People Deal: Cisco’s promise to its people

Cisco topped the list in the authoritative Great Place to Work survey. What makes them such a great place to work in? It's the company's promise to its people.
By: | January 28, 2020

For the first time ever Cisco has topped the list in the authoritative Great Place to Work survey. We spoke to Lekha George, Head, People & Communities, ASEAN and Korea for Cisco about its company culture and how it won the coveted award. Here’s Part 1 of our feature interview.

Read Part 2 here: It’s all about the “teams” culture at Cisco

While tech firms like Google and Facebook routinely head up these types of attractive workplace lists, Cisco is currently enjoying top rankings. Cisco is a leading networking and security solutions player based in the U.S with offices all over the world.

According to The World’s Best Workplaces list, 93% of Cisco employees say it is a great place to work and 9 out 10 employees say that they look forward to coming to work. ‘’People feel proud to come and work for a company like Cisco. We make sure the teams they work with are good teams and that they have an impact,’’ said Lekha.

To understand how Cisco treats its employees, a good starting point is its ‘’People Deal’’. This is a promise Cisco makes to employees and what it asks from them in return. ‘’It’s a deal, and like any deal there are two sides. What Cisco expects from its employees, and what its employees expect from Cisco,’’ she added.

Read Part 2: It’s all about the “teams” culture at Cisco

This Deal is broken down into three components: First, Connect everything. Cisco promises to connect its employees with people, information, and opportunities, while it asks its employees to connect with each other to deliver positive outcomes for the company.

The second component is Innovate everywhere. Cisco guarantees employees an “open and agile” environment that encourages employees to explore ideas and challenge norms.

The third component is Benefit everyone. The company promises to support its employees’ professional development, while encouraging and appreciating individual contributions. Cisco is big on positively impacting the world – a statement Lekha repeats often during our interview.


Catch Lekha George live as a speaker at the upcoming
HR Tech Festival Asia 2020 (29 – 30 September, Singapore),
the region’s largest HR technology conference and exhibition.

Get your front row seat online now