Making the Work-Life Balancing Act Work
"I really believe that employees are more engaged and more productive when they're not worried sick about their kids or an aging parent," says Phyllis Stewart Pires, Human Resources, Cisco.
Luckily for Cisco employees, Stewart Pires has led the development of internal programs to minimize that kind of worry, and help support a healthy work-life balance for employees and their families.
Her career with Cisco began in 2000 when she took on oversight of the newly constructed childcare center at the San Jose campus that she'd helped develop as a consultant. Cisco Family Connection is one of the largest and most comprehensive childcare centers in the country, serving more than 400 children from infancy through school-age. It includes a kindergarten and backup emergency childcare program.
"It's critically important to develop a work environment that allows parents to achieve success in their careers without compromising their roles as parents," she says. "I get to help create the kind of programming that makes that possible. I also get to take advantage of the programs and services myself, as the mom of three young children and the child of aging parents."
Executive-level support is critical, and according to Stewart Pires, Cisco provides it. "Our executives are very aware of the value family programs represent to our employees," she says.
As a direct result of this kind of support, Stewart Pires has been able to help design some of the most innovative work-life programs of any company operating today—from support for breast-feeding mothers to funds for adoptive parents to elder care informational programs to initiatives that encourage girls to consider high-tech careers.
Cisco has also reached outside to support children and families due to partnerships Stewart Pires has cultivated. Childcare provider Bright Horizons helped employees displaced by wildfires in Southern California find childcare, and accessed community grant funds to create play spaces in a San Jose homeless shelter.
"I'm proud to be part of an organization that believes that it's smart for us to care about what's happening with our employees, their families, and our communities," she says. "Cisco cares passionately about being successful in business, but at the same time we care about the fact that our employees are part of something larger. I think we've become a role model for what companies can achieve in this kind of programming, without compromising our success as a business."
