Three Quick Wins to Kick Start An Employee Resource Group At Work
One of the first things I think about when onboarding a new team member, starting a new project, or taking on a complex task is: how can I get a quick win? Quick wins give us the jolt of confidence and credibility we might need to take the next step forward. It allows us to break up daunting, complex tasks into more graspable undertakings. And it makes us feel good, which may improve our chances of success.
We wrote a roughly 4,000-word toolkit on how to build & sustain thriving Employee Resource Groups. While it's full of helpful tips for ERG leaders, it might be too much if you're just getting started. For that reason, we're sharing three quick wins to kick-start your Employee Resource Group.
Collect your favorite stories
Fill your arsenal with stories about Employee Resource Groups and their impact. Weave those narratives into your pitch so that you feel confident and credible. Here are a couple of our favorites:
Members of the LGBTQ+ ERG at Hallmark reflected that there weren't many greeting cards at the store that served the kinds of moments & celebrations that they wanted to commemorate with family and friends. Driven by their community's purpose & value, the LGBTQ+ group was a driving force for bringing a whole new set of cultural celebration greeting cards to the market.
At Comcast, it was members of their Employee Resource Groups that took notice of the faults in their voice control remote product. It worked great for white people from the Philadelphia region because that's who worked closely with this product, to begin with! ERG members set out to record a more diverse set of voices, completely revolutionizing the voice control remote product for a wide range of users.
💡 Action item: Find and document at least three Employee Resource Group stories that spark a fire in you.
Make a list of possible Champions
You're going to need some help, Cultivator. It's a great idea to nail down an executive sponsor to help you advocate your cause to the ultimate decision-makers. But, "nailing down" can be a daunting task. It might require scheduling multiple coffee chats, ironing out an agreement, articulating clear responsibilities, among other things.
💡 Action item: Make a list! Here are some reflection questions to get you started.
Who are the first 1-3 senior leaders who come to mind when you think of your community's purpose & value?
Which senior leader(s) do you admire most? Why?
Which qualities are must-haves for your ideal executive sponsor?
Schedule your next coffee chat with a potential member (or two!)
Vanilla latte, anyone? Your potential members will be your community's DNA! So, it's essential to make a valiant effort to reach as many potential community members in the organization as possible. These folks will help you bring your vision to life while bringing to light needs and reflections you may not have thought of yet.
We've crafted our Community Accelerator to help you navigate how to tackle this stuff. Three tips that we share when it comes to interviewing potential members are to:
Be curious
Be accurate
Be prepared
💡 Action item: Send an email to at least three potential members requesting their availability for a coffee chat over the next couple of weeks.
Good luck, Cultivator! As always, you can find us in our Cultivators Community if you need support along the way.
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