Building Effective Business Resource Groups
As Manager of Diversity & Inclusion, I oversee various initiatives to foster a culture of workplace belonging. One of these initiatives include UT Southwestern’s five Business Resource Groups, also known as employee resource groups or affinity groups. BRGs are voluntary, employee-led groups that serve as a resource for members and the organization by advancing diversity, inclusion, belonging, and employee engagement. Below, I share five tips for ensuring your employee resource groups help your organization achieve its mission and goals.
Ensuring A Successful Launch + Kick Off
The launch of a BRG is it’s first introduction to the organization. That means a successful launch is critical. To ensure your launch is well-received, ensure you have buy -in from senior leadership, a solid team aligned on vision & goals, and a way to articulate the value-add of your group. To jumpstart this process, think through a few key questions such as: In what way is this ERG furthering the mission of the organization? How can this ERG be leveraged to make recruitment and retention efforts more robust? What group will this ERG serve, and how can we build community without alienating others? For a comprehensive check-list on how to start an ERG check out this link here.
Creating Organizational Structure
Structure is critical when overseeing multiple employee resource groups. At UT Southwestern, my Division oversees five business resource groups (African-American Employee BRG, Asian Pacific Islander BRG, Hispanic Latino BRG, LGBTA BRG, and Veteran’s BRG), which provide a source of support for UTSW colleagues, foster career development, and promote cultural sensitivity in the workplace. Once our new team came into place, we created a SharePoint site where we post action items as well as house documents pertinent to officers. From the onset, these forms have added much needed structure and expectations for how my Division engages and collaborates with the BRGs. For example, we created a BRG Event Request Form which has to be submitted to my Division 3 weeks before the BRG hosts an event, affording our team the opportunity to review, provide feedback, and assess funding options.
In addition, the site also houses the contact information of all 5 BRG officers, as well as guidance on how to plan events, the BRG by-laws, and other important information. Even more, our BRGs submit Monthly Metrics forms which allow us to evaluate whether (1) we are staying within budget, (2) how attendance fares at different types of events, and (3) the frequency with which our BRGs host events. The SharePoint site, and forms like those highlighted here, have provided BRGs with a central hub of information while allowing my team to manage expectations and provide organizational structure. Furthermore, the compilation of these documents allows our Division and the BRGs to assess strengths and weaknesses, and make plans to inform future programming.
Finding Time to Connect
The Division of Diversity & Inclusion serves as a resource to BRGs and provides operational guidance. To provide that level of oversight, building relationships and trust is key. In this way, we create meaningful connections with our BRG officers and members through hosting bi-monthly BRG officer meetings, and sending out monthly newsletters. At this meeting, my Division provides updates, budget information, insights on new programs and events, as well as information on organizational policies and practices. These bi-monthly officer meetings also allow BRGs to provide updates on their teams and constituents, and is a platform for them to collaborate on future events while sharing learnings and celebrating ‘small wins’. Ensuring we are all aligned on the same vision and goals is key; as our BRGs all have a level of sovereignty and authority on how they operate. Having consistent touch points, however, allow for our Division to reiterate our shared mission, course-correct when necessary, and serve as a springboard for new and innovative partnerships.
In addition to this, our team fosters connection with our broader BRG population through our monthly newsletter. These newsletters typically provide information on healthcare tips, programming updates, and different initiatives our office is promoting. For example, our May newsletter included information on how the populations our BRGs serve are disproportionately impacted by Mental Health (May is Mental Health Awareness Month), and provided some information and resources on how to maintain mental health hygiene. These newsletters are a great medium for our Division to provide information, while also engaging our broader BRG populations.
Leveraging Data to Inform Programming
We know that data is imperative to any diversity and inclusion strategy. To ensure we are furthering our BRG’s principles of recruitment, retention, professional development, and outreach, we send out annual member surveys. These surveys give the BRGs insights on what’s working and areas of opportunity, while also giving my team the ability to forecast the needs of our BRGS and make adjustments accordingly. Leveraging data like this is also critical when asking for larger BRG budgets, and demonstrating the business impact of the BRG. By simply requesting input from BRG members, you can use data to substantiate requests to senior leadership for greater BRG resources and support, as well as illustrate the scale and scope of the BRGs’ influence on your organization.
Tying BRGs to Business Outcomes
Often, senior leadership buys into supporting BRGs because of their ability to further the organization’s business outcomes and bottom-line. In this way, BRG’s provide a sense of belonging for employees who may not feel included and thus serve as a critical retention mechanism. In other instances, BRGs are able to connect with identities the organization is attempting to recruit and build community with. To assess whether or not your BRG is advancing your organization’s mission, I recommend you review this resource here. This resource walks through a quantitative approach to measuring the effectiveness of your BRG, and provides insight into how BRGs can be leveraged to further the vision of your organization.
