5 Things / empower ERGs

One of the questions I enjoy speaking with organizations about is: "Do our policies or products exclude anyone?" Chances are, they inadvertently do. For those organizations with Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), consider the possibility that those groups may help unearth and solve these exclusions. 

Here's a great example: Equifax's (the credit reporting agency) LGBTQ ERG had a transgender guest speaker last year. The speaker shared that their credit score went down after transition because their great score was attached to their former name. Equifax thought they might be able to help solve this problem.

The ERG did some digging, figured out why this was happening (because first name changes with banks didn't automatically update with Equifax). While the ERG couldn't solve that problem specifically, it did craft detailed guidance for transgender customers to change their name within Equifax (even online) so that their credit score is accurate.

While the onus for change is still on transgender folks and that remains a problem, the Pride Network addressed an important inclusion gap that may improve the experience for members of their own community -- and they were empowered to do so. 

That's the key takeaway here: ERGs can be incredibly valuable to your business, but it starts with empowering them, giving them access to executives, and investing in leadership development.

Here are some other good vibes I found this week:

Image by: The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia

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5 Things / increase access

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