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Why accessibility bugs are a good thing and how to handle them, Using plain language is essential for content accessibility, increase their personal development in the workplace, improve recruiting in the areas the ERGs focus on. Here, A question that is currently winding its way through American courts Authors note:Because of Mediums refusal to address its accessibility issues for both authors and readers,Ive moved my last three years of blogs toSubstack. I can no longer support disability as an afterthought Authors note:Because of Mediums refusal to address its accessibility issues for both authors and readers,Ive moved my last three years of blogs toSubstack. At a town hall, for example, ERG leaders provide a coherent overview of all ERGs, their purpose, the groups they serve, and how each employee can get involved, as well as the connection between ERG activities and the overall company DEI strategy. . As an organization that values diversity,Thomson Reuters aims to foster an inclusive environment in which all employees are valued, respected, and encouraged to contribute to their fullest potential. Experience suggests that this task can be fulfilled by paying attention to several factors, such as ensuring clear communication about the ERGs purpose and goals, aligning each ERGs activities with the corporate DEI strategy, and lending sufficient organizational support to ERG leaders. Each ERG then shared its strategies with the DEI team so that the central team could coordinate and foster collaboration across the previously siloed groups. We encourage our employees to @media only screen and (min-width: 0px){.agency-nav-container.nav-is-open {overflow-y: unset!important;}} The company chief compliance officer was a veteran and used his position on the executive team to secure financial support for the ERG. ERGs also help reform business operations, for example, when members of underrepresented groups call attention to unfair processes. 3. You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings. Learn from other employee resource groups, Likewise, everyone- not just people with disabilities-. If you spend just five minutes with the groups leadersBeth Hughes, Scott Lamar and Naomi Puschits clear these goals are more than words. Within local communities, ERGs help improve brand visibility through volunteer activities and charitable giving to causes that ERGs consider important. An employee resource group for people with disabilities provides a great testing group to ensureyour website or other resource are accessible. Within the workplace, ERG systems and infrastructure strengthen acceptance, camaraderie, and fairness across groups and help members build allyship. The point of ERGs is to be inclusive, you would not want to exclude men from a womens ERG, able-bodied people from disability ERGs, or straight allies from an LGBTQ+ ERG. Lets face it; Zoom meetings can be tedious. The participation of ERG members, for example, in diverse panels and recruiting events, shows potential employees that a welcoming community exists at the organization they are considering joining. To the benefit of all the ERGs, the DEI team deployed an engagement survey that one ERG had successfully rolled out across the entire organization. In a survey rating the ERGs effectiveness, Shannon rated the ERG effective at employee community building but ineffective with respect to allyship, leadership connection, career advancement, and external engagement. This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Other essential activities include: This may also be a good time to reach out to your facilities management group. This blog explains everyday economics, consumer topics and the Fed. Partnering with Human Resources, the group aims to promote the recruitment and retention of employees with disabilities, inclusive of those with long-term health conditions, carers, or those otherwise affected by disability. Employee Resources Groups (ERGs) go by many different names (i.e., Affinity Groups, Business Resource Groups, Employee Network Groups), but regardless of what they are called, they share a common purpose. WebEmployee Resource Groups (ERGs) Click on links below to find out more about staff-administered affinity groups. ERG leaders often bear the burden of additional but uncompensated work on top of their regular responsibilities. An official website of the United States government. Asking an ERG for disabled employees to evaluate your website will more accurately evaluate accessibility than using a static checklist. Employees are able to step outside of their normal department groups. Although ERGs are generally initiated by employees, often employees with disabilities, especially invisible disabilities, are reluctant to ask their employer to launch such a group. This is typically due to a fear of repercussions related to self-disclosure and especially so if there isnt company support for this employee segment. For example, groups for women should also include women with disabilities to prevent the group from only expressing the ideas of abled women. It is important when starting any type of ERG not to overload too few people with too many responsibilities. WebDisability Employee Resource Group Aliases: Disability Employee Resource Group Mission Statement: It is our mission to provide the support that inspires, empowers and How can you help remove barriers? he said. Abilityforce unites people with visible and invisible disabilities, employees with loved ones who are disabled, and allies. For Pusch, a senior instructional designer at the Banks Center for Learning Innovation, a deeper understanding of accessibility considerations follows awareness. Asking an ERG for disabled employees to evaluate your website will more accurately evaluate accessibility than using a static checklist. Anyone spending cognitive time hiding or worrying about disabilities is not bringing 100 % of themselves to work. Gaining information on what benefits they value, what kind of environment they work best in, or whether a job description would catch their attention can help attract the best, Disability-related ERGs include all levels of experience or management, giving new hires or those with less experience and tenure equal opportunities for input to. So far, the group has offered education on subjects like designing for accessibility and communicating with dignity. In the survey response, Shannon wrote how she observed, during her time with the ERG, that the ERG had not engaged with senior leaders to get leadership connection, and that it was disconnected from people processes and thus unable to provide career advancement opportunities. People hiding their disabilities at the office are less happy at work. AccessibilityMarketplace.com. A companys LGBTQ+ ERG had an active leadership team, which organized events such as participation in Pride marches and unconscious-bias training. Employees want to feel heard and to know they have a voice. Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are not new. The Disability:IN ERG/BRG Leadership Committee has prepared this fact sheet to assist corporate disability Employee Resource Groups/Business Resource Groups to enable members to bring all aspects of themselves to the workplace and to serve as a bridge to other BRGs. 8 employee networks that foster an inclusive environment. Its about having conversations where we're meeting people where theyre at.. And it is the only minority group any individual can become a part of at any time in their life.. Or, as the CDC and Invisible Disabilities Association The Invisible Disabilities Association offers this definition: an invisible disability is a physical, mental or neurological condition that is not visible from the outside, yet can limit or challenge a persons movements, senses, or activities. state, it can be a mental or neurological condition that may limit or challenge a persons movements, senses or activities. Many of us want to be or are, participants. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) defines ERGs as non-union voluntary employee organizations led and comprised of members of the organization, formed around common interests. We have observed individual ERGs at the same company managing membership lists, communications, and events without sharing any of these resources. The Disability Equality Index (DEI), a joint initiative with the American Association of People with Disabilities, is a benchmarking tool that provides an objective score and roadmap on disability inclusion policies and practices. BRGsare voluntary, employee-driven associations that benefit both our employees and thecompanys business goals. 6. Weve created a collection of intersectional illustrations that highlight the wide range of people with disabilities. As a result, the group struggled to obtain resources and funding. Need help learning how you can make your workplace more accommodating to employees with disabilities? A sincere and well-drafted statement can build customer loyalty and help avoid lawsuits by addressing issues before legal help is sought. Employee engagement is essential to our vibrant workforce. Transparent, current, focused, and accurate information about accessibility is essential for the purchase and sale of technology products and services that people with disabilities can use. The Outies: LGBT ERG of the Year The Outie for LGBT Employee Resource Group of the Year recognizes a particular employee resource group (ERG) that has a proven track record of success in advocating for LGBT equal rights in its own workplace. Finally, you need to understand where you are starting so you can objectively prove the worth of your ERG. /*-->*/. Provides a full line of federal, state, and local programs. Christine Smith works in the External Engagement and Corporate Communications Division at the St. Louis Fed. .paragraph--type--html-table .ts-cell-content {max-width: 100%;} To celebrate Global Volunteer Month, the Thomson Reuters Social Impact Institute is excited to host the third annual IMPACTathon from April 24-28, 2023. These include the following. There will be turnover due to people changing jobs or having life events take precedence over ERG participation, and there needs to be a succession plan to give others the opportunity to lead. Some companies compensate ERG leaders for their ERG work5Michael Baptiste, How and why Justworks compensates our ERG leads, Justworks, July 23, 2020. and make ERG responsibilities a formal part of leaders roles, covered in their performance reviews.6Aubrey Blanche and Kelly Luc, How to pay your ERG leaders, Culture Amp, accessed October 2022. Having a passion about a topic and a safe space makes it easier for one to confront those barriers that have been looming in front of their continued professional development. And to improve the retention of underrepresented groups, some ERGs work with HR and leadership to communicate the needs of these groups. Hosted by Current Global, Webinar: International Day of Persons with Disabilities Microsoft Exclusive, Webinar: Disability Inclusion: Building Inclusive Cultures Hosted by CECP, Disability:IN & NILG Webinar: Mental Health in the Workplace, Creating Accessible Digital Zoom Meetings Resource from Inclusion Works, Minority Mental Wellness Disability:IN Webinar, Best Practices for Accessible, Inclusive Communications, Infographic: Global Disability & Employment, Purchasing and Licensing Accessible Video Conferencing Platforms that Work for Everyone, Digital Accessibility: Getting 2021 Off to an Inclusive Start, Disability Fundamentals Training for Managers, Questions for Captioning and Transcription Vendors During Procurement Process, Supplier Certification Document Checklist, Digital Accessibility Statement Best Practices, ADA Past, Present & Future: Resources. putting vendor and tool names in an Accessibility Statement provides free advertising for companies that the public or your customers may have concerns about. 2. The difference between the experiences of these two groups is wide. This could demonstrate her organizational and event planning skills, making her a great candidate for a position in event marketing. ERG leaders also went through facilitated workshops to define their groups own strategies and performance measurements with respect to the companys DEI goals. For example, an employee who is blind or has low vision may not feel comfortable presenting in front of a crowd and has never had the opportunity to practice that skill to gain confidence in it. Today, we have 8 BRGs with over 90 chapters globally. Taking a leadership role within an ERG allows an employee to demonstrate successful leadership skills in the workplace. To support the career advancement of their members, ERGs foster sponsorship3Monne Williams, Dont let fear stop you from forging ahead: An interview with Erika James, McKinsey, September 15, 2022. within or outside the ERG. To prevent such inequities, effective companies create a centrally aligned approach to allocating ERG funding and leadership support. Enhance recruitment efforts to better target and appeal to job seekers with disabilities. ERG group membership is typically rooted in some common characteristic such as gender, veterans status, age, disabilities, ethnicity or geographic location. They offer employees the opportunity to network, address common issues and ERGs help with recruiting efforts by participating in talent attraction. Simplify project management, increase profits, and improve client satisfaction. ol{list-style-type: decimal;} Explore 2022 Diversity & Inclusion Report. An employee resource group for people with disabilities provides a great testing group t. your website or other resource are accessible. ERGs add strength to their voices and giving them more meaningful ways to contribute in the workplace. WebEmployee Resources Groups (ERGs) go by many different names (i.e., Affinity Groups, Business Resource Groups, Employee Network Groups), but regardless of what they Likewise, everyone- not just people with disabilities- should be invited to join disability ERGs to see what issues interest PWD and how they can help. Perhaps they want to make resources more accessible but arent sure how best to accomplish that. Last week, I wrote about how important disability-focused employee resource groups are to creating an environment where employees with disabilities feel comfortable disclosing them and in turn helping others. This week Im going to describe some steps to take to build or relaunch one. What is an ERG anyways? To avoid conflicts between the strategies of ERGs and corporate DEI teams, effective DEI teams share their strategies with ERGs so the groups can devote activities and resources to overall DEI strategy. We see several ways in which ERGs can help advance companies DEI efforts. In line with this goal, Thomson Reuters has established a formal process for employees to develop Business Resource Groups (BRGs). Companies may wish to consider recognizing and rewarding those who lead and run ERGs. Employee Resource Groups can mimic the diversity you want in your. Do internet-only businesses come under the Americans with Disabilities Act? Use them as a resource to determine what qualities job searching PWD would look for in a company. ERGs foster inclusion in a number of ways, including by helping employees feel that they belong and are part of a community, especially through connections that counter the feelings of being an only within an organization. An employee might not otherwise have had the opportunity to develop those skills within the scope of their job responsibilities. Employees with disabilities can share tools and ideas with one another, upper management, and the company as a whole to ensure their needs are met and that they are professionally successful. Were just really getting started, but if you look at the group of people at our meetings, its super diversewe have people from all over the Bank. American Community Survey and Puerto Rico Community Survey 2018 Subject Definitions (PDF). Today, 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies have ERGs.2Georgene Huang, 90% of Fortune 500 companies already have a solution to gender equality but arent utilizing it, Forbes, November 13, 2017. TheLatino Employee Networkwas created to foster cultural, as well as professional growth within Thomson Reuters, both in the Latino and general community. Also having anERG leadership transition planis important. But they have a knack for convening internal and external experts and igniting a passion in others. They can then work with the companys DEI team to ensure that they are connected in their efforts. To avoid this pitfall, effective ERG leaders align with their companys DEI team and communicate extensively about the ERGs purpose and goals. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure youre on a federal government site. Its official goals include promoting greater awareness and understanding of people with disabilities through advocacy and allyship. They do so by clearly stating their goal and mission and how it ties to the companys DEI strategy; developing a charter that details the ERGs strategic objectives; drafting annual plans that outline initiatives to drive the strategic plan; defining who is accountable for the initiatives and how ERG members support them; establishing metrics to assess the impact of initiatives and programs (outlining how ERGs benefit employees, the organization, and potentially the community, depending on ERG goals); soliciting feedback and analyzing those metrics; and then making adjustments to ERG goals and initiatives. This led to some duplicated effort. Authors note:Because of Mediums refusal to address its accessibility issues for both authors and readers,Ive moved my last, All jobs have up and down cycles. All members of the group would have the opportunity to present possible solutions. The group also serves as a resource to Hispanic and Latinx communities and organizations worldwide. Their launch event also helped lay employees learn more about the Americans with Disabilities Act. As ERGs discover more opportunities to engage employees and support companies DEI programs, they will want to be judicious about choosing where to dedicate time and energyin part, to make sure that their activities are promoting a sense of inclusion among ERG members. However, the companys DEI team was simultaneously rolling out conscious-inclusion training that duplicated the ERGs efforts. WebWe encourage employee connection through our network of Intel chartered 40+ Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and Leadership Councils (LCs). Moving forward, intersectionality is likely to become a more significant topic for ERGs. The more you have conversations with other people, the more you realize how little awareness there is of what it means to live with a disability. Be accessible, How to identify a Toxic Accessibility Culture, and what you can do about it, Groups that dont care about people with disabilities, Making word clouds and polling fully accessible to all meeting attendees, Applying Ted Lasso management lessons to accessibility. Work from Anywhereis a flexible work arrangement that allows teammates to work in a different location for up to eight weeks per year. #block-googletagmanagerheader .field { padding-bottom:0 !important; } Belonging to an ERG also helps employees feel that they can be authentic at work, and derive more meaning and purpose from the work that they do. Accessible procurement is key to that commitment. To be an ERG member, one should either have one of the common characteristics in question or be an ally of those with the common characteristics and want to be seen as publicly supporting that group. Founded in 1989, our first employee resource group, BAM, has led investment in programs like the BAM scholarships and Minority Student Day, an outreach event it hosts annually to educate students on careers in the tech industry. The longer she spent leading the ERG, the more time the role required, particularly after the companys HR team, which wanted to hire more women, asked ERG leaders to spend time interviewing candidates. ERGs can serve as in-house focus groups to determine what different demographics want and find valuable. They can also help employees with disabilities identify what tools are available and how to access them. Nicholas Jones et al., 2020 census illuminates racial and ethnic composition of the country, US Census Bureau, August 12, 2021. By aligning their work with corporate and employee expectations, employee resource groups can help people feel more included in the workplace. TheWomen@ThomsonReutersNetwork strives to develop the talents and champion the contributions of female employees, thus promoting women as equal partners in the success, achievement, and profitability of Thomson Reuters. Meanwhile, information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shows 61 million U.S. adults live with a disability. The company began recognizing and rewarding ERG leaders by writing ERG involvement into annual performance goals and allowing a 20 percent time allocation for ERG leadership. Meanwhile, Web3 is coming, and blockchain is already here. Optimize operations, connect with external partners, create reports and keep inventory accurate. Fostering inclusion, which we define as the extent to which an organizations systems and people promote a welcoming and fair environment for all employees. To resolve these issues, the DEI function brought together all ERG leaders for a strategy session in which the DEI team shared the companys DEI strategy and prompted ERG leaders to explore how their groups could support it. Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are sometimes called affinity groups. This maturity model helps you start an ERG, and develop plans for continuous improvement. Natacha Catalino is a senior expert in McKinseys Boston office, Nora Gardner is a senior partner in the Washington, DC, office, Drew Goldstein is an associate partner in the Miami office, and Jackie Wong is a consultant in the Philadelphia office. Webexample, Disability Employee Resource Groups may share information on appropriate etiquette; assist in promoting physical and virtual accessibility; offer guidance and insight on Once the name of the group is chosen, send an interoffice email to inform staff that there is a new Employee Resource Group available. Sometimes known as Affinity Groups or Diversity Groups, ERGs are generally founded by core organizers, have volunteer membership and provide support to personal and professional development in the Interactive map of the Federal Open Market Committee, Regular review of community and economic development issues, Podcast about advancing a more inclusive and equitable economy, Interesting graphs using data from our free economic database, Conversations with experts on their research and topics in the news, Podcast featuring economists and others making their marks in the field, Economic history from our digital library, Scholarly research on monetary policy, macroeconomics, and more. View the Zoom Webinar. 2 The CDC says a disability is any condition of the body or mind (impairment) that makes it more difficult for the person with the condition to do certain activities (activity limitation) and interact with the world around them (participation restrictions). More information, including state-level data, is available at the CDCs Disability and Health Data System. Payroll, compensation, pension & benefits, Do not sell or share my personal information and limit the use of my sensitive personal information. Even when professional development is not the main goal of an ERG, members may have the opportunity to. WebDisability Employee Resource Groups. Business leaders seeking to develop their companies DEI infrastructure further would do well to understand how ERGs can contribute. Reasonable accommodations support is crucial to people with disabilities recruitment process. They share information using the companys communication channels; ensure that joining ERGs is easy; engage members through frequent communications and community-building events, ensuring that ERG members meet one another; and empower members to take action to further the goals of the ERG. The scope of people in the United States who are living with a disability is vast, said Hughes, a senior administrative assistant in Supervision. Through our research and work with hundreds of organizations, weve observed the pitfalls that make ERGs ineffectivealong with what leading companies do to avoid these pitfalls. Women at Microsoft actively helps to attract, retain, and develop women around the world. WebThere are several things you need to consider when choosing a name for your disability company. As a best practice, effective ERGs focus on generating employee interest and awareness, both for the ERGs themselves and for the activities and initiatives that they provide for their members.

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