices in terms of why this company is an employer-of-choice (6)

Assesses each of the 5 HR policies and/or practices with specific examples of how these add up to being an employer-of-choice. (7)

Recommends implications of these policies and practices for other companies

Did no analysis of how these Best Practices can have implications for others.. (0)

Presents implications of 1-3 Best Practices in terms of what other companies could learn from them.(5)

Presents recommendations for other companies based on all 5 Best Practices of the team’s chosen company.(6)

Demonstrates detailed team analysis and mastery of applying all 5 Best Practices to other companies (7)

Writes at graduate level including sufficient and appropriate references in APA style

Poorly written, incoherent sentences, poor spelling, unacceptable grammar and/or total lack of references (0)

Numerous writing errors but sufficient, appropriate and correct references or vice versa (2.75)

Very few errors in writing and referencing (3)

Virtually no errors in writing and referencing. (4)

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Documents

Cisco, An Excellent Place to Work