Empowering, Caring, and Connecting: What Makes Cisco KSA a Great Workplace

June 22, 2021

Kamilia Aokal

On 25 March 2021, Great Place to Work® Middle East announced its Best Workplaces in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia™. Ranking top on the list is Cisco KSA, an organization utilizing what they do best to not only assist their customers but to support and provide for their employees during these turbulent times.Cisco embarked on digital transformation journeys with their customers in a period where a shift to the digital world was seemingly inevitable. The commitment Cisco had to their customers provided them with the opportunity that allowed their technology to grow amidst the ongoing pandemic. Notably, it was not a matter of willingness this year as trial-and-error periods were cut short and the organization was forced to adapt to the constantly changing surroundings. In turn, the current circumstances empowered them to continue achieving their business objectives in a highly productive manner. For organizations providing healthcare services, for example, Cisco helped ramp up ICUs and COVID-19 test sites with customized Cisco solutions.

Empowering Employees While They Work From Home

Empowering employees while they work from home was one of the primary goals of the organization. Employees were provided with the support they needed in terms of supplies/technology for an efficient transfer to working from home and building on their own technology, Cisco developed new programs to counter the stresses of working from home. As a result, and across all levels of the organization, employees stayed connected with weekly Cisco family gatherings to share guidelines, business updates, as well as shared experiences. To foster strong teams, virtual health checks (3-hour workshops) were conducted, only a few weeks apart.

For working parents, Cisco successfully created a Students@Home site to help parents adjust to the whole working from home situation. The site includes curated education resources, recordings, and links to hosted educational sessions, such as art workshops from a former Disney animator. Employees can easily share these best practices and resources via WebEx Teams (digital space created by Cisco). This initiative was extended to include Seniors@Home, a place for curated resources and activities that can educate, entertain, and engage the elderly.

WebEx team rooms also allowed for additional family support that included discussions on fitness, games, books with the engagement of virtual competitions for the whole family. For an opportunity for employees to reset and recharge, Cisco also decided to extend the KSA national holiday. Cisco made sure to keep up the momentum where they would continue with previous practices that celebrate new parents, Ramadan, and Eid which was accompanied with special gifts for employees.

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Caring for Employee Safety

Another primary concern for Cisco is employee safety. In the instance an employee was feeling unwell, their whole family was given access to expert physicians to share insights on research around COVID, and have any queries answered. For enhanced communication platforms, Cisco gadgets were utilized to help keep up with employee requests. Cisco also made sure to provide daily checkups, even on the weekends to make sure employees were well taken care of.

Supplementary to the daily screening app developed by Cisco, frontline workers underwent contact tracing to keep employees safe in case of onsite exposure situations and were provided with the necessary safety gear. Onsite workers who have gotten sick were provided instant medical support. Cisco also made sure they engaged their manufacturing partners and suppliers to ensure human rights and the health and safety of factory workers were protected. Health and safety, management of working hours, and payment of wages that could be affected by the outbreak are key issues that are being assessed by the organization and will be tackled in cases that indicate risk. Cisco also established a hotline to keep contractors who are part of their supply chain updated on pandemic matters.

In terms of work policies, Cisco continued to pay frontline workers their hourly wages during the shutdown, even when workers were not permitted to perform their intended duties due to safety-related restrictions. Cisco also ensured delayed termination with extended pay and benefits for employees who were part of a planned reduction in force for four months to cushion their landing. For newcomers, such as interns, Cisco ensured a smooth transition to permit virtual placements and provided them with the required equipment. Work policies were amended to include much-needed flexibility for employees to care for their families with weekly meetings to guarantee employees are meeting their objectives even if they all are working at a different pace. Cisco also made sure employees were always recognized for their hard work and efforts.

Connecting with the Community Through #TogetherWeMakePossible

Not only was Cisco loyal to their people, but to the community as a whole. During the weekly meetings, the Cisco family would discuss and agree on CSR contribution activities from planning to execution. For example, initiating the hashtag: #TogetherWeMakePossible, Cisco engaged with employees across the region to raise money through in-kind donations, donating to the food bank in KSA during the blessed month of Ramadan, where some of the donations were matched by Cisco. Cisco also built resiliency programs for companies in an effort to support them in preserving a strong organization during a time of instability and chaos.