"ERGs are fully empowered. There are things happening around the world through our ERGs that I, as the chief inclusion officer, did not dictate, and did not play a part in."
Alveda Williams, chief inclusion officer at Dow, talked about the enormous difference Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) have on policies, practices innovation, and overall business success at Dow. With 600 chapters globally, these groups have influenced policies and contributed to product innovations, such as the Pride collection sneaker with Under Armour.
She also shared why influencers and non-people managers are part of leadership, and how that fosters a culture of collaboration and inclusion. Her insights remind us that inclusion is not just a policy, but a practice requiring intentional effort and leadership at all levels.
On the benefits of employee resource groups:
So often we get stuck on the first letter. Is the focus on the” E”? My tendency is to say we're focusing on the wrong thing. We really should be focusing on that “R,” because these groups are a resource for the employees and they're a resource for companies.
It's why we've spent so much energy around them. Over the last seven years, we have quadrupled participation in our ERGs. In 2017, 15% of our employees were engaged in one of our ERGs, to today, 60% of our employees are engaged in one of the 10 ERGs. We believe in the power of ERGs to move the needle for our people and for our company.
On how ERGs influence business decisions:
In terms of business outcomes, I tend to think of that really broadly. I think about policy changes, changes in our practices, and of course changes in innovation and in terms of our overall results.
We recently expanded our global parental leave policy, and we went from six weeks of parental leave to now 16 weeks of parental leave, time off for all birthing and non-birthing parents, regardless of gender. And that policy came out of our women's inclusion network.
I think about the work that we've done around expanding benefit coverage for same-sex couples, born out of our GLAD ERG.
And then there are examples around innovation. One of our key customers is Under Armour. Every June, Under Armor puts out a Pride collection sneaker and in the mid-sole of that sneaker is Dow technology. And so you take the innovation that we bring in terms of delivering the technology into the shoe, partner that up with our global GLAD LGBTQ+ ERG, and you've got a powerful product that is on display, and the proceeds of that go to an organization called Athlete Ally in support of LGBTQ athletes.
ERGs are fully empowered. There are things happening around the world through our ERGs that I, as the chief inclusion officer, did not dictate, and did not play a part in.
When they speak, we absolutely listen. When they bring the ideas, we absolutely vet them. The highest level of leadership in our company serves as the executive sponsors for these ERGs, and it speaks to the level of importance that we place on them. They are not just there waiting to be called up. They are fully empowered and activated to bring their best ideas forward.
On how ERG goals are connected to the company’s goals:
We've said ERGs have long been a place of connection and community in our company, but what are the things that we can do to help them better serve the company's direct needs?
Three years ago, we developed this concept that we call an ERG agenda each year, and it speaks to the things that are critically important for the company. ERGs are going to do the work of providing a place of connection and courage and community for their group and the allies that support them. But if you want to be a resource for the company, here are the things that we are asking you to focus on.
We don't dictate the programming, but we will say that in 2024, for example, well-being is important. And we watch what they do with that, and it can be powerful. What well-being or mental health means to somebody in the Veteran's group may look very different than what it means in the women's group.
We give them five or six sort of anchors, if you will, every year. And then we just let them go and have fun with it, and it's great to see what they can come back with.
When they speak, we absolutely listen. When they bring the ideas, we absolutely vet them. The highest level of leadership in our company serves as the executive sponsors for these ERGs, and it speaks to the level of importance that we place on them. They are not just there waiting to be called up. They are fully empowered and activated to bring their best ideas forward.
On the impact of ERGs on the employee experience:
Seven years ago, when we had 15% of our people in ERGs, we looked behind the curtains of our employee survey and what we saw is that people who were participating in our ERGs were having a significantly different and positive experience relative to those who are not.
We could see it in the data. We were literally proving out the business case around ERGs ourselves, and I mean significant — 11, 12 basis points. This year, it's about 14 basis points. That was with 15% of the people in our ERGs. We knew that if that were true, what we were seeing is higher overall employee satisfaction. That satisfaction translates to engagement, engagement translates to productivity, and productivity translates to bottom-line value.
On how Dow defines leaders:
We have a community that we call Lead, and includes everyone who is a leader of people, in addition to those leaders who are a certain career grade in our organization who do not have people. At Dow, we believe that leadership is a privilege, not a right, and so we want to make sure that we're setting up our leaders to be able to serve the community of employees that we have.
At the center of the employee experience, the data that you at Great Place To Work has shared with us, and the data that so many of our partners have shared with us, is that leaders make the difference. The data will show you that more than 70% of an employee's experience is based on their experience with leaders. And so we are tapping into that unapologetically and making sure that we start at the heart of the house, which is our leadership community, 3,000 or so of our 36,000 employees.
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