- Employee-resource organizations are worker-led communities that promote a sense o belonging at a business.
- These groups can be a great way for small-business owners to attract and keep talent.
- Insider was joined by nine HR and DEI professionals who shared their tips for business owners on how to create successful programs.
- This article is part Talent InsiderA series of expert advice for small business owners to address a variety of challenges in hiring.
Although it can be difficult to maintain a sense community when your small business grows it is possible. Insider reported that entrepreneurs should form employee-resource groups to create a sense of belonging.
These are networks that are organized by employers around a common interest, affinity or identity. Kristy LilasGoDaddy’s vice president for diversity, inclusion and belonging is.
Lilas stated that they provide an environment for employees to build relationships, support each other in professional development, participate in programs and projects together and learn from each others. They allow us to have fun.”
These groups often cover a wide variety of identities — from those Designed by and for Black workersTo those who are dedicated to veterans in work. These should only be created if the community in the business needs them, Amy Spurling (CEO and founder of human-resource platform Compt), said.
Nine HR and diversity, equality, and inclusion leaders share their best advice for small business owners interested in supporting and starting employee-resources teams.
At the same time, you can generate interest and infrastructure
Although the groups are employee-led, entrepreneurs should still be involved in their creation, Sharon Ray, head diversity, equity and inclusion at Envoy Global (which offers software for immigration-services), said.
If an employee is interested in establishing an employee-resource group, a business should already have a clear structure in place, said Paloma Thombley, vice president of people at Handshake, a platform that helps college students find careers.
Thombley suggested that it could be compared to training wheels. You must be able and willing to support them before they can ride on their own. Then, you will figure out the best thing for everyone.
A playbook can help community leaders navigate their responsibilities, budget planning, and other details, Naznine Tilak, global head of diversity equity, inclusion and belonging at Pegasystems said.
It is important that mission statements align with business goals
Compt’s Spurling stressed that employee-resources groups should be more than a way for employees to vent. Owners of small businesses must ensure that their groups are aligned with the company’s goals.
She said that there must be a positive outcome to having the ERG group, which refers to employee-resources groups.
At the accounting and consultancy firm, this is an example. KPMGKPMG’s chief diversity officer Elena Richards said that employees who join the groups can partner with clients and develop lasting relationships. Richards said that KPMG’s employee-resource group is a third of its employees.
GoDaddy’s Lilas stated, “We cannot forget that a company’s greatest asset is its employees.” “No matter how successful we are as a company, there are people who do the work. Without them, our businesses wouldn’t exist.”
Leadership through executive sponsorship: Involvement
Executive sponsors — representatives from the leadership team who support and advocate for an employee-resource group — are vital to the programs’ success, Emily Goldberg, a human-resources business partner at the startup-data and -research firm Crunchbase, said.
Goldberg stated, “They bridge any gap the employees might need to really push through these goals and their events.”
In a perfect world, employee-resource groups would have two executive sponsors, said Envoy’s Ray and Bernard Coleman, the chief diversity and engagement officer of Gusto, an HR platform for small businesses. Coleman said that one of the cosponsors must identify the intended audience for the group, while the other shouldn’t.
Richards explained that KPMG’s Network of Women, which celebrates its 20th Anniversary next year, has had men on its advisory panel as a way to teach men in leadership how they can be effective allies.
But leadership’s involvement with employee-resource groups should not be limited to executive sponsorship, said Terri Hatcher, the chief diversity and inclusion officer at the information-technology company NTT Data. Example: George Floyd was murderedHatcher explained that NTT Data’s CEO wanted to meet with leaders representing the group of Black and African American employees. They discussed how to create a workplace that is inclusive for all workers.
Hatcher stated that the ERGs are subject-matter experts and are a source of inspiration for our leadership. “So, if there is something going on within our society or our organization that they believe one of our ERGs might be able to offer insight on, they’ll reach out to them.”
