Cisco Systems Singapore - Innovative Use of Technology in Human Resources
Name of Organization / Company: Cisco Systems Singapore
Category: Award for the Innovative Use of Technology in Human Resources > Telecommunications Industries
Entry Title: Flipping Cisco Graduate Assessment Centers to 100% Virtual Overnight
Probably the biggest achievement in 2020 for Cisco at a time when most national & international companies were either shutting down, putting a hold on hiring programs, planning layoffs or furloughing employees, was that the CSAP APJC (graduate recruiting & hiring team) which hires across 11 countries, was just kicking into action. Flipping their previously in-person and hybrid hiring process of Early-In-Career (EIC) candidates, to a 100% virtual hiring and onboarding experience overnight.
CSAP recruitment starts from September each year with February through April being the peak hiring season in our region. A typical assessment center (AC) consisting of interviews, role plays and presentations, is traditionally held at the local Cisco office where candidates get together with the majority, if not all, the assessors, conducting assessed activities face-to-face. Cisco provides return flights and accommodation to candidates and hiring managers around the assessment center date.
As COVID-19 first started showing signs in South East Asia at the beginning of March, the CSAP program management team immediately provided options for candidates to join via Webex (our immersive, secure collaboration platform) on the day, to ease any health and safety concerns they might have. By May, as full country lockdowns began and only 1.5 days’ notice before the next scheduled AC, the CSAP team responded to the changing landscape. Converting an in-person AC to 100% fully digital, dynamic recruiting and training experience for all participants.
The biggest takeaway was that although the mode of connection had changed (in-person to digital), the user experience became more personalized and engaging at a time when communication was restricted. The shift from having all participants, assessors and candidates alike, join in an otherwise very professional and presentable activity from their bedrooms or living rooms, provided an unprecedented sense of inclusiveness and equitability.
By the end of the season, CSAP held 9 Digital ACs, with 48 candidates and 51 assessors in total. For it to be successful, the PM team organized briefing sessions via live webinars and videos, prior to each AC, teaching the candidates how to use Webex to meet, present and share content. Demonstrating the logistical aspect of joining and rotating through different virtual interview rooms and how to set up their workspace to ensure connectivity and a smooth interviewing experience.
They also created Webex 'team spaces' & 'breakout rooms' to encourage community and provide live support among all participants, as they went through this digital experience for the first time. Both candidates and assessors had their own personalized digitally enabled schedules and assessed activity briefs and materials, providing the same level of personal touch as if they had been in their local office.
This change not only avoided unnecessary risks during uncertain times but also ensured availability, reassurance and continuity. The impact in savings was approximately 20hrs travel time, $15k from logistics and freeing up valuable resources that were typically required to run the remaining ACs. More importantly, thanks to the immediate response, CSAP was able to retain all its candidates and hired 100% of their FY21 headcount with high levels of customer satisfaction from graduates/ hiring managers alike.
CSAP is a 20-year-old EIC program that operates globally across 3 regions in 84 countries. The agility, adaptability and innovation of the Asia Pacific team as well as the cross collaboration between Cisco talent teams globally means that we have been able to benchmark and share virtual hiring best practices and roll them out to other geographic regions simultaneously. Since the onset of Covid-19, CSAP APJC have continued to adapt and repurpose several of its existing digital solutions to address limited movement, restricted access and the need for different ways of working over the next coming years to accomplish our mission of ‘powering an inclusive future for all’.
Files & Links:
-Important Update- Cisco Sales Associates Program (CSAP) - ASE Final Round Assessment Centre Invitation - Vietnam.pdf
Cisco Sales Associate Email Invitation - New Zealand.pdf
FY21 CSAP Candidate Webinar - Assessment Center Preparation - Vietnam ASE-20200316 0507-1.mp4
APJC_ASR_CSAP New Hire Kick Off Call_Deck Template.pptx
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/my-journey-becoming-cisconian-csap-eunkyung-scarlett-son/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/csap-review-what-ive-learned-2020-eunkyung-scarlett-son/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=QS-th2l7Q5s
https://greatplacetowork.com.sg/resource/how-1-worlds-best-workplace-cisco-showed-the-courage-to-connect-in-2020/
https://blogs.cisco.com/news/investing-in-our-inclusive-future