What is n example of a great workplace?

Cisco is the 2019 World’s Great Workplace when it comes to providing a great workplace culture. Based on that we are sharing an article about “Building A Globally Great Workplace” based on a webinar by Macy Andrews and Senior Director  at Cisco. The topic is on how the company earned this significant recognition.

1. What kind of employee recognition programs do you use?

Employee recognition is a method of support that helps employees know their contributions are recognized and appreciated. When it comes to recognition programs, Great Place to work recommends looking at the “how” rather than the “what.”

First, be specific with your praise. Recognition is meaningful when it is tied to an accomplishment. Second, give credit soon after the employee’s work win. Third, express your thanks in more ways than money. Team celebrations and words of affirmation go a long way. Fourth, recognition can come from anybody – employee shout-outs can be as motivating as manager recognition. And fifth, they are connected to the organization’s bigger picture.

2. Which workplace culture initiatives take the least amount of time to implement?

“Culture initiatives are those created in response to employee feedback and that management supports,” explains Great Place to Work Strategic Advisor, Matt Bush. “When leaders throughout the organization don’t understand the value programs add, they can fail.”  Employers could, for example, start cross-collaboration lunches at a week’s notice. Still, without buy-in and formal systems of accountability, these lunches will probably wither away by the next month.

3. How do you measure the success and impact of individual programs, as well as collectively?

With a culture management platform, you can pinpoint specific aspects of your culture. Survey your employees to understand what programs have an impact and which ones are not worth continuing. Use pulse surveys to see how employees experience trends and shifts over time with the advent of certain programs.

4. Do you do anything to identify “at-risk” employees before they leave?

It’s almost impossible to (nor do we advise) single out “risky” employees. We recommend looking at aspects of your work culture that might be leading to disengagement. Use employee feedback to assess how much your employees feel their workplace is psychologically healthy. Do employees believe management?

5. If you have a lot of contractors how does that work with equality?

Employers with contractors must ensure a certain level of mutual respect and trust. Contractors want to feel connected to both the business and their co-workers. Often managers go straight to training their contractors, skipping introductions to colleagues or an explanation of the company’s mission. Employers can increase trust among contractors by relaying opportunities for growth, taking time to recognize great work, including them in social events and all-company meetings, and being flexible.

In other words: a great company culture keeps everyone – no matter their status or role – involved, motivated and excited.

6. Is it possible to get Great Place to Work-Certified on a global scale? 

It’s easy to run a global survey using our culture management platform, Emprising. You can use it to survey your employees in more than 60 countries and 40 languages. As every multinational organization is unique, give Great Place to Work a call today to discuss how we can help you earn recognition for your great workplace culture around the world.

7. How do ideas and initiatives flow? Who drives change in the organization?

Cisco knows that innovation and change can come from any person in any position on any team. They don’t pigeonhole their employees into pre-assigned sets of functions. “Whether you were in HR or you were in the AI machine learning team of our engineering organization, innovation is everywhere from our employees,” said Macy.

Cisco created programs specifically for harnessing human potential at every corner of the organization. “We developed the Everywhere Challenge, which happens once a year,” explained Macy.

8. How do companies use Great Place to Work Certification in their recruiting process?

Culture plays a significant role in where candidates decide to work. And many companies use the Great Place to Work Certification™ in their recruitment strategy. Certification signals that your employees approve of your organizational culture and your company’s leadership.

Every Great Place to Work-Certified company earns a digital Certification badge. You can use it all year to remind employees, partners, and the public about your achievement.

9. What are the key drivers of employee engagement at Cisco? 

“The focus is on Our People Deal to deliver more “Best Days” at Cisco,” says Macy. “We learned from our employees what a Best Day looked like and then we set about understanding how to create more of that consistently.

“We built Our People Deal as a two-way agreement – what Cisco would deliver to employees and what Cisco expected in return. One of the ways Cisco delivered on its side of the deal was via the initiatives we bundled under the 11 Moments that Matter.”