This archive report was first published on 5 November 2019.
Published on November 5, 2019, Francine Katsoudas, Cisco's Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, visited Kenya to meet with Wawira Njiru, the founder of Food for Education and winner of the Global Citizen Youth Leadership Prize 2018 presented by Cisco.
During her visit, Katsoudas discussed the impact of technological disruption on the workplace, highlighting the need for companies to adapt to changing skills requirements and foster a culture of innovation and experimentation.
"A big observation has been how social impact and technology can come together to be a force for good," Katsoudas said. "Another trend that we’re seeing globally is the focus on skills. Work is changing, especially with the emergence of analytics and insights."
At Cisco, Katsoudas emphasized the importance of talent agility, noting that many companies will need to work with non-employees to solve problems. "In the Silicon Valley, we’ve seen tremendous competition for talent. This means that people are choosing the type of company they want to work for; companies have to evolve their culture," she said.
When asked about the skills needed for the future, Katsoudas identified areas such as data science, analytics, user experience, and communications as crucial. "We are looking for employees who can problem-solve, and team up with each other," she said.
Regarding the gender pay gap, Katsoudas noted that transparency is key. "The more transparency you can bring these issues the better. We started to have a movement in the valley on sharing pay parity data about three years ago," she said.
On the topic of Kenya's 'Silicon Savannah,' Katsoudas identified scale and talent acquisition as key challenges. "You need to have the leadership capabilities and experiences that’s something we invest a lot of effort. The other gap is acquiring the best talent," she said.
