48 Hours In the Life of The Best Place To Work In Ireland

I am always happy to tell people about how great it is to work for Cisco, but recently, there was a 48-hour period where I wanted to shout it from the rooftops.

It all kicked off with the Great Place to Work Awards…

The Great Place to Work Awards recognize workplace cultures that deliver outstanding business performance.  For those of you that don’t know how the awards process works, the Cisco Ireland team (photo below: Patrick Eustace, John Costello, Leonard O’Halloran, Shane Carner, Sheila Greaney and Sinead Kelly) had to submit an audit document telling Great Places all about the culture of the business. Secondly, all employees complete a confidential survey that asks a number of different questions on how happy they are in the workplace.

The Irish team attended the awards ceremony on Wednesday night in Dublin with no idea of where we’d be placed. As the awards counted down the different companies from rank 20 to 1, nerves were at an all-time high. With baited breath, Cisco was announced the best medium-sized company to work for in Ireland… but the fun didn’t stop there!

Happy 10th anniversary Cisco Galway – with a very special guest

After celebrating in true Irish style at the awards on Wednesday night, it was time to continue the festivities with a special guest. Rowan Trollope, Senior VP & General Manager, IoT and Applications, arrived on Thursday prepped to lead the Galway team in their tenth anniversary celebrations.

Opening with just four employees in 2007, the Galway office has grown to employ just under 200 people today. Now a major innovation hub and research and development site for Cisco’s Global Collaboration business, the site is home to leading innovations that remove barriers to accessing and using technology for work-based activities. Cisco Galway places a major focus on family and team culture and has fully embraced socially responsible community and charity engagement, having raised close to €300,000 on the site for various local and national charities over the last decade.

The anniversary celebrations kicked off with Rowan’s “All Hands” meeting and recognition of the Great Place to Work award, followed by champagne and cake. IDA Ireland (who are responsible for the attraction and development of foreign direct investment in Ireland) made a presentation to Cisco Galway on the ten-year achievement followed by what has now become an annual drone photo.

Despite the Friday festivities, there was a disturbance in the force…

If all that wasn’t enough, Cisco Galway had more fun planned with a Star Wars-themed Bring Your Kids to Work Day. 106 younglings registered for the event, aged between six months and 13 years, and were met by Jedi Master Martin Skywalker and the ominous Pat Vader.

The children participated in many activities arranged by over 30 volunteers, including a coder-dojo (where children learned the art of code), a Minecraft Studio and a science and technology lab where the children were introduced to concepts of robotics, AI, VR and IOT. At the Jedi Scientist exhibition, three teenage children of Cisco staff (pictured below), who recently participated in the BT Young Scientists Exhibition in Dublin’s RDS Arena, demonstrated the solutions they have developed to real-world problems in the form of smart plugs, cycling safety, and sensory development.

Thanks for the visit, Rowan!

So what’s the craic (the Irish word for fun)?

It’s easy to see, just from a mere 48 hours, why Cisco Ireland is such a fantastic place to work. The Irish team have done a phenomenal job to make the office an inclusive and fun place to be, whilst making a real change to the world around them – whether it’s helping charities or encouraging the engineers of the future. With a clear link between company performance and employee engagement, it’s no coincidence that the team have been performing well in terms of business targets, too.

What does 48 hours at work look like for you? Tell us in comments. If you want to join the Cisco craic (fun), apply on our Careers site.