People with disabilities benefit all groups with which they identify. Create accessible and universally designed workplaces, spaces, processes and opportunities. How can you help remove barriers? he said. It also became clear that ERG leaders were overburdened by the work of keeping the ERGs running. #block-googletagmanagerfooter .field { padding-bottom:0 !important; } Use them as a resource to determine what qualities job searching PWD would look for in a company. As a best practice, effective ERGs also focus on strategic alignment and a distinct purpose. 1 in Top Companies for Employee Resource Groups, moving up from No. Business leaders seeking to develop their companies DEI infrastructure further would do well to understand how ERGs can contribute. At a town hall, for example, ERG leaders provide a coherent overview of all ERGs, their purpose, the groups they serve, and how each employee can get involved, as well as the connection between ERG activities and the overall company DEI strategy. For example, an employee who is blind or has low vision may not feel comfortable presenting in front of a crowd and has never had the opportunity to practice that skill to gain confidence in it. I have personally found ERG leadership is a really good activity to face professional fearspublic speaking or having difficult conversations for example. Saturday, April 22, 2023, is Earth Day. Access to these tools is especially important in the first few weeks and months of employment as employees settle into the daily routines of their jobs. At Brandlance we have been naming businesses for over 8 years and we are The veterans ERG was small, with less than 30 members, but offered external speakers, happy hours, and connections with senior colleagues. Its a great way for employees to share how theyre making their departments accessible and make valuable connections. Formal ERGs came into existence in response to race-related tension in the 1960s. The Disability:IN ERG/BRG Leadership Committee has prepared this fact sheet to assist corporate disability Employee Resource Groups/Business Resource Groups understand how to best leverage the skills and connections that their Executive Sponsor possesses. We see several ways in which ERGs can help advance companies DEI efforts. Also having anERG leadership transition planis important. To the benefit of all the ERGs, the DEI team deployed an engagement survey that one ERG had successfully rolled out across the entire organization. The authors wish to thank Yueyang Chen, Elaine Dang, Danny Hurvitz, and Monne Williams for their contributions to this article. Find more resources for employers at the Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion. Download these disability inclusion posters and social media graphics to promote inclusion and awareness within your company. Employee engagement is essential to our vibrant workforce. Nina comes to Equidox with years of sales and marketing experience from a variety of industries and holds a BS in Language Arts Education. The Disability:IN APAC Councils Disability Advantage Conference was held April 20. But to optimize their An official website of the United States government. A newer employee may have insights into how the company can better accommodate everyone. As the ninth and newest employee resource group, Indigenous at Microsoft strives to honour, share and celebrate Indigenous cultures within and beyond Microsoft while shaping inclusive technology to empower future generations. For example, an administrative assistant may find herself in charge of planning an event to celebrate national disabilities month for her ERG supporting people with disabilities. Effective ERGs also track the outcomes of their work and report them to leadership and their members. TheBlack Employee Networks (BEN) mission is to foster the inclusion and advancement of employees that identify as Black or of African descent at Thomson Reuters. For example, the LGBTQ+ ERG had country chapters with different names and disparate goals. @media only screen and (min-width: 0px){.agency-nav-container.nav-is-open {overflow-y: unset!important;}} These groups help businesses learn to accommodate, attract, retain, and market to people with disabilities (PWD). Tune into this webinar to hear about findings from the 2022 Disability Equality Index. Sponsored by Accenture & Google with Salesforce, Intel, & Bank of America, the conference had over 1,200 registrants from 36 countries. New roles that DEI departments envision for ERGs dont always coincide with the roles set forth by ERGs themselvesor with employees expectations. /*-->*/. They offer employees the opportunity to network, address common issues and concerns, and receive support from those who share similar backgrounds, experiences or interests. WebFounded in 1989, our first employee resource group, BAM, has led investment in programs like the BAM scholarships and Minority Student Day, an outreach event it hosts annually 8 employee networks that foster an inclusive environment. This could demonstrate her organizational and event planning skills, making her a great candidate for a position in event marketing. They are comprised of employees who are linked together by personal characteristics, such as ones race, ethnicity, gender, status as an individual with a disability, or sexual orientation/gender identity, or those who are Disability:IN recommends three actions to be a mental health champion and ally: Notice, Act, Refer. The company began recognizing and rewarding ERG leaders by writing ERG involvement into annual performance goals and allowing a 20 percent time allocation for ERG leadership. Employee Resource Groups can mimic the diversity you want in your job candidate talent pool. The CDC says a disability is any condition of the body or mind (impairment) that makes it more difficult for the person with the condition to do certain activities (activity limitation) and interact with the world around them (participation restrictions). More information, including state-level data, is available at the, Receive updates in your inbox as soon as new content is published on our website, American Community Survey and Puerto Rico Community Survey 2018 Subject Definitions (PDF). ERG leaders and members are asking whether the groups provide what employees want and are seeking ways to offer the support employees are actually looking for. Toolkits, checklists, books, films, and more about the Americans with Disabilities Act to help aid in awareness, education, and action towards a more inclusive future. They have grown to become important networking, retention, and marketing groups that continue to benefit businesses. Employees are able to step outside of their normal department groups. Disability:IN has partnered with Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP), a trusted advisor working with []. Do You Need an Employee Resource Group for People with Disabilities? An employee might not otherwise have had the opportunity to develop those skills within the scope of their job responsibilities. Common metrics tracked by effective ERGs include overall membership, event participation, member experience and sentiment, and intersectional demographics, such as race and gender within an LGBTQ+ ERG. TheEarly Careers Networkstrives to develop and equip early career professionals with the skills to take control of their career development, reach their potential, and become the leaders of tomorrow. Recruiting goals for people with disabilities and veterans with service-related disabilities are hard to meet without disability ERGs. . People hiding their disabilities at the office are less happy at work. In a survey rating the ERGs effectiveness, Shannon rated the ERG effective at employee community building but ineffective with respect to allyship, leadership connection, career advancement, and external engagement. Either your organization: Disability ERGs are a huge win for everyoneemployees (both those involved in the group that are leaders, and those that are members), the organization itself, and members of the public who may be treated with less bias when applying for a position with the organization. Meanwhile, information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shows 61 million U.S. adults live with a disability. Representing 17 ethnicity groups, the mission of the Asians employee resource group is to accelerate the advancement of Asian employees at Microsoft, increase the communitys influence, and build a network of camaraderie and support within the community and with allies. Sometimes referred to as Employee Networks or To honor this important day, Disability:INs Dorothy Garcia will open this webinar by sharing initial findings from the pilot round of the Global Disability Equality Index, and how the pandemic has made disability inclusion [], Microsoft believes its most important contribution to accessibility will come not from their own work, but from helping their customers and partners use technology to meet their accessibility commitments. Include disability in your companys diversity statement. Taking a leadership role within an ERG allows an employee to demonstrate successful leadership skills in the workplace. . The group also serves as a resource to Hispanic and Latinx communities and organizations worldwide. When does a disability accommodation become a personal benefit? WebThese groups are also known as Affinity Groups or Business Resource Groups (BRGs). These building blocks are designed to assist both buyers and sellers on their digital accessibility journey. Fair access to financial tools and credit can help consumers achieve their lifes goals. Many of us want to be or are, participants. In honor of World Mental Health Day on October 10th, join Disability:IN and the National Industry Liaison Group (NILG) to hear speakers from multi-national corporations discuss their actions to promote mental wellness across their company. The ERGs and LCs are organized around race, national origin, gender identity, parenthood, diverse abilities, education, faith and beliefs, and other common affinities. A sincere and well-drafted statement can build customer loyalty and help avoid lawsuits by addressing issues before legal help is sought. Day #7 Use Social Media to Promote Your Activities. They serve as valuable focus groups for the company and advocacy groups for their members. Learn more about the Econ Lowdown Teacher Portal and watch a tutorial on how to use our online learning resources. Access to these tools is especially important in the. These groups help businesses learn to accommodate, attract, retain, and market to people with disabilities (PWD). Some things that you may need to accomplish to saturate your potential members with information about your group include: Every company that is large enough to have any ERG needs to have a disability ERG. We surveyed and spoke with employees from all different levels, from frontline hourly employees to corporate executives, who work in large companies (more than 25,000 employees) across all US geographies. Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are not new. BAM also partners with community organizations across its 15 chapters. Lets face it; Zoom meetings can be tedious. Even when professional development is not the main goal of an ERG, members may have the opportunity to learn and develop new skills by taking on roles within the organization that differ from their jobs. U.S. Census Bureau. WebEmployee Resources Groups (ERGs) go by many different names (i.e., Affinity Groups, Business Resource Groups, Employee Network Groups), but regardless of what they Georgene Huang, 90% of Fortune 500 companies already have a solution to gender equality but arent utilizing it,. An invisible disability can be physical. Employees with disabilities can share tools and ideas with one another, upper management, and the company as a whole to ensure their needs are met and that they are professionally successful. Natacha Catalino is a senior expert in McKinseys Boston office, Nora Gardner is a senior partner in the Washington, DC, office, Drew Goldstein is an associate partner in the Miami office, and Jackie Wong is a consultant in the Philadelphia office. Its about having conversations where we're meeting people where theyre at.. TheLatino Employee Networkwas created to foster cultural, as well as professional growth within Thomson Reuters, both in the Latino and general community. Each ERG then shared its strategies with the DEI team so that the central team could coordinate and foster collaboration across the previously siloed groups. Some companies compensate ERG leaders for their ERG work5Michael Baptiste, How and why Justworks compensates our ERG leads, Justworks, July 23, 2020. and make ERG responsibilities a formal part of leaders roles, covered in their performance reviews.6Aubrey Blanche and Kelly Luc, How to pay your ERG leaders, Culture Amp, accessed October 2022. If you spend just five minutes with the groups leadersBeth Hughes, Scott Lamar and Naomi Puschits clear these goals are more than words. Employee resource groups can contribute to employee retention by showing employers what PWD need to be successful. WebEmployee Resource Groups (ERG) are employee-led groups with members who are drawn together by a common interest and work towards advancing relevancy, diversity, and inclusion throughout the organizations. Identify who will own: Document this all in anERG charterif your organization has other ERGs, there may be a template for this, it doesnt have to be too complicated. To avoid this pitfall, effective ERG leaders align with their companys DEI team and communicate extensively about the ERGs purpose and goals. We encourage our employees to Accordingly, it is more important than ever for ERGs to communicate and share goals and strategies with one another to emphasize inclusion and allyship, since the predominant model of ERGs is a focus on one category. Finally, you need to understand where you are starting so you can objectively prove the worth of your ERG. ERGs tend to fall short in predictable patternspatterns that can be undone with practices followed by the most effective ERGs. Pick an area where a potential member reading the announcement says Wow, John Smith is supporting the Disability ERGmust be important.. ERGs have charters with specific goals and objectives the group aims to achieve. To prevent such inequities, effective companies create a centrally aligned approach to allocating ERG funding and leadership support. Explore 2022 Diversity & Inclusion Report.