Total 622 words used.
Goals
For job-seekers curious about a company's culture, making connections and having conversations with people who work there is a great way to learn about their firsthand experiences.
The WeAreCisco Blog is like having that conversation with a friend inside Cisco. Each story opens the door into the daily lives of employees, creating connections between the readers and authors, shining a light on the authentic employee experience, and showing why Cisco is a company unlike any other through the power of storytelling — all done through the employees' own words.
Strategy
Branded messaging doesn’t create authenticity and trust, so the WeAreCisco Team puts the power of storytelling directly into its employees’ hands. The team leverages the active community of employees on social media sharing glimpses of life at Cisco by routinely listening to #WeAreCisco across platforms and tapping into the topics most meaningful to employees.
The team also hosts a #LoveWhereYouWork Contest, where employees share their reasons for loving Cisco on social and in an internal platform using #LoveWhereYouWork and #WeAreCisco to compete for prizes and Cisco fame over several weeks, surfacing even more compelling stories.
Sometimes, employees even reach out to the team directly, excited to share their experiences with Cisco job seekers!
From there, it goes: "Your words, our help." The WeAreCisco Team provides easy-to-follow guidelines, so even those who don't consider themselves writers can tap into their emotions to write their first drafts conversationally in tone. Then, our editor and the blogger work together through edits, developing the final draft, ensuring the story is unique, engaging, and ties back to Cisco as a great place to work, and adding relevant photos to bring the story to life visually.
The WeAreCisco Team works behind the scenes to publish the post, including careful scheduling considerations, tapping into relevant holidays, and being sensitive to social issues and current world events. They also help each blogger create a bio, appearing on their story, where readers can click through to learn more about who is behind the words — their career journeys, accomplishments, passions outside of work, and social handles. It adds another touchpoint for connection between the author and the audience.
A blog post is published almost weekly, giving a fresh look into life at Cisco!
Once published, the WeAreCisco Team amplifies each story through social posts created in WeAreCisco's employee-first signature style across its owned channels and Cisco's company LinkedIn page. Some stories are even shared on an internal employee homepage — and syndicated further on Cisco’s global social channels.
Results
Through its strategic use of employee engagement, social media, and contests, the WeAreCisco Blog harnesses genuine employee narratives that corporate messaging can’t replicate. By empowering employees to share their experiences in their own words, the blog showcases the vibrant and unique culture at Cisco and fosters meaningful connections with potential talent across the globe. In 2023 and 2024, the WeAreCisco Blog published 80 stories from employees globally, garnering 200k views with 743 subscribers receiving the content directly via email.
However, beyond the numbers, what's immeasurable is the sheer power of shared experiences. They give potential talent an authentic look at life at Cisco: the innovative work you can do and how it makes a difference in the world, the support from teammates and leadership, how you can bring your most authentic self to work, and the encouragement for learning and career growth at every stage — hardly any topic is off-limits. Employees' words are powerful and bridge the digital divide, evidenced by the meaningful connections made in the blog's comment section and conversations on social media. As the stories continue to unfold, the WeAreCisco Blog remains a powerful tool for celebrating employee voices and attracting future employees.
Nomination Title: WeAreCisco Blog's Innovation in Authentic Storytelling
