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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
Unlock the potential of employee resource groups with advice from an accomplished industry thought leader
In Employee Resource Group Excellence, renowned management and diversity expert Dr. Robert Rodriguez delivers a comprehensive exploration of the current state of employee resource groups (ERGs) in corporate America and a step-by-step roadmap to elevating their performance.
The book draws on the author’s extensive experience in consulting with America’s most well-known companies to discuss successful and current ERG initiatives in corporations, universities and nonprofits, as well as ERG efforts being undertaken outside the United States. You’ll also discover:
- In-depth case studies highlighting ERG best practices, current trends and metrics
- Common pitfalls and mistakes that derail ERGs from achieving their goals
- Insights from the “The 4C Assessment,” the only ERG evaluation tool on the market today that has been completed by over 250 corporations and which examines the ERG pillars of careers, culture, community, and commerce
Perfect for Chief Diversity Officers, ERG program managers, and ERG leaders in companies of all kinds, Employee Resource Group Excellence is also a must-have resource for HR professionals and other corporate executives interested in unlocking the full potential of these powerful groups as they strive to reach excellence.
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Seitenzahl: 370
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021
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Table of Contents
Cover
Praise for
Employee Resource Group Excellence
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Introduction: The Milli Vanilli Syndrome
Milli Vanilli
1 Beyond Food, Flag, and Fun
The Very Heart of Diversity and Inclusion Efforts
Employee Resource Group Basics
Seeing Global ERGs as Simply Overseas Extensions of US Groups
ERG Trends
Alignment with Talent Management
Underutilized Business Assets
Metrics‐that‐Matter
Succession Planning
Skeptical Middle Management
Narrowing ERG Ambitions
ERG Leader Development
2 The Seven Deadly Sins
Seven Deadly ERG Derailers
3 Movers and Shakers
Outline ERG Leadership Benefits
Individual Contributor as ERG Leader
Individual ERG Coaching Sessions
ERG Leadership Summits
ERG Leadership Academies
ERG Leader Competencies
4 The 4C Model
TM
Key Aspects of the 4C Model
TM
Using the 4C Model
TM
5 Career Pillar
Professional Development
Talent Pipeline
6 Community Pillar
External Outreach and Focus
Collaboration Is Key
7 Culture Pillar
Belonging
Systems
8 Commerce Pillar
Organizational Alignment
Business Effectiveness
9 ERG Analytics
Normative Database Mining
ERG Leadership Roles Need to Be Highly Desired
Appoint Your ERG Leaders to Top Grade the Role
ERGs Are an Underutilized Asset
Professional Development Across the Career Continuum Is Lacking
ERGs Are Not Benchmarking Adequately
Not All Business Units Value ERGs
Career and Commerce Are Key
10 ERG Metrics‐That‐Matter
Key Measurement Principles
ERG Metrics‐That‐Matter
11 High Performers and High Potentials
ERG Ownership
ERG Membership
Leadership Development Mechanisms
ERG Leader Competencies
Transitioning to an Appointment Process
12 Strategic Planning
First, Determine ERG Current State
Next, Establish a Desired Future State
Finalize Your Strategic Plan
13 Next‐Generation ERGs
About the Author
Index
End User License Agreement
List of Tables
Chapter 1
Table 1.1 Dr. Robert Rodriguez Partial List of ERG Consulting Clients (2017–2021...
Chapter 2
Table 2.1 Most Common ERG Derailers
Chapter 3
Table 3.1 Catalent Pharma Solutions 2021 ERG Leadership Summit Agenda
Table 3.2 UBER ERG Leadership Academy Development Workshop Topics
Chapter 4
Table 4.1 Veterans ERG Yearly Initiatives Different 4C Pillar Focus Each Quarter
Table 4.2 Assigned 4C Pillars by Employee Resource Group
Chapter 5
Table 5.1 North American Automotive Company Talent Pipeline Sessions for ERG Mem...
Table 5.2 North American Automotive Company Talent Pipeline Session for ERG Memb...
Chapter 7
Table 7.1 GE Hispanic Forum – Chicago Hub Calendar ERG Meeting Cadence...
Table 7.2 Three‐Tier ERG System: Tier Characteristics and Thresholds
Table 7.3 Three‐Tier ERG System: Scalable Organization Structure Roles by Tier...
Table 7.4 Effective ERG Expansion: National or Global Chapters
Chapter 10
Table 10.1 ERG Metrics‐that‐Matter 50 Most Commonly Used ERG Metrics
Chapter 11
Table 11.1 ERG and Talent Management Study List of 40 Participating Companies
Table 11.2 Summary of Top 5 Findings ERGs and Talent Management Study
Chapter 12
Table 12.1 ERG Strategic Planning 1‐Year Plan
List of Illustrations
Chapter 3
FIGURE 3.1 ERG leader benefits.
Chapter 4
FIGURE 4.1 The 4C ERG MODEL
TM
FIGURE 4.2 4C ERG Model
TM
Chapter 5
Figure 5.1 The Career 4C pillar.
Figure 5.2 Professional development offerings per career stage.
FIGURE 5.3 North American automotive company talent pipeline session for ERG...
Chapter 6
FIGURE 6.1 The Community 4C Pillar
Chapter 7
FIGURE 7.1 The Culture 4C Pillar
Chapter 8
FIGURE 8.1 The Commerce 4C pillar.
Chapter 9
FIGURE 9.1 4C ERG Assessment: Normal Distribution
FIGURE 9.2 4C ERG Assessment
TM
: ERG Comparison
Figure 9.3 2012 4C Assessment results by Allstate ERG
Figure 9.4 Allstate 4C results 2012–2015
Chapter 12
FIGURE 12.1 ERG SWOT Analysis: Current State Determination
FIGURE 12.2 ERG Strategic Five‐Year Plan
Guide
Cover Page
Table of Contents
Begin Reading
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Praise for Employee Resource Group Excellence
“No one has done more research on ERGs than Robert. He has the deep data, the rich stories, and the proven strategies that gives him unmatched insights into what it takes for ERGs to have transformative impact.”
—Andrés Tapia, Korn Ferry Global DE&I Strategist and co‐author, “The 5 Disciplines of Inclusive Leadership.”
“Dr. Robert Rodriguez has written a must‐read primer for anyone considering an ERG leadership role. Extraordinary insights and guidance! Read this book – and learn from the best in the business.”
—Mariana Fagnilli, Vice President, Global Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Liberty Mutual Insurance
“You cannot solve what you are not willing to see.”
—Tyronne Stoudemire, Global VP of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Co‐Chair, Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Counsel, Hyatt Hotels Corporation
“Dr. Rodriguez is one of the most established and knowledgeable resources on the strategic imperative of ERGs, quantifying their value and guiding the world's top companies in their journeys towards workplace belonging for all. This book is a must‐have resource!”
—Jennifer Brown, Founder and CEO, Jennifer Brown Consulting; Author, “How to Be an Inclusive Leader: Your Role in Creating Cultures of Belonging Where Everyone Can Thrive.”
“A crucial guide to having successful and impactful ERGs, while at the same time, creating an inclusive culture. This book provides strategic steps, metrics, and insights to elevating the performance of employee resource groups.”
—Jorge De La Jara, Senior Director, Pro Customer Engagement and Generation T. Lowe's Companies, Inc.
“I have known Robert Rodriguez for close to two decades. In that time I have seen him become the premier expert on how to elevate ERG performance in corporate America.”
—Isaias Zamarripa, Global Diversity and Inclusion, Bristol Myers Squibb
“I have seen the power that ERGs have to meaningfully energize people, strengthen connections, and promote transformation. Dr. Rodriguez knows better than anyone in business how to curate, organize and resource these individual organizational assets. This book is both a must‐have and a gift to anyone trying to achieve ERG excellence.”
—Shannon Trilli Kempner, Vice President, Corporate Responsibility and Diversity & Inclusion, Catalent Pharma Solutions
“ERGs are one of the first elements of a diversity & inclusion strategy most organizations kick‐off on their journey towards greater equity. Robert's knowledge, research, and actionable recommendations ensures that ERGs are set up for success and benefit both the employees and also the organization. Don't try to launch ERGs without the expertise and guidance provided by Dr. Rodriguez in this book.”
—Bo Young Lee, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Uber Technologies, Inc.
“Dr. Robert Rodriguez has been a trusted advisor, and major asset, to us in the area of ERGs by providing Facebook with critical guidance, strategic insights and creative solutions. His deep expertise and credibility are why he is such a sought‐after diversity leader and influencer.”
—Barbara Furlow‐Smiles, Global Diversity & Inclusion Engagement Leader, Facebook, Inc.
“Robert has been a steadfast advisor to State Street's Employee Networks for many years. We owe a lot of our growth to adopting his 4C approach and strategy. This book is a must‐read for those ERG leaders and diversity practitioners looking to turbocharge their networks.”
—Paul Francisco, Chief Diversity Officer, State Street Corporation
“Dr. Rodriguez's 4C ERG strategic framework is a best‐in‐class model for moving towards ERG excellence. The 4C Model creates employee resource groups that are business‐focused and impactful to business results.”
—Jessica Rice, Global Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Under Armour
ROBERT RODRIGUEZ, PhD
EMPLOYEE RESOURCE GROUP EXCELLENCE
GROW HIGH PERFORMING ERGs TO ENHANCE DIVERSITY, EQUALITY, BELONGING, AND BUSINESS IMPACT
Copyright © 2022 by Robert Rodriguez. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
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Cover design: Wiley
To Mom and Dad: Thanks for all the sacrifices you made to help give me more opportunities and a better life. This book extends your legacy of always giving back to the community. Little did you know that your decision to move our family to Minnesota would lead to the start of my lifelong connection with employee resource groups. All my love.
To Bailey and Benjamin: I can have no greater ambition in life than to be the best father I can be to you both. You are yet too young to have launched your professional careers, but if you should be fortunate enough to work for a company someday that has employee resources groups, I hope that you will join an ERG and that your ERG experience will be as rewarding as mine has been. I love you both.
To Sofia: You'll always be the love of my life. Thanks for your unwavering support, not only during the writing of this book, but in sharing me as my ERG consulting commitments often requires extensive travel away from our home. Who knew that it would be an ERG event that would bring us together? Te Amo.
To companies: Thanks for all you do to support employee resource groups. May this book help you create the conditions that will nurture ERG excellence.
To ERG members and leaders: This book is dedicated to you, due to your willingness to give back and commit your time and energy above and beyond your day jobs to help run and maintain your employee resource groups. This book is my gift to you for all that ERGs have provided me during my lifetime. I will be forever grateful.
Introduction: The Milli Vanilli Syndrome
My Personal Connection to Employee Resource Groups
The city of Matamoros in Mexico seems like an odd place to point to as the origination point for this book that eventually was destined to be titled Employee Resource Group Excellence. Matamoros is a city in the northeastern Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located on the southern bank of the Rio Grande, directly across the border from Brownsville, Texas.
Matamoros is the birthplace of my father, German. My father is the oldest of eight children, all of whom were born and raised in or near Matamoros. When my father reached the age where he could work, he would go across the border to work in Brownsville, Texas. It is in Brownsville that my father eventually met my mother, Janie. Janie is Mexican American, but she is a United States citizen, born in Texas. After a short courtship, German and Janie married and settled in the city of Lubbock, located in the panhandle region of Texas.
Lubbock is the city where I was born in 1969. My memories of Lubbock are rather vague, as we lived there only until I turned four years old. Our family, along with my aunts, uncles, and cousins, used to travel to the Midwest every year as migrant workers. We would go to cities like Traverse City, Michigan, to work the cherry fields and Wahpeton, North Dakota, to help with the sugar beet harvest. We eventually settled on the west side of St. Paul, Minnesota, which is where I grew up and spent my youth during the decades of the 1970s and 1980s.
This upbringing is what led me to eventually join employee resource groups. You see, Minnesota is a great place to live, and was a great place for a child to grow up. However, during my formative years as a child, there was not a large Hispanic population in the Twin Cities, which is what Minneapolis and St. Paul combined are called. Other than my extended Hispanic family that settled in Minnesota with us, there were not many other Latinos. Even today in 2021, the percentage of Hispanics living in Minnesota is still only approximately 5 percent. It was definitely much less back in the 1970s.
My parents, who were well intentioned, encouraged me to connect with the local Anglo kids in the neighborhood. Soon you would find me on the hockey rinks in the winter and baseball fields in the summer. Friends and neighborhood kids to hang out with were not too hard to find, but almost none were Hispanic like me. Additionally, my parents encouraged me to assimilate within the predominantly white community in which we lived. For example, instead of learning to dance Mexican cumbias or rancheras, I learned American dances and the polka – there were lots of polka bands at weddings and parties in Minnesota, I soon realized.
Assimilating and downplaying my Hispanic heritage served me well in high school and even in college. While I was not ashamed of my Hispanic heritage, I wasn't leaning into it nor celebrating it. It simply was not a big part of my identity. My cousins who had remained in Texas and decided not to move to Minnesota were more fluent in Spanish, more knowledgeable about their heritage, and wore their Latino identity on their sleeve. I guess it is easier to celebrate your Hispanic heritage when you are surrounded by a large number of Hispanics.
Anyhow, after finding academic success in high school and in college, it eventually came time to join corporate America and start my professional career. My first two jobs were with large corporations, Target Stores and 3M Company. My jobs with both of these companies were based in Minnesota, so I naturally followed the same routine as when I was in school. That is, I identified as Hispanic, didn't deny it but also did not celebrate it either nor manifest it to a great degree.
Milli Vanilli
Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the pop duo group known as Milli Vanilli was hugely popular and successful. The group had several hit songs, including “Girl You Know It's True,” “Blame It on the Rain,” and “Baby Don't Forget My Number,” each reaching the number 1 ranking on the Billboard Hot 100. I even admit to liking the group and their songs.
With their good looks, catchy songs, and appealing videos, Milli Vanilli went on to win a Grammy for Best New Artist in 1990. The two members of Milli Vanilli, Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus, were adored by fans and loved by the music industry. Unfortunately, it was eventually discovered that while Rob and Fab appeared in the Milli Vanilli music videos and performed at the concerts, it was not their voices that were recorded on the album. Once word got out that other artists supplied the vocals on the album, Milli Vanilli was dropped by their record label, their various awards were taken away, and they were shunned by everyone and ultimately became famous for being fakes and inauthentic.
While the Milli Vanilli scandal played out, my career was progressing nicely. I was performing well in my job and was gaining respect at work, making many new friends and professional colleagues. So well in fact that I was deemed early in my career as someone who had high potential for accelerated career advancement. At the time that I was working at 3M, any young professional who was rated as having high potential had to participate in the company's leadership assessment program. The program consisted of taking a personality indicator (I took the Myers‐Briggs Type Indicator), having one‐on‐one interviews with leadership development experts, completing an inbox work simulation exercise, and participating in a 360‐degree feedback review session where a group of my peers and reporting staff comment on my performance and what I am like to work with.
Overall, my assessment results were strong, and I continued to get promoted about every 18 months or so – I was on the fast track. However, there was one bit of feedback from my 360‐degree review that I will never forget. One of my peers indicated that I came across as inauthentic because it appeared to them that I was downplaying or hiding certain aspects of myself so as not to appear different, and that I was disassociating from one of the dimensions of my identity. This peer knew that I was Hispanic, but since I wasn't really embracing my Hispanic heritage at work, to him I came across as being inauthentic: “He sort of reminds me of Milli Vanilli because he makes me think he is faking something, and I'm not sure I can trust someone who is faking.”
Ouch. This comment stung. Still stings to this day. I had never felt like I was being a phony at work. I never claimed to be someone I was not. But apparently, to this one other person, that is exactly how I was coming across. The leadership development expert who was assigned to review my results told me that because my results were so strong, I shouldn't worry too much about this one single comment. She reminded me that every bit of feedback is a gift if it helps a person improve or raise their awareness. I was happy with the results of the assessment, but the Milli Vanilli comment stuck with me for many years. Little did I know, however, that this would initiate my eventual employee resource group involvement.
After several short job assignments in various small towns in the Midwest in which 3M had manufacturing facilities, eventually my career required a relocation to Chicago. Of course, I was excited that I was going to a big metropolitan area. Little did I know at the time that this move would be the start of my journey to become more connected with my Hispanic heritage, and it is what led me to seek out and join employee resource groups. This happened in part because several things changed upon arriving in Chicago and connecting more closely with my Hispanic heritage.
First, the Hispanic community was much larger in Chicago than it was in Minnesota. I went from Hispanics being less than 5 percent of the population in Minnesota to being close to 30 percent of the population in Chicago. Being surrounded by a much larger Hispanic community made it much easier to connect with other Hispanics besides my family. Second, the Latino community in Chicago was much more diverse. In Minnesota, the Latinos in my circle were predominantly of Mexican descent. But in Chicago, the Hispanics were not just Mexican but also Puerto Rican, Dominican, Cuban, Guatemalan, Colombian, Venezuelan, Peruvian, and so on. This exposed me to a much broader perspective of what it meant to be Latino. The third big difference was that many of these Hispanics were professionals with advanced degrees, and almost all held professional roles such as doctors, attorneys, entrepreneurs, engineers, marketing professionals, academics, and politicians. Not only did I know and meet very few Hispanics when I lived in Minnesota, but only a small percentage of them were degreed professionals working in corporate America like myself.
The biggest difference, however, was that many of the Hispanics I met were unapologetically proud of their heritage. They embraced it. They didn't hesitate to speak Spanish, eat at Hispanic restaurants, play Latin music, talk about what was happening in Latin America, or partake in Hispanic customs. In short, they were leaning into their Hispanic heritage, and being Latino was a big part of how they identified themselves. Not only did they celebrate being Hispanic, but they also wanted others to celebrate it with them. Many of the Latinos I initially met upon moving to Chicago were connected to nonprofit professional associations such as the Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement or the Hispanic National Bar Association, which means they were also active in the Latino community.
My career path had now taken me to work at Amoco Corporation, the oil and gas company based in Chicago at that time. In connecting with this large, professional, diverse, and proud Hispanic community, I was searching for a group at my work to support my growing desire to lean into my Hispanic heritage. Enter the Amoco Hispanic Network (AHN), the Hispanic employee resource group at Amoco at the time. Many of my fellow Latinos at Amoco were members of AHN and they encouraged me to check it out. At first, I wasn't sure what the focus or purpose of the group was, but the concept of professional Latinos purposefully meeting while at work intrigued me and piqued my interest.
My connection with AHN was immediate. I instantly became involved and joined as an official member. I loved working with other Hispanic professionals and enjoyed a sense of freedom I hadn't felt before about being Hispanic at work. I still recall my first event – a Cinco de Mayo event held in the company auditorium in 1997. The focus of the event was to educate non‐Latinos that Cinco de Mayo was not Mexican Independence Day. The members of AHN were tired of constantly having to explain to non‐Hispanics the significance of this day. The feeling of helping others gain better awareness and understanding about my Hispanic heritage was satisfying. Not only did I want to learn more about my culture and have a stronger connection with my heritage, but the Amoco Hispanic Network taught me that we could educate others as well. This was my very first experience with employee resource groups, and I was hooked from the very beginning.
After working at Amoco for a few years, the company merged with British Petroleum in 1998. At the time, it was the largest industrial merger in US history. Eventually, my stint at Amoco ended and I went to work at RR Donnelley & Sons, the printing company also based in Chicago. Having had a positive experience with the Amoco Hispanic Network, I inquired if there was a Hispanic employee resource group at RR Donnelley; unfortunately, there was not. There was, however, a multicultural employee resource group called the Professionals of Color ERG. I joined and eventually became the chair of the group in 2001.
Like my experience with the Amoco Hispanic Network, my involvement and leadership of the ERG at RR Donnelley was quite rewarding. I soon found myself developing a strategy for the group, allocating resources, ensuring member engagement, and finding ways that I and others could bring our full selves to work, as they say. The chair role was also raising my visibility and exposure within the company, because many of my ERG duties involved meeting with executives and leaders within RR Donnelley whom I likely would not have met through the duties of my day job alone. Overall, I was having a blast and performing well as a leader of this employee resource group.
Ironically enough, after my ERG experiences at Amoco and RR Donnelley, I never again worked at a company that had employee resource groups. Yet the foundation had been set. I was thankful that the ERGs had raised my visibility, my capability, and my promotability. But the single biggest benefit I received from being involved in employee resource groups is that they helped me find my voice. The ERGs allowed me to gain confidence in being my true, authentic self. The combination of moving to Chicago and then joining employee resource groups helped me to understand that my Hispanic heritage was an asset and a source of strength. That leaning into my ethnic identity not only made me feel more authentic, but I also came across as more authentic to others. Never again would anyone say I reminded them of that damn Milli Vanilli group!
And thus, the foundation was set. I decided then and there that I would always support employee resource groups and talk about the many benefits they provide. If employee resource groups could have the same impact on others that they had on me, then I felt an obligation to help them grow and prosper within organizations. After earning my doctorate and eventually launching my own consulting firm, Dr. Robert Rodriguez Advisors (DRR Advisors) in 2012, it was clear that I was going to dedicate a significant amount of energy and consulting engagements to helping organizations create the conditions that will nurture ERG success and be a resource for ERGs and their leaders.
It is hard to put into words the influence that employee resource groups have had on my life. Not only did ERGs help with my career advancement, but they also helped me to become my true authentic self. My experience in an employee resource group provided the safe environment that I needed to embrace my Latino sense of identity. ERGs opened my eyes to seeing my world in a whole new way. My ERG experience allowed me to see life in brilliant color.
I often describe my experience of joining an employee resource group as being similar to the movie The Wizard of Oz. For those of you who have seen the movie, you'll recall that at the beginning, Dorothy is in Kansas and the movie is in black and white. Soon the twister (tornado) comes and scoops up Dorothy and whisks her away. Then there is that glorious scene when Dorothy awakens and opens the door of her house that has landed in Oz, and suddenly her world is shown in brilliant color. To me, when I joined an employee resource group, it was as if my world transformed to color. I could see all the richness and beauty – not only in my own Hispanic heritage, but in the promise of diversity and inclusion itself.
Employee resource groups have also provided me a comfortable living. Consulting to organizations on their ERG initiatives is quite lucrative, and my ERG consulting fees have afforded me and my family a life of comfort. And of course, ERGs have allowed me to meet amazing people all over the world. People who, like me, believe in the power of employee resource groups. People whom I now call my friends and who live in all four corners of this Earth. Ultimately, I am confident that this book will trigger a new wave of energy, research, and appreciation of employee resource groups. I believe that we have only just begun to uncover all the hidden value that exists within ERGs. There are still too many people who haven't experienced the joy and impact an employee resource group could provide them.
And so here we are, from my humble beginnings as the son of Mexican American migrant workers raised in Minnesota, to my struggles with my Hispanic identity and being perceived as inauthentic, to eventually joining and becoming a leader of employee resource groups. All this led me to where I am today, which is arguably being considered one of the nation's top experts on employee resource groups. This book seeks to capture all my experience working with employee resource groups, as well as the findings from studying and researching ERGs. This knowledge will be supplemented throughout the book with real‐life examples of employee resource groups that convey excellence. Add to this my trained academics eye for noticing underlying theoretical foundations and the nation's largest collection of ERG data analytics obtained through my 4C ERG AssessmentTM, and this book is sure to provide unique insights and strategies aimed at elevating ERG impact and performance.
In considering the arc of this book, in Part 1 we'll first explore the current state of employee resource groups before talking about common ERG derailers before celebrating ERG leaders. From there, the book transitions into Part 2, which includes a deep dive on the 4C Model and the 4C ERG Assessment, two of my inventions and things I consider to be my gift back to the employee resource group community. We will explore each of the 4C (career, community, culture, commerce) pillars in great detail and outline how they contribute to employee resource group excellence. The book culminates with Part 3, which focuses on ERG solutions and strategies and ends with what I call the ERG Excellence Manifesto.
My goal is that this book will trigger a new way of thinking about ERGs. I look forward to providing a roadmap that leads all employee resource groups toward excellence.
1Beyond Food, Flag, and Fun: The Current State of Employee Resource Groups
The aspirations for this book are not meek, nor are they muted. The purpose of this book is to help employee resource groups (ERGs) achieve excellence. Every company that has approached me to help with their ERGs wants to know how to get them to perform at their best and with distinction. This book intends to inform these efforts.
In today's polarized world, employee resource groups are now more necessary than ever. The work of ERGs is too important, and the need is too great, for them not to perform at their best. My experience with employee resource groups goes back 30 years to my first jobs in corporate America back in the early 1990s. Ever since, my relationship with employee resource groups has evolved and matured and resulted in having a much more textured understanding of, and appreciation for, all the great things employee resource groups provide.
This personal journey with employee resource group includes being an ERG member, an ERG leader, running ERG consortiums, conducting research on ERGs, establishing contests to identify “best‐in‐class” ERGs, helping companies launch ERGs, serving as a judge to determine the top ERGs in the country, writing ERG white papers, and helping ERG to pivot on their strategy and so on. It is without any hesitation that when it comes to employee resource groups, I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. This extensive experience uniquely positions me to write this book – see Table 1.1.
Companies ranging from Amazon to Zillow have all asked me to help with their ERGs. Working with large companies, like Walmart, and small companies, like Zebra Technologies, has given me a unique perspective of ERGs that is not matched by many others. Seeing these groups operate in every industry allows me to take a step back to notice ERG trends, observe best practices, identify key derailers, and hear the discourse associated with these groups. This puts me in a very privileged position. My academic training, including a doctorate in organization development, helps in the analysis of how employee resource groups operate within their larger organizational systems.
This book intends to share these lessons learned and insights. In doing so, the goal is to further help organizations create the conditions that nurture ERG success. For ERG leaders and ERG members, this book will help you create ERGs that have a holistic impact on your members, the company, and the broader community.
The Very Heart of Diversity and Inclusion Efforts
I'm sure that most readers of this book work at organizations that have a diversity and inclusion (D&I) mission statement. Some are short but effective: “To create, nurture and sustain a global, inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our customers and employees.” Others are a bit more elaborate: “As both a global and local business, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our values and is an important part of our company's success. For us, creating a diverse and inclusive workplace is not only the right thing to do – it is a strategic business priority that fosters greater creativity, innovation and connection to the communities we serve.”
Table 1.1 Dr. Robert Rodriguez Partial List of ERG Consulting Clients (2017–2021)
Abbott AbbVie Adobe Systems Akamai Technologies Alcon Allstate Alto Pharmacy Altria Amgen Anheuser‐Busch Aon Hewitt Associated Bank Astellas Pharma Asurion Baxter Healthcare Biogen BCBS ‐ Massachusetts Blue Shield of California BMO Harris Bank Boeing British Petroleum Brunswick BSE Global C.H. Robinson CapitalOne Catalent Pharma
CBRE Chevron Cisco Comcast Cox Enterprises Cracker Barrel Diageo Discover Card E.J. Gallo Wine Electronic Arts Eli Lilly Ericsson Facebook FannieMae FiatChrysler General Electric Gilead Sciences GlaxoSmith Kline Google Gusto Hallmark Cards Harley Davidson Harvard University Health Care Service Corp. Henkel Corporation Herman Millar Hyatt Hotels Ingredion
Intel JetBlue Airlines Johnson & Johnson KMPG KraftHeinz Levi Strauss & Co. Liberty Mutual LinkedIn Lockheed Martin Lowe's Manpower Group Mass General Brigham McDonald's Corporation McKesson 3M Medline Medtronic Merck MetLife Micron Technology Microsoft Mondeléz National Basketball Association National Credit Union Association
NBCUniversal Nielsen Nike Northern Trust Northwestern Mutual Oppenheimer Funds Pacific Gas & Electric Prudential Insurance Raytheon Technologies Sanofi SC Johnson Sony Stanley Black & Decker State Street Corporation SurveyMonkey The TJX Companies Uber Under Armour Verizon VMware Walgreens Zillow
Dr. Robert Rodriguez Partial List of ERG Consulting Clients (2017–2021)
But regardless of whether the diversity and inclusion mission statements are short or long, the message is the same. Everyone benefits from having a diverse employee population who feel included in the organization. This synopsis of common mission statements puts employees at the very core of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. So, in my opinion, employee resource groups must be at the very heart of any effort to improve the workplace from a diversity and inclusion perspective.
You see, every company says, “Employees are our most important asset,” yet few rarely act as if this is true. Embracing and nurturing groups that are run by employees (a company's most important asset) to drive diversity and inclusion (a company's strategic priority) to promote equity (a company value) just goes to show why employee resource groups are critical. Given the important role ERGs play, it is no wonder they are prolific within organizations. Yet, it is still astonishing that ERGs are still mostly treated as a simple tool in the D&I toolbox, as opposed to being the very essence and manifestation of diversity and inclusion itself.
Why is the pursuit of ERG excellence so important? First consider the current environment of today's organizations. Companies are having to adapt to a workplace that has an increasingly diverse and global employee population. This diverse workforce demands inclusive work environments. Employee resource groups help to create these inclusive environments.
More diversity in the workplace calls for leaders who can effectively manage this diversity. Gone are the days when a manager could treat every employee the same way. Today's diverse workforce requires managers to be more inclusive. It requires them to know what motivates each employee and the unique strategies that allow them to get the most out of everyone. Diversity requires managers to use a variety of strategies, approaches, and methods to maximize employee performance. A one‐size‐fits‐all strategy to managing large groups of employees is not effective. Thus, the demand for more inclusive leaders has risen. Employee resource groups help an organization create the more inclusive leaders they need.
Even though organizations have increased diversity overall, employees from historically underrepresented communities are still lacking in most senior leadership teams. Organizations need to do better in grooming executives that come from a more diverse pool of candidates. With their focus on career advancement, ERGs help to create a more representative talent pipeline.
Not only have workplaces become more diverse, so has our society in general. The population growth in the United States is being driven by multicultural communities. The growing size of these minority populations means that their purchasing power is increasing. Thus, companies must cater to a consumer base that is less homogeneous. Multicultural marketing departments have grown in size as organizations look to penetrate previously overlooked market segments. If companies are to leverage diverse markets as a catalyst for economic growth, they need cultural intelligence. Employee resource groups provide this cultural intelligence.
Increasingly, employees want to work for employers that are socially conscious. They want employers who are good corporate citizens in the communities in which they operate. To accomplish this, organizations need employees who are closely connected to their communities. They need employees who want to give back to their neighborhoods, districts, and regions. Organizations also want employees who are involved in local nonprofits because this helps to build bridges with community organizations. Employee resource groups help companies establish stronger relationships in the community.
For these reasons, and many more, organizations need their ERGs to deliver on their goals. We need our ERGs to perform at their peak. And we need organizations to expand their value proposition to all their stakeholders. We are not asking for perfection from our employee resource groups. Perfection is not the goal. The goal is a desire to achieve excellence. The dictionary definition of excellence is “to surpass”; it is “the quality of being outstanding or extremely good.” When ERGs strive for excellence, they are always looking at where they are and how they can get a little bit better. And since we will be discussing the concept of ERG excellence throughout the book, I'm going to define it here at the very beginning of our journey.
As we continue along this book, we will periodically pause to reflect how this definition of ERG excellence came to exist and how it manifests itself in our organizations.
ERG excellence is a commitment to a data‐driven approach, resulting in an inclusively holistic value proposition in which employees drive accelerated career advancement, improved cultural competency, enhanced community relations, and greater company success.
Employee Resource Group Basics
Prior to launching on our journey to ERG excellence, let's take a quick glance at these groups. These groups go by many names, including affinity networks, power of difference communities (PODs), employee networks, and diversity councils. The most common names used to refer to these groups are employee resource groups or business resource groups (BRGs). This book will reference the groups mostly as ERGs and occasionally as BRGs.
So, what are employee resource groups? ERGs are inclusive communities in which the members tend to share some common characteristics. ERGs usually focus on traditionally underrepresented groups within organizations and are typically based on gender (women ERGs), ethnicity (Hispanic ERGs), race (Black/African American ERGs), sexual orientation (LGBTQ ERGs), physical capabilities (disability ERGs), shared experience (military veterans ERGs), age (young professional ERGs), or some other common characteristic (parents ERGs). They typically are formed by employees after receiving the approval by the company to establish an employee resource group.
ERGs are quite prevalent in organizations, with approximately 90 percent of the Fortune 500 companies having employee resource groups. Organizations usually have between six to eight employee resource groups with the occasional company having a dozen or more separate ERGs globally. For example, AT&T, the global media, and communications company, has 37 separate employee groups and networks across their enterprise.
When companies do have ERGs, the minimum penetration rate any organization ought to achieve is 10 percent. This means that at least 10 percent of the organization's employees are members of at least one of their employee resource groups. ERGs can exist with a penetration rate less than 10 percent, but it is difficult for these ERGs to thrive in such situations because they lack the sufficient critical mass of the employee population. A gold standard would be a penetration rate of approximately 20 percent. Best in class numbers that I have seen are a penetration rate of about 40 percent. Just imagine, almost half of an organization's employees identifying as a member of an employee resource group.
