Paving the way for success: how Black ERGs have transformed the corporate world

Ever since Black Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) emerged in the 1970s, they have shaped the culture of corporate America and inspired similar initiatives around the world.

Their impact was noted in terms of employee productivity, organisational culture, and even the perceptions of new generations entering the workforce.

Xerox, the first organisation to establish an ERG in the US, was the first to establish a partnership with a Black-owned company which created foundations for the Xerox Supplier Diversity Program running to this day. In 2009, Xerox became the first Fortune 500 company to appoint a Black female CEO.

In 2015, AT&T reported that their Black ERG, The NETwork, enabled the company to achieve an 85.6% retention rate for its Black employees and served as a prime resource for identifying candidates for leadership.

McKinsey Black Network created a Global Senior Hiring and Retention Hub for Black talent, the first of its kind. The company also runs new hire training which helps new joiners get off to a fast and successful start.?

Over the years, Black ERGs have also become an important consideration for job seekers as well. According to a 2014 survey conducted by Software Advice, 70% of U.S. respondents who were 18 – 24 years old and 52% of respondents between 25 – 34 reported they would be more likely to apply for a role at a company that had ERGs. 50% of survey respondents stated they would remain at a company because it had an ERG.

In the UK, the study by The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development had also shown that British workers consider ERGs valuable. The research, which involved 700 participants, revealed that Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) employees thought support groups for women, Black, Asian and minority ethnic network/employees and LGBT+ communities helped them achieve their potential at work.

Introducing Omek ERG program

As a community platform supporting Black talent, Omek wants to find out more about how Black ERGs operate today from those that know best. On 17 November, we kickstarted our event series Omek ERG Connect which gathered Black ERG leaders from 11 different companies across Europe to talk about best practices, goals, successes, and challenges they have been facing.?

During the discussion each participant introduced their ERG initiative which allowed everyone to collectively learn, get inspired, and connect with other ERG leaders. At the end of the event, we asked everyone to take part in a short survey focusing on various aspects of the experience including, accomplishments, challenges, and support needed for Black ERG leaders. Upon reflection, the participants concluded that building a successful ERG is a journey that takes time. Initially, many of them noticed that Black employees had reservations about joining, so they had to build confidence as leaders first in order to generate interest. Another common challenge was a limited capacity to focus on their initiative and a lack of recognition for it. Despite being very demanding, ERG leadership roles are still voluntary roles that Black employees carry out on top of their full-time positions. In this regard, the inadequate support from the HR and company leadership was also a hurdle.

On the other hand, they unanimously agreed the results were worth it. For instance, speaking about their accomplishments, the Black Inclusion Group (BIG) at Indeed mentioned the transformation of their recruitment processes, McKinsey Black Network highlighted broader outreach to the Black student population and establishment of global hiring and retention initiatives focusing on senior level employees, and Embrace at Elsevier pointed out the publication of anti-racist toolkit for organizations.

Asked how Omek can support them, they expressed interest in networking and/or co-hosted events, access to African diaspora businesses, and more opportunities to find and connect with external black communities and talent.

As part of our research, we also found out that out of a total of 22 attendees only four ERG members have attended a similar ERG event before compared to the 18 for whom it was their first-ever experience. In terms of their impressions of the event, ‘empowering’ and ‘insightful’ received ten votes each. The complete findings will be shared with the participants in the form of a report.

We aim for the Omek ERG Connect to be the start of this journey by laying foundations of a solid ERG network. As a community platform supporting Black talent, we want to equip ERGs leaders with tools to empower each other and facilitate the growth of Black corporate employees worldwide.?

Instead of relying on trial and error, we enable organisations to support their Black ERGs in an organized way. Our services provide tools to simplify their inclusion journey through education and awareness, events, insights, and a community support system.?

By applying these resources in practice, organisations can achieve meaningful engagement within their Black employee communities, build strong brand awareness and discover new talent within the global network of biculturals of African descent.

Our partnership with Booking.com and B.bold

One of the first organizations to have leveraged our ERG program is Booking.com and B.bold, their Black ERG serving Black employees and their allies. As part of a year-long partnership, we have helped them run a Black Achievement Month program including a masterclass on bicultural identity, a personal branding workshop, a discussion on “Being bold in the corporate space” and a wrap-up party including several cultural performances. Overall, it’s been a great learning experience for all involved and we look forward to building an even better partnership in 2023.?

As for Omek ERG Connect, we are just getting started. Our next event will take place in March 2023.

As part of this session, we will focus on different aspects of ERG management. Among the topics covered will be the challenge of hiring new members to increase global engagement around ERG initiatives; amplifying the ERG voices to get more recognition and support from the company's leadership.