You Are Who You Include

"Inclusion Cultivates Excellence" was the theme of the CUPA-HR Annual Conference, held in Orlando, Florida, in September 2011. (See CUPA-HR's position statement on diversity and inclusion, unveiled at the meeting.) Among the dozens of conference presentations were several sessions that touched on an effective tool for employee engagement and inclusion that is gaining popularity within many corporations: employee resource groups (ERGs).

In broad strokes, ERGs are organization-supported, employee-managed groups of individuals within an organization who self-identify as sharing a common background, experience, or affinity. ERGs often encompass groups that are formed based on race or ethnicity, gender or generational perspective, or circumstance. For example, Aetna has ERGs for African American, Hispanic, Asian American, and Native American employees; for women and for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender employees; for Baby Boomers and Gen X and Gen Y employees; and for military veterans, employees with disabilities, caregivers, working families, and teleworkers.

According to Raymond Arroyo, vice president and chief diversity officer for Aetna, ERGs provide a great vehicle not only to engage and retain employees, but also to leverage their knowledge for the benefit of the organization. Currently about 16,000 Aetna employees are part of one or more of the company's 15 ERGs. Arroyo, one of three corporate member panelists who shared their experiences with ERGs, was joined by representatives from Fidelity Investments and ING in the session "The Journey Toward Diversity and Inclusion on Campus—Practices and Perspectives." Renee Alexander Sherrod, vice president and chief diversity officer at TIAA-CREF, shared her ERG insights during the session "Diversity and Inclusion: Driving Innovation and Competitive Advantage at Your Institution."

Among the benefits ERGs provide to employees are opportunities to network, share career-building advice, and formulate and advance common concerns within the workplace, says Arroyo. For instance, a group of parents of children with disabilities or of elder parent caregivers not only allows individuals within that group to share with each other how they balance work with care-giving responsibilities. They also can identify barriers in the workplace that impede their unique work/life balance needs. Working as a group to bring their concerns to the attention of leaders within the organization can contribute to a better work environment that accommodates employee needs for greater work-schedule flexibility, for instance. In this way, ERGs are of immense value to the employer by providing a vehicle to hear specific concerns and needs of particular employee segments and insights that ultimately help the organization improve its service and communication, notes Arroyo.

Sherrod concurs. TIAA-CREF leverages the input and expertise of its six ERGs for a variety of workplace, workforce, and marketplace initiatives. In one example, the organization tapped its Latino and Hispanic ERG to provide input on a Spanish-speaking language initiative to help project leaders better understand customer needs and how best to target their communication. In other instances, in addition to helping the organization develop relevant population-specific policies, ERGs offer an obvious resource to help with organizationwide diversity and inclusion training and to provide mentoring opportunities for new employees, notes Sherrod. ERGs can also provide a ready-made vehicle for establishing relationships with external organizations, associations, and groups that broaden the pipeline to recruit future employees, adds Sherrod.

Arroyo and Sherrod provided several key tips for establishing workplace ERGs:

• Let the process be somewhat organic, allowing employees to identify the groups they want to create. Messaging regarding ERGs should indicate that groups are open to any and all who have an interest to belong, even if they don't fit a particular group profile. 
• Insist that the groups identify a legitimate business focus. ERGs should be more than social networks and should exist to provide professional development and mentoring opportunities, organization and community outreach and volunteer opportunities, and so forth.
• Provide structure, support, and recognition for your ERGs. This could include assistance with developing Web sites or SharePoint sites for ERG members to plan, network, and communicate with others throughout the organization. Or it might include assigning informal mentors or advisory board members to the groups to provide a direct channel of communication with senior leaders.

Karla Hignite, principal of KH Communication, is editor of NACUBO's HR Horizons. E-mail: karlahignite@msn.com.