Giving Compass' Take:

• Cisco's Corporate Social Responsibility team offer advice on how to activate growth opportunities starting with these three areas: enabling new skills development, embracing talent from everywhere, and advocating for people. 

• What other ways can companies drive economic growth? What are some of the challenges for companies as they address their diversity and inclusion efforts?  

• Read about seven lessons in CSR leadership. 

Today, more than ever, we hear about issues related to the workforce and the age of a digital economy: from talent shortages and immigration to skills gaps and economic inequality to job creation and inclusion. On their own, these are big issues to solve for, but together they represent both opportunities and challenges for Cisco, our customers, and our partners. There are three key areas where we can help people that I believe will continue to drive economic opportunity and growth.

Enabling New Skills Development

How do we ensure we align the right people with the right skills focused on the right work and in the right locations to capitalize on the changing workforce of today and tomorrow? It starts with creating consistent definitions across industries around job roles, skills, and capabilities that are indicative of future abilities rather than past achievements.

Embracing Talent from Everywhere

Today, our CEO Chuck Robbins and the Business Roundtable released a study on the impact a reduction in visas for high-skilled international students who graduate from U.S. universities would have on the U.S. economy. The findings alone make clear the importance of embracing talent from home and abroad to continuing economic growth:

  • A decrease in real U.S. gross domestic product by about a quarter of a percentage point by 2028
  • A loss of 443,000 jobs over the next decade — including 255,000 jobs held by native-born workers.

Protecting & Advocating for People

In the face of economic and social uncertainty it’s our responsibility to protect and advocate for people.  If we want to see continued economic growth, encourage hiring, and create highly-skilled workforces, we must create an environment where people feel they are supported and can thrive despite the uncertainty that is out there.

Read the full article about changing digital economy  from Cisco Corporate Social Responsibility Blog at TriplePundit