Cisco’s Formula for Building Engagement in Complex Workforces with Joey Wilkerson, Sr. Manager, M&A Employee Experience and Change Management

This episode of Cruising Altitude features a conversation with Joey Wilkerson, Sr. Manager, M&A Employee Experience and Change Management at Cisco, hosted by Nicole Alvino, CEO and co-founder of Firstup. Together, Nicole and Joey discuss strategies for fostering an engaging and purposeful workplace, focusing on internal talent movement, onboarding, and integrating new employees post-acquisition. Joey shares insights on creating a connected employee experience through personalization, leveraging AI, and aligning with Cisco's culture. The conversation highlights successful practices in employee engagement, cultural integration, and future trends in employee experience.Quotes* ”We have to always think about ourselves and internal talent movement as competing for talent across the company. We want to encourage internal talent movement. To be successful at that, it's important for leaders to understand the experience for the employee, while unique, must be consistent to some degree.”*” When I think about what's coming next [in Cisco’s] continued evolution, where employees are really expecting this kind of consumer based experience across the organization. And we're going to have to keep that in mind moving forward.“*” One of the things that we have seen at Cisco in the last two years is a more critical eye on privacy. What does the organization as my employer have access to in terms of what I'm doing, what I'm clicking on? And those two things will push against each other, I am afraid. In order for us to create that consumer-like experience, it requires understanding the behavior of the employee, which may not be as private as some may expect.”Time Stamps[00:38] Meet Joey Wilkerson, Sr. Manager, M&A Employee Experience and Change Management at Cisco[4:09] Joey's Role at Cisco[5:12] Understanding Cisco's Culture and Subcultures[6:31] Personalized Employee Experiences at Cisco[14:54] Leveraging AI for Employee Experience[18:34] The Splunk Acquisition: Challenges and Successes[23:04] Proudest Moments and Future Trends[31:13] Final Thoughts and Contact InformationLinksConnect with Joey on LinkedInLearn more about CiscoThanks to our friendsThis episode is brought to you by Firstup, the world’s first intelligent communication platform. More than 40 percent of Fortune 100 companies use our platform to connect with their people, design and deliver personalized communications, and gain engagement insights throughout the employee journey. That’s how they give their employees better experiences from hire to retire. Learn more at firstup.io