Aligning Social Responsibilities with Business Goals – Cisco Blogs

Sounds Too Good to be True?

Companies all over the world are consistently trying to make a positive impact on society by doing a variety of Corporate Social Responsibility activities. Such efforts become even more sustainable when CSR gets integrated with an organization’s key business goals resulting in a true Win-Win! At Cisco, “Giving back to society” has always been at the core of how we do business. This became even more relevant in our current scenario where a global pandemic has been an unprecedented catalyst for change in the way people learn, work and play. At Black Belt Academy, we strive to take forward Cisco’s CSR spirit and blend some of our key business efforts/goals with causes that support society.

A friend in need is a friend indeed

When most of the ASEAN was facing the first wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic, nations went into complete lockdown and hospitals figured out they needed more and more PPE kits to protect their health workers.

Our Philippines-based Distribution Partner Account Manager Kay Lenz Zapanta decided to respond, and in association with key Cisco distributors Ardent Networks, Comstor and VST ECS, created a plan for conducting virtual Black Belt sessions for our partners.

The ask was simple but innovative: Complete the coveted Black Belt Sales Expert badge and for every partner that registered and attended the session, VST ECS would donate 1 PPE kit to the local hospital. In addition to PPE kits there were Ration kits for distribution and Sales Expert jackets for certified individuals.

The Outcome – Stronger Together!

The response from the partner community was phenomenal, and within a short period of time more than 300 individuals achieved the Sales Expert badge and ensured the Philippines grabbed the top spot globally by obtaining the highest number of Black Belt Sales Expert certificates at that time.

Thanks to the joint efforts of Distributors, DPSEs and the Cisco Philippines team, we were able to not only live Cisco’s CSR values and give back during a time of need, but we were also able to connect and provide training to over 300 new Sales Experts.

At Black Belt Academy, we are determined to unlock synergies with more initiatives like this one. Stay Tuned!

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