In a world in which the way we view work has changed over the past two years, a company which drove the technology that allows remote work to happen is leading the way in creating a culture that values the employee's character and social responsibility as much as the academic skillset.
Since it first opened in Galway in 2007, CISCO has had a strong emphasis on supporting and hiring graduates and interns, as well as promoting STEM as a career choice among students. Through the creation of a strong company culture, CISCO has gone on to be recognised as one of the Great Places To Work, having won that accolade last year and tipped to achieve it again in 2022.
A world leader in networking and cybersecurity, the company can offer an exciting and rewarding career path — but like others, it feels that the dynamic nature of working in software development suffers from the misconception that people just spend all day writing code.
Leonard O'Halloran is an engineering director on the site in Galway and responsible for some of the teams working on product development. He feels it is the perception about the job as being code-only has to be changed, as it hides the wonderful careers and opportunities that lie out there for graduates and interns.
Perception of careers in software development
"There can be a perception that in software development, we are just writing code all day everyday, but the reality is that there are so many different roles in the company and this industry. People do very different types of jobs, from project managers to engineering leaders.
"We are trying to get the message out there so that people can see what the jobs actually look like," he said, adding that there is probably a need for a parental education effort needed too.
"It is easier for parents to visualise what an accountant does or a solicitor does than it is to encourage young people to find out the roles that are available in software development down the line," he said.
Keith Griffin, site leader and and Distinguished Engineer at CISCO Galway agrees that there is not enough staff diversity in software development at the moment and that the company is involved in many initiatives to change this.
"There are not enough people in STEM and certainly not enough women in technology, We simply do not have the diversity that we would like. When I think back to my days in UL, there were 105 in the class and five were female. That hasn't changed that much. It might now be 10 or 15, but it is still nowhere near enough," he said.
"We are involved in many initiatives to encourage a lot more people to go into IT and software development in general.This is a great time to be in tech," he said, adding that the skills are globally transferable, especially in a company such as CISCO that has such an enviable culture.
'Doing the right thing'
The 'doing the right thing' culture that exists at CISCO is certainly one that will attract graduates and interns into the company.
Audrey Bleach, Site Engagement Manager, is responsible for driving this culture and supporting people managers on all endeavours. She says that the company principles and ethos are key in getting the staff who will help develop this culture.
'"We intentionally hire people who believe in our values and principles, so culture is really imporant for us, culminating in the winning of the Great Place To Work tag.
"We have won it in 2021, but it is really meaningful and culture is what we are about. It is definitely from the top down.
"People get involved, from corporate social responsibility to community work to people volunteering, which is part of the DNA of CISCO. It is all about people putting their hands up for what they believe in," said Ms Bleach.
Keith Griffin said that such accolades as Great Place To Work are hard achieved and do not come easily.
"The approach is a grassroots approach. You have to build a culture. It is not just a title you can give yourself. It has to come from everybody. People have to feel it is a great place to work and to feel invested in that culture.
"Right from the top of the company, we have authentic leadership. People do what they say they will do. We tend to take a good position in things in general and to try to always do the right thing. And that becomes a very genuine approach, not just to say something and do something else.
"We are seeing more and more, even at recruitment time, especially with interns and graduates, when you ask the candidates what questions they have, it is really telling that people want to be in a place that is a good place to work. They want to see these corporate responsibility initiatives and be part of those.
Refreshing
"All of our people want to be in that and get involved. It is something we want to see in a company. Whether it is hamper packing for COPE or technology initiatives at Galway Science and technology Festival, or hours spent volunteering for local charities.
"It is refreshing to see people starting out on their careers wanting to be in a place that has initiatives like that. It is not all about the technology, it is about the culture of the company," he said.
The company has found that community involvement and having an obvious corporate social responsibility are key criteria when it comes to attracting talented graduates, and this is an area that CISCO takes very seriously.
It encourages employees to work directly on initiatives that will benefit the community, with each member availing of five paid days per year to work on these projects through the Time to Give programme.
At that time, CISCO offered the use of Webex, its flagship video conferencing software, to help people in nursing homes to safely stay in touch with family and friends. A music mode was also developed to help people use the platform for music performances and classes.
It also donated devices to intensive care units around to the country to allow patients who were critically ill with Covid to communicate with loved ones. Initiatives such as these have endeared CISCO to the local community in the span of their time here. What it does mean too is that the social character of a potential CISCO employee is key, as well as the ability to do the job.
Autonomy
Leonard O'Halloran said that when he joined, what stuck out for him was the amount of autonomy he was given.
"For me what jumps out from the CISCO culture is that there is a lot expected of people but there is a lot of autonomy as well. When I joined, what struck me was that I got a lot of responsibility and autonomy too.
"We are at the leading edge of the technology, but you get the autonomy to drive it forward, to be motivated and interested and want to take that on.
"So when we are hiring, one of the things that we are looking for in people is that they are self-starters and able to jump into a team. The pace is pretty quick but they have to have the ability to get moving and take leadership and initiative, so from a character perspective, that is pretty important.
"We are not looking for people who wait to get tight direction on what they need to do, we are hoping they can come in, see their opportunity and contribute to the teams," Mr O'Halloran added.
"We ship product regularly so the environment is dynamic and that is exciting for people and s a big part of what adds to the culture, as it makes it a great place to work and attractive for people coming in.
"If you find people who are interested in technology and motivated, they come in and hit the ground running and make progress really quickly. That is part of what we are looking for when we are hiring," he said.
"There is a connection there that is worthwhile too. We often hear about the academic side of what folks needs from a basic skills set perspective, but equally important are the attributes you need to actually succeed in an environment and how you work with other people. Team work and initiative are really important," he said
Keith Griffin said that the ideal CISCO candidate has to be fully rounded; to have problem solving skills, and to be able to interact with others globally.
"We have colleagues in every single timezone and that can be challenging as well, but that level of interaction as well as the academic is needed," he added.
Employees and interns at CISCO have spoken of the encouragement and mentoring they receive from the outset when they join the team. The assignment of mentors to each one, the provision of detailed and inspiring training and the onboarding sessions ensure that each employee or intern is immediately assimilated into the team culture that permeates this globally progressive workplace. It’s no wonder it is deemed a Great Place To Work.
Certainly, a career at CISCO is an attractive proposition — For more information on careers and opportunities in CISCO, see https://www.cisco.com or https://jobs.cisco.com/
