John Donovan - Cisco

John’s first step was to establish an Inclusion and Leadership Team. This team was led by volunteers and champions from the organisation.

Keynoting at roundtables, meetings and external events on inclusion being a business imperative and not an HR imperative, he told stories from the heart, talking about the mistakes he had made and what he had learnt.
From these meetings, a communications programme evolved that included videos and monthly updates. Cisco staff started to send personal emails to John, describing their experiences, these actions leading to regular 1:1s.

John actively drives open communication and reinforces Cisco’s commitment to staff bringing their ‘whole selves’ to work.
Realising that he played a crucial role as a leader in challenging some of the perceptions held by peers, John decided to do something radical. Wanting the UK and Ireland board to experience what he had experienced, John ran a workshop where female employees openly discussed what it was like to be a female in a majority male company and industry. Working with professionals, John set up a two hour session where executives sat in an outer ring and listened to females in the inner ring sharing their stories. Following this exercise, now known as ‘the goldfish bowl’ several initiatives have been put in place, including regular inclusion and diversity slots on the agenda. The top five include:

• Female talent reviews
• ‘Jump’ Training & Executive Shadowing for females
• Mandatory bias training' created for and completed by all Managers
• Recruitment targets for a percentage of CVs
• University and Network Academy partnerships for female mentoring 　

Recruitment policies have changed to ensure Cisco has a balance of CVs and that interview panels are mixed. The UK and Ireland board is held up as an example of inclusion with in the organisation, with an equal gender mix and also representation of race and generation.