Employee Resource Groups with Cassie Whitlock, director of HR at BambooHR
Join Michael and Robin on 4/28/2021 when\xa0they discuss Employee Resource Groups and how to make them more effective with\xa0Cassie Whitlock, director of HR at software company\xa0BambooHR. An answer for workplace inclusivity in the past has often been affinity groups or employee resource groups (ERGs). Need more women in leadership or initiatives more LGBTQ+ friendly? Make a group for that.\xa0\n\nCassie Whitlock\xa0believes that while there\u2019s an opportunity for ERGs to provide value within an organization, they\u2019re not an end-all solution. At some point there becomes a scaling issue -- a group can\u2019t be made for every possible delineation. And on top of that, ERGs can inadvertently exclude employees, creating the opposite desired effect.\n\nERGs can have a positive impact -- it all comes down to how they\u2019re structured and if there is an internal locus of control and employees feel empowered to affect change. Here are the core elements Cassie believes companies need to focus on when creating/refining ERGs:\n\nEstablish a clearly defined purpose for each ERG that are aligned with a business need, and actively work toward that purpose\xa0\n\nEach group needs an involved executive sponsor\n\nGroup leaders need to be knowledgeable and not waste time being counterproductive