This is why I still love AT&T’s ERGs

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), also known as affinity groups, business network groups, etc. are groups driven by employees who interact based on a shared interest or characteristic.  All great companies have these groups, even when they are not formally defined these types of groups provide mentoring, support and development. So what is not to love, right?

But hearing about it is quite different than experiencing it, especially when they are as amazing as they are at AT&T. These ERGs are amazing because the people leading, envisioning and delivering content, webinars and events are passionate about their cause. Those of us who worked on mentoring committees and leadership teams will tell you that it is quite an effort and creative abrasion is not a stranger to us, but it is all worth it in order to delight hundreds of employees.  I would be remiss if I did not mention that the right leadership who is willing to provide mentoring and development such as Ralph de la Vega, Rudy Hermond, Valerie Vargas and many others are also a driving force behind these efforts. If you take a peek at my connections from AT&T, know that these are some of the most genuine and passionate leaders helping unleash human capabilities and engagement.

The lessons I learned, the relationships I built and the drive to continue to develop my career are not things I would've gotten by simply going to work and doing my job. This is why I still love the many employee resource groups at AT&T despite not being part of any them since the spin off of what is now YP (Yellow Pages) from AT&T in 2012. Since then, I've continued my professional development through Gemba Academy for Lean Six Sigma and Coursera where I often translate open source courses into Spanish for thousands of learners around the world, but I certainly look forward to taking part of groups like these in the future.

While I think everyone can benefit from joining ERGs, my ask is for you to also join committees to drive and experience full circle the value of these groups at your company –  believe me, you will love them too.

AT&T has ERGs for everyone, but here is a short list of some of these great ERGs

Women of AT&T Women and Men network
HACEMOS The Hispanic/Latino Employee Association
Oxygen Young Professionals network
Community NETwork The African-American Telecommunications Professionals
OASIS The Organization of Asian Indians
LEAGUE The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) and Allies Organization

Take a look at the full list here.

Note: This article is based on my own opinion, not affiliated with AT&T.