How To Start An Employee Network
Employee Networks can help organizations recruit and retain diverse talent, develop products and services that reach a wider audience, and increase sales.
In this article, we discuss the value Employee Networks can bring to any organization and what you need to do to start an Employee Network that will help you to drive diversity, equity, and inclusion in your organization.
What are Employee Networks?
Employee networks are also called Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) or Affinity Groups. They bring together a group of employees with shared characteristics to achieve a set of goals.
For example, some Employee Networks focus on race and ethnicity like the Black Employee Network at Adobe.
Others focus on gender like Women@ Google and people with disabilities like Ford Empowering Diverse Abilities.
The Value of Employee Networks
Employee Networks bring a lot of value to an organization and help to create a more inclusive workplace.
Advocacy
Employee Networks often advocate for members of their group. They raise awareness of the challenges and blockers they face in the workplace.
When Employee Networks work with HR, Diversity and Inclusion Teams, and Senior Leadership, they can positively influence company policies and processes.
Retention
Employee Networks can help you retain your talent by keeping employees engaged.
Employee Networks coordinate events and initiatives that foster a sense of community and internal networking.
According to a study published in the Personnel Psychology journal, internal networking boosts job satisfaction and reduces the likelihood of turnover by 140%.
According to a study published in the Personnel Psychology journal, internal networking boosts job satisfaction and reduces the likelihood of turnover by 140%.
Watch this video, to learn how to retain your talent using Employee Networks.
Recruitment
Your efforts to hire talent from diverse backgrounds can be supported by Employee Networks.
In this video, you’ll discover how to recruit diverse talent using Employee Networks.
Product Design and Marketing
You can build products and services that reach wider audiences through the insight you can gather from Employee Networks.
The Black Employee Network at Amazon UK worked with their Alexa team to launch a Black History Month quiz.
Employee Networks can also help you to increase sales through referrals. For example, Ford launched a Friends and Neighbors discount program in 2003.
In 2006, according to a company representative, Employee Network referrals had brought in $290 million in sales since the launch of the program.
What you need to start an Employee Network
When you’re starting an Employee Network, we recommend you only focus on a few actions in your first year.
Have a clear purpose and plan
What are the goals of your Employee Network? How will you achieve them? Who is the Employee Network for?
It’s important that members of the group are able to identify with it otherwise the lack of connection will lead to low engagement.
Find supporters
You need different types of supporters to run an Employee Network effectively.
In our course on how to start an Employee Network, there are three types of supporters you need.
Drivers: Volunteers that are consistent and help with coordinating events and initiatives.
Sponsors: Executive Sponsors are senior leaders that will champion the group, remove blockers and provide resources.
Executive Sponsors are senior leaders that will champion the group, remove blockers and provide resources.
Internal Teams: It’s important to identify teams within your organization that will be your key partners as they help you to achieve your goals.
Your Internal Communications team can play a big role in helping you promote your Employee Network’s activities which can lead to recruiting more supporters.
Create a structure
An Employee Network needs to be run like an organization and it needs a clear structure to be efficient.
When you have a clear structure for your Employee Network, it makes achieving your goals easier and provides clarity and accountability.
Secure a budget
To run your events and initiatives, you’ll need a budget. Internal speakers can be leveraged for some events but it’s key to include outside perspectives to ensure diversity of thought.
Are you starting an Employee Network? Our online course ‘How To Start An Employee Network’ is filled with resources and tools to help you start an Employee Network that champions diversity, equity and inclusion in your organization.
If you already have Employee Networks in your organization and you’d like to learn how to use them more efficiently, contact us and let us know how we can help.
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