Technical adoption in a young part of the organization - Customer Success Specialist Cisco Employee Review

5.0
9 Sept 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

A Customer Success Specialist (CSS) is a technical person, who is given the task of acting as a technical consultant for customers, in the post-sales stage. The goal is helping customer with product adoption. The daily job is a mix of studying/practicing with the technology, on one side, and engaging with customers in meetings and workshop, on the other: so, it's a very interesting mix between technical and "soft" skills. It's particularly indicated for technical people who have a passion for explaining, helping, engaging with people. It's the ideal position for people with a strong technical background, who wish to move a little bit towards the business and the communications side of the IT work. The Customer Success organization in Cisco is still very young, which gives an opportunity to stay in an enthusiastic environment and to shape the organization, because many processes still need to be finalized. At the same time, it's a growing part of the company, because Cisco's vision is to focus more and more on recurrent revenues, and therefore on subscription renewal, and therefore on adoption. Being a post-sales role, there is not excessive pressure, because CSSs are not measured in relation to a sales quota. This gives time to learn, and to establish a good life/work balance.

Cons

The cons are exactly the other side of the coin, if compared to the pros. E.g.: Since Customer Success is a young organization, things are changing very often: the management is changing ideas and adjusting the strategy very frequently. This is not ideal for people who like to stay on a solid ground, or to be constantly told what to do. Another example: since the role is post-sales and not bound to sales quotas, as a result the compensation and the incentives won't be so high as in a sales role. But, in turn, you get lower pressure and stress.

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Pros

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Cons

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4.0
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Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

I decided to wait almost a year after leaving the company before posting a review. The primary reason being is that when you decide to leave an organization it is usually because there is something there that isn't aligning with you or what you want anymore however, the grass is not always greener someplace else. This has been my experience. In fact, the appreciation I have for the company has grown so much in my time away that I would really like to return. The company truly believes on promoting within and as an employee you are encouraged to grow your career within the organization and learn new skills by taking different positions. Benefits are excellent. Cisco is the industry leader for networking and now cloud. It is sometimes easy to forget that on the daily grind but you are working for the company that everyone looks to for network and infrastructure standards. Culture within the business units managing product lines give you a lot of freedom to be innovative and creative in your approach to your role. In most cases you are given a fair amount of autonomy and control over how you do your job provided that it aligns with the strategic objectives. Benefits, 401k match, RSUs and ESPP are amazing. And while the salaries aren't the top of the industry, they are above market and pretty competitive.

Cons

Cisco can be a machine. There isn't an overt demand for all of your time (even the time outside of work) but more of a subtle, slight encouragement to always be on. If you are not careful, you will live, sleep and eat Cisco 24x7. Don't get me wrong, this is 100% a choice and if you are aware of this subtlety in the culture it is very easy to set appropriate boundaries that will be respected by the company and leadership team. If you don't like where you are in Cisco or what you are working on, give it 6 months because you will be reorg'd. While it is sometimes necessary to realign the company to meet competitive threats or market demands, reorganizing the company once a year is excessive and tends to create a distrusting environment for the rank and file which makes being a leader in the organize challenging. There is a loss of momentum and motivation that occurs a few months before and a few months after reorgs so this leaves the company being effective at delivery and execution only about 70% of the time. While Cisco attracts some bright, motivated people the truth of the matter is you are either cut out for the company and its culture or you're not. If you aren't it will be painfully obvious to you and those around you. Sadly as a leader it is hard to cut dead weight from the team and the only really accepted way is via layoffs, which is why the company reorgs once a year despite the company line about the reorgs.

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Cisco Response
10y
Thank you for such a sincere review. We appreciate your feedback and hope you are pleased to see many of our "We Are Cisco" initiatives. Indeed, it can feel like Cisco frequently changes because it is part of our innovative culture. We thank you for your time with us and wish you the best.
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