Cisco Systems – “The job is what you make of it.”

Pros

Top benefits include flex time to balance life/work, good compensation package, and a senior management team that keeps its eye on the industry and adjusts the compensation options to match the needs of its employees. The projects and departments run from stable/older technology to bleeding edge groups with a startup mentality.

A lot of innovation happening in the writing community, with a strong emphasis on alternate approaches to documentation.

Cons

Politics. It's a big company, so decisions appear arbitrary. This leads to poor tool choices and frustration dealing with a publishing system that could be considered institutionalized torture on bad days. There's also little overall respect for technical documentation. Management thinks anyone with a keyboard can write documentation, but pay no attention to the drop in quality when they shift writing to cheaper alternatives.

Advice to Senior Management

Foster better transparency in decisions. When you make the tough decisions (ie layoffs) you're failing to protect your best employees.