Refining ERGs in a time of deep division

As countless incidents of global unrest and domestic discord spill into workplace conversation, understanding what matters to your employees is more crucial now than ever before.

You likely already know that employee resource groups (ERGs) are a powerful touchpoint for listening to what’s on your employees’ minds, keeping them intact and thriving can be tricky during moments of rapid change and deep division.

At Ragan’s Employee Communications and Culture Conference this past spring, Accenture Global Change Management Lead Sumreen Ahmad shared her strategies for building and refining ERGs that foster belonging in trying times.

“A few months back when I was asked to talk about whether polarization was good or bad for business, while it might seem obvious, it’s also on this backdrop of this window of time where it concepts like equity, and inclusion and belonging are being demonized,” Ahmad said. “So it’s natural that these conversations are starting to come to the forefront.”

Here’s what stuck out.

Where culture and core values intersect

Ahmad began by distinguishing how she thinks about culture and shared values: