We often get asked by clients where to start when it comes to establishing and embedding Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), how to ensure they are successful and how to make sure they support the needs of employees while helping employers reach their overarching corporate goals. Since joining Hays, FAIRER Consulting has observed the success of the many ERGs they operate and wanted to share what they do, how they did it and how they managed to achieve the successes enjoyed so far. We recently had a chat with Mike Morgan, global chair of the Hays LGBTQ+ Pride Network and Josh King, Hays UK&I LGBTQ+ Pride Network co-chair to get the low down on how the ERG came into being, how it operates, what it’s achieved and what it is planning for the future.
Background and objectives
Q: What’s the history of the Pride ERG at Hays?
When Mike Morgan, global chair of the Hays LGBTQ+ Pride Network, attended a public sector LGBTQ+ professional awards event in Birmingham, UK, the seed of an idea to create a Pride ERG at Hays was planted. Driven by a desire for people to be able to “be their best professional self from day one,” Mike drew up a business case and in 2017 launched Hays’ first ERG for LGBTQ+ people, the Pride Network, with a “massive uptake” of members.
Q: What are the primary goals and objectives of the Pride ERG at Hays?
The aim is to create a network for LGBTQ+ employees and allies who will work with the wider business to continually focus on making Hays an “even better place to work for LGBTQ+ employees and as a powerful signal of inclusion”. The network champions Hays values and supports a workplace culture where people can be confident that their voices will be heard and their opinions respected.
The Network aims to further five key objectives:
- to make Hays offices a safe and welcoming environment for LGBTQ+ employees;
- to educate and encourage colleagues on the benefits of working in a fully inclusive environment and culture;
- to use DE&I as a sales tool with customers;
- to support employees to promote the value of being a more inclusive work environment,
- and to help Hays keep its people policies and practices LGBTQ+ inclusive.
Structure and membership
Q: What strategies have you used to encourage membership and active participation?
Mike shared: “We post on the intranet and feature blogs, pictures, and snippets telling people about the events we run. After we had started the UK network, colleagues from other countries heard about what we were doing – the US, South America and Australia – and we began to hold events with them.”
In addition to this, the UK&I ERG advises Hays colleagues worldwide on how to set up local networks to support members of the LGBTQ+ community. While there is a standardised approach our structure allows for the varying policies globally, but the ethos of the ERG pervades all countries, says Mike.
Q: How do you ensure that the ERG is inclusive and welcoming to all employees and allies?
Josh King, Hays UK&I LGBTQ+ Pride Network co-chair, advises those setting up new networks to gather a group of people who are interested, and to listen to what they want and be guided by that in terms of whether to allow allies into a network.
Mike adds, “We know of other organisations that have a closed community to allow for a safe space. We believe, though, that if you can’t ask a question about what it’s like to be gay, or about a certain facet of the community on a Pride network, where can you ask it? As long as there’s no malice behind it, there’s no such thing as a stupid question.”
Mike goes on to cite an example of a colleague who tearfully thanked the Pride Network for the support given to him after he learned his child was trans. Mike reflects: “I knew of an organisation leading an event for trans kids and their parents and my former colleague went to it. A couple of months later, he said, ‘I can’t believe anybody looked out for me that much – it was really, really helpful’. And that, for me, is what the Pride Network is all about – if I can’t help you, I bet I know somebody who can.”
Activities and initiatives
Q: How do you decide which activities to prioritise and implement?
Due to the logistics of organising a global Pride event, Mike explains the UK network chooses a theme and the regional network representatives have the freedom to do whatever they wish in their own country, while sticking to certain guidelines within that theme.
Q: Please share some of the standout initiatives undertaken by the Hays Pride ERG
A two-minute lip-synch was held in each region – with each shortlisting five entries – and taking their best one forward to be judged globally. “It’s a bit of fun,” says Mike, “but it gets a lot of people asking, ‘What’s this about?’ Then, you start talking to other colleagues and it leads on to all sorts of different conversations.”
The Pride ERG has also held University Challenge-style events, panel discussions, events with external guest speakers and created a platform to showcase internal employees who wish to share their stories. To reach an external audience with the message of LGBTQ+ inclusion, Josh has hosted a podcast for LGBTQ+ leaders from within Hays’ client organisations celebrating their leadership achievements and sharing their advice with younger LGBTQ+ employees.
Challenges and solutions
Q: What challenges have you faced in establishing and maintaining the Pride ERG’s both in the UK&I and globally?
Josh shared “Culturally, there are issues to be dealt with – for instance, some countries believe that what happens in someone’s personal life has nothing to do with their ability to do a job and do not see the relevance to the business and prefer not to talk about it at all in the workplace.”
“We have had some pushback around using the Pride logo from certain countries,” says Josh, “because there were clients who might take umbridge to the flag, but Hays stood by it because it is representative of us as a company and what we value. I was very proud of that.”
Impact and measurement
Q: How do you measure the success and impact of the Pride ERG’s initiatives?
Our ERG asks members for feedback after each event, asking whether an event has been helpful and useful. The benefits go further than just Hays, with people who have heard about our Pride network approaching the business based on the latter, says Mike.
Best practice and advice for others
Q: What best practices would you recommend to other organisations looking to establish or improve their own ERGs?
Josh recommends having a strong aspiration that sits at the core of the network while being ready to listen to what the network members want: “Priorities internally and externally can shift and different ways of doing things can come to the fore, so as a network you need to be able to pivot to accommodate the wants and needs of the network members.” FAIRER advises that leadership team decisions are made by consensus or majority vote.
Employees joining the ERG leadership team should be able to actively challenge – and test – perceptions, bias, knowledge and understanding of an issue, and to help to provide a solution. Consider whether those joining the leadership team are comfortable advocating for the groups’ members and, where required, challenging the organisation’s leadership.
You might also want to consider what type of ERG you are aiming to create – for instance, an affinity or action network – before deciding what your expectations are when it comes to those stepping into a leadership role.
Q: What advice would you give to organisations looking to launch their first ERG?
If you are thinking of starting an ERG, Josh and Mike both recommend not taking it on solo. “Build a team of passionate individuals that share the same goals as you with regards to the network and pull together to share responsibility in building up the network,” says Mike.
“Senior level buy-in has been key to our success – a lot of networks are built from the ground up but at some point there needs to be a top-down approach within an organisation with collaboration happening in the middle,” says Josh. “This has been instrumental in elevating our network across Hays.”
Future plans
Q: What are the future goals and plans for the Hays Pride ERG?
Mike and Josh want to continue to drive engagement and education for everyone across the business. “We all have a role to play as allies, whether they identify as LGBTQ+ or not and this is part of our culture,” says Josh. “Also, we are keen on showcasing the network externally as I believe we can add value to our clients by having discussions centred around our Pride Network.”
This was clear during Hays’ recent ‘Leading with Pride’ project, where senior LGBTQ+ leaders from amongst their client base shared experiences and offered advice to LGBTQ+ professionals who were earlier in their careers. Not only did this promote the inclusion at Hays and their EVP, it helps the wider LGBTQ+ community beyond Hays.
Q: How do you plan to continue evolving and growing the ERG to meet the changing needs of Hays and its employees?
Listening to members is key if an ERG is to keep evolving. Focus on listening to your members, gather feedback and understand what matters most to them and also discover where they feel the network adds value. Finally, adds Josh, “Add in additional layers of intersectionality by collaborating with other networks in Hays.” Combining efforts with other ERGs can help compound the reach and the impact of your initiatives and lead to more corporate cohesion, rather than having multiple ERGs working in silos.
To find out more about ERGs, allyship and inclusive leadership, please get in touch.
