If you’re not a woman approaching your 50s, you may be wondering why you need to read further. But here’s the thing: Women with menopause are the fastest-growing workplace demographic. 

Without the necessary resources and support for women experiencing menopause, your business runs the risk of losing some of your most senior and skilled employees.

They need to educate staff on how to approach the topic of menopause in the workplace with understanding, discretion, and sensitivity.

According to the Labor Bureau of Statistics (LBS), menopause-age women account for almost 30% of the U.S. labor force. The LBS projects that the labor force participation rate for women will continue to increase faster than the average rate for all occupations.

At the same time, women are leaving the workforce because of menopausal symptoms. In a , 4 out of every 10 women experienced menopause symptoms that interfered with their work performance or productivity on a weekly basis. Seventeen percent have quit a job or considered quitting due to menopause symptoms.

But women who grapple with menopause rarely find workplace support, official company guidelines, or a sympathetic ear. Employees experiencing menopause in the workplace need to know their employer has their back. Without the necessary resources and support, your business runs the risk of losing some of your most senior and skilled employees.

Why employers need to support menopause in the workplace

Women experiencing menopausal symptoms are usually in their 40s and 50s. They’re among your most seasoned leaders. They bring years of experience, wisdom, and institutional knowledge to their roles, often serving as mentors and role models to newer staff.

Keeping and supporting them is vital to leading successful teams, and building diversity and inclusion in the workplace, which leads to greater innovation.

Without the necessary resources and support, your business runs the risk of losing some of your most senior and skilled employees.

“We need to know the organization recognizes, talks about, and openly and unapologetically provides support and resources without us having to disclose,” says Kim Clark, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) communications speaker and consultant.

Why menopausal women leave the workforce

Menopause often happens around the age of 50, but the years leading up to menopause, called perimenopause, can be filled with numerous physical, emotional, and mental symptoms that range in severity and duration.

Women can struggle with hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, weight gain, joint pain, anxiety, depression, memory problems, poor concentration, and mood swings. Many women find the effects so draining and unbearable that they can’t leave the house, much less work productively.

It’s challenging enough to be an older worker in a company culture that prizes younger employees. When menopausal women aren’t simply ignored, they’re frequently the punchline.

“We can understand why women would try to downplay their symptoms of menopause to avoid the crass, insensitive, inappropriate jokes,” Kim says.

Menopausal symptoms might be a topic of concern and conversation among close girlfriends, but it’s taboo among polite company. It’s certainly not the norm in everyday offices, where many women don’t feel comfortable approaching their colleagues and superiors to explain how hot flashes and brain fog are now impacting their formerly stellar work performance.

They fear discrimination in the form of less meaningful work, fewer promotions, and training opportunities — even dismissal.

How to discuss menopause in the workplace

Menopause is different for everyone. Women should be allowed both “the freedom to talk about it, and not talk about it as well,” Kim says.

Employers must build an inclusive and open company culture to help women feel comfortable enough to speak about their menopause symptoms. They need to educate staff on how to approach this topic with understanding, discretion, and sensitivity.

“The  company culture and systems need to first be clear on permission to talk about menopause, followed by manager training in context with health and employee well-being, including physical, mental, and emotional experiences,” Kim says. “Storytelling can help foster and set the tone for communication.”

She points to countries such as Australia and the U.K. that are more open about menopause. Spain recently became the first European nation to give workers paid leave for debilitating menstrual symptoms. Institutional awareness “helps men have more empathy and understanding. Not talking about it plays into microaggressions around women being too emotional or angry.”

You can apply this same openness to professional settings. Normalize the topic of menopause so women feel safe to speak and ask for temporary and reasonable adjustments. This doesn’t mean employees should be forced into unwanted discussions, but they should know where to go for assistance.

Sharing educational articles and resources internally demonstrates your company is aware of issues surrounding workplace menopause, comfortable adapting to them, and ready to support affected employees.

“Have systemic and cultural accountability in the organization to ensure those who participate in the jokes or ageist behavior when someone discloses are managed and held accountable,” Kim says.

Business benefits of supporting women with menopausal symptoms

1. Improved employee retention and engagement

We know it costs more to recruit and train a new employee than to retain an existing. A more inclusive and supportive workplace can lead to improved employee retention as women are more likely to stay with an employer that values their well-being. Without workplace flexibility and considerate managers, the cost of absences and missed work adds up quickly.

2. Increased productivity

By providing support and accommodations, such as flexible work arrangements or time off for a doctor’s appointment, businesses can help women manage these symptoms and maintain their productivity.

3. Better employee health

Menopause can increase the risk of health problems such as osteoporosis and heart disease. By providing support and resources for women going through menopause, businesses can help them manage these health risks and maintain their overall health and well-being.

4. Improved workplace morale

Creating a supportive workplace culture that values the well-being of all employees can improve workplace morale and create a more positive work environment for everyone.

How to support women with menopause in the workplace

Lead with compassion and empathy when it comes to menopause and workplace matters. Here are seven steps to take for a more inclusive and supportive employee experience for women:

1. Appoint a menopause champion/specialist within your organization 

Designate a willing, informed employee to be the point person on menopause transition issues. They can help make difficult conversations easier by serving as an advocate and also give guidance to colleagues still learning how to discuss menopause in the workplace.

2. Draft a formal menopause policy for your company

This raises awareness among employees, shows managers how to make modifications, and signals to all staffers that they should feel safe bringing their concerns forward. Encourage privacy and discretion through a general, health-related category of support so women don’t have to disclose such personal information.

3. Reassess your employee benefits

Does the health insurance cover hormone replacement therapy? What about testing and treating low bone density and heart health, two risk factors that directly impact menopausal women? Permit employees to take medical appointments during work hours.

Offer menstrual/menopause paid leave, and report it separately from other absences. The Bank of Ireland, for example, allows employees experiencing menopausal symptoms up to 10 paid days off per year. Maven Clinic (No. 1 on the Best Workplaces in Health Care List for small and medium-sized businesses) pairs menopausal women with suitable providers through its digital health platform.

4. Allow flexible working arrangements

Employees exhausted in the middle of the day may still perform well at dawn and midnight, so allow temporary schedule adjustments and remote work as needed for workplace flexibility. For shift workers, frequent bathroom breaks and longer periods of rest can make a huge difference. Modify workloads. Create a private, quiet rest area for employees who can’t work at home.

5. Adapt the workplace environment to support women

Can you provide a desk fan or allow an employee to move directly under an air-conditioning vent or near a window she can open? Due to sudden hot flashes, menopausal women benefit greatly from being able to control their own microclimate.

If your company has a uniform or dress code, make the fabric breathable or relax the code. Avoid white uniform bottoms and ensure back-up clothing is available.

6. Provide support through professional training and ERGs

Teach senior leaders and line managers about menopause symptoms and how they can hinder daily job functions. Encourage staff to lead discussions about menopause and workplace issues, but don’t make any assumptions or requirements.

A great way for people to openly share in a safe space is through a Women Employee Resource Group (ERG), which also allows executive leadership and HR to do some employee listening.

7. Evaluate your hiring practices

“Being wary of hiring older women because there's a possibility of menopause” is similar to the prejudice younger women who may become pregnant face, Kim says. It’s critical to consider whether this sort of hiring manager bias exists in your organization, and seek ways to prevent it.

Menopause is “a real experience for half of the population and companies need to recognize the impact on women's health,” Kim says. “I can tell you from research, people I know, and from my own experience, it's different for everyone, from mild to severe symptoms, and nothing to take lightly.”

With employee retention – especially of experienced workers – at the top of mind, there is a tremendous urgency and opportunity for employers to act on supporting women going through menopause in the workplace.

Are you taking a deliberate approach to account for the shifting demographics of your workforce?

There's no question that leveraging data analytical tools can help you gain a more nuanced understanding of how your employee population is evolving, offering insights that can inform and improve your employee experience.

Through comprehensive employee surveys and data analysis, Great Place To Work 카지노커뮤니티™ details precisely how and where you should invest to strengthen your support for all women and all ages and prevent your best talent from leaving.

The population of people with disabilities is an untapped talent market. This group is made up of many incredible individuals with . However, many companies struggle to ensure that their workplace includes employees with disabilities.

A Center for Talent Innovation study  that only 39% of disabled employees disclose their disability status to their managers. Of those employees who are open about their disability status, 65% state they regularly feel happy or content at work — versus only 27% of those who don't discuss their status.

At Great Place To Work®, our research tells us that employees who feel like they can bring their whole selves to work, and disclose their support needs without hesitation, are exponentially more likely to give their best every day.

In other words, psychological safety leads to engaged and thriving employees. On the Great Place To Work Trust Index™ Survey, and in U.S. workplaces in general, disclosing a disability is not required. 카지노 커뮤니티 랭킹 research on the link between business resilience and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) has shown that for every 10% of employees that chose not to respond on the survey, there was a 6-point decrease in a company’s overall levels of trust, pride, and camaraderie.

Hiding one’s identity in a survey can signify that a workplace culture suffers from favoritism, toxic work relationships, and microaggressions.

Psychological safety helps team members feel comfortable sharing opposing ideas or presenting new ones. But central to psychological safety is the willingness to be vulnerable in front of others.

In our research, employees who believe their managers “care about them as a person” are 36% more likely to bring innovative ideas to your workplace.

The payoff is clear: Supporting employees with a disability will help your business thrive. Mental health resources, ergonomic equipment, robust short- and long-term disability, and paid medical leave are all benefits that support and retain people with disabilities.

The flexibility of remote work compared to in-person work can be especially valuable when hiring employees with disabilities.

What is considered a disability in the workplace? 

When we think of a disability, we often think of something we can easily see, such as having difficulty walking or using a wheelchair. Those “visible disabilities” are usually prioritized in professional and public settings over other disabilities.

In recent years, more research has been emphasizing “invisible disabilities.” These are disabilities that can’t be easily identified by looking at someone. Examples can include neurodivergence, PTSD, and cancer.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a disability is a physical or mental impairment that limits at least one major life activity. A major life activity may be a basic task such as standing, walking, sleeping, lifting, reading, or working a major bodily function like the digestive, circulatory, or respiratory systems.

On the Great Place To Work Trust Index™ Survey, employees are considered to have a disability if they have a physical or mental impairment or medical condition that substantially limits a major life activity, or if they have a history or record of such an impairment or medical condition.

Some disabilities covered under the ADA may not immediately come to mind. For example, major depressive disorder, diabetes, post-traumatic stress disorder, learning disabilities, anxiety, migraine headaches, and gastrointestinal disorders.

adults in the United States have a disability. In 2021, over the age of 16 were identified as having a disability compared to 2020.

These numbers are due to COVID-19. We are still learning the full implications of long COVID, which some specialists believe will significantly impact the number of people with disabilities worldwide. Only 19.1% of people with a disability were employed in 2021, versus 63.7% without a disability, demonstrating the overall lack of effort towards including this population of employees.

How businesses benefit by hiring people with disabilities

Recruiting and hiring people with disabilities isn’t just the morally and ethically right thing to do. It can also influence business outcomes such as innovation, inclusivity, customer growth, and profitability.

1. Spur innovation

Hiring people with disabilities can expand your opportunities for innovation. That’s because people with disabilities tend to be excellent problem solvers — many have ample experience thinking of creative solutions to problems as they navigate a world that is often not built for them. They can have a unique perspective on challenges and are often persistent when encountering a roadblock.

KPMG, Great Place to Work Certified™ company on the Fortune 100 Best Company to Work For® List recognizes the value of hiring people with disabilities and has prioritized recruiting and increasing its support for people with visible and invisible disabilities. It has developed an accessibility strategy and launched Neurodiversity@Work to help unleash the potential of neurodiverse talent at KPMG and for its clients.

The program has helped KPMG establish a university council with 12 schools, engage more than 45 volunteers, enter two formal partnerships, create six job openings, and initiate nearly two dozen internal and external marketing initiatives.

2. Improve bottom-line performance

Hiring people with disabilities also has proven financial benefits. A 2018 Accenture found that companies that were inclusive towards people with disabilities had 28% higher revenue on average over a four year period compared to their less-inclusive counterparts.

Employers who create a culture of accommodation and accessibility for employees with disabilities lower barriers to performance.

Think about it: When an employee living with chronic migraines doesn't have the workplace flexibility to visit a doctor or fit work around their migraine, it adds up to countless hours of lost production, thought, innovation, and advancement.

3. Understand and target your customers more accurately

People with disabilities make up a sizable portion of the consumer marketplace. Having more employees with disabilities can help ensure that products are being designed with this population in mind to reach more customers.

4. Promote an environment of inclusion and understanding

Hiring people with disabilities fosters an inclusive work environment. Diverse teams create bigger and more frequent opportunities for cultural exchange. Team members can witness the experiences of employees with disabilities, building greater empathy and awareness across people from diverse backgrounds.

Hiring (and keeping) people with disabilities – 6 tips for a successful employee life cycle

Here are six ways to make your organization more appealing to current and potential employees with disabilities.

1. Detail accessibility in job postings

List any potential accessibility concerns when advertising a job and prepare recruiters to answer applicants' questions. This includes elevator access, stairs, curbs, and width of passageways. Less obvious factors, such as harsh fluorescent lighting, loud noises, accessible desks, and lack of cell service or internet, could be deciding factors for an applicant.

Taking the time to outline these details in your job posting sends a strong message to people with disabilities that their needs are considered and cared for.

2. Train managers on the accommodation process

Managers are often the first people an employee with a disability will go to for guidance with accommodations during the hiring process or on the job. Ensuring that managers have a working knowledge of the accommodation process and can support their employees while they work (including opportunities to be social, network, and celebrate as a team) is vital, especially since there is often a stigma around having a disability.

100 Best 카지노 커뮤니티 추천 like Experian realize the importance of inclusive training. Experian employees now have access to a “Disability Fundamentals for Managers” course through Disability:IN — a 30-minute interactive training that helps managers learn about disability awareness, etiquette, disclosures, and accommodations, as well as how to hold accessible meetings and events.

Giving all employees, especially managers, a high-level overview of what it means to be an employee with disabilities helps build empathy and develop inclusive leadership skills.

3. Focus on inclusive benefits

For many employees with a disability, benefits can be a deciding factor in choosing a job. If someone has regular doctors’ visits or expensive medications, they may not be able to wait 60 or 90 days for their health insurance to kick in.

In addition, make sure that your healthcare plans have adequate coverage and listen to feedback from employees with disabilities about what other benefits they need. Mental health resources, ergonomic equipment, robust short- and long-term disability, and paid medical leave are all benefits that support people with disabilities.

4. Fit disabilities into the larger DEIB and values discussion

When it comes to DEIB, disabilities are often left out of the conversation. Educating employees about the experiences of people with disabilities and normalizing the concept of accommodations can help remove the stigma and ensure an accessible work environment.

Certified workplace Rocket 카지노 커뮤니티 추천 developed the “empathy generator,” a tool that helps employees create products that are accessible to people with disabilities. It simulates the experience of having the disabilities that team members such as coders, designers, and researchers are trying to accommodate.

Most people who do not live with disabilities may find it difficult to fully conceptualize the barriers that people with disabilities face daily, so these kinds of tools and exercises can help increase awareness.

The population of people with disabilities in the United States also highlights the importance of intersectionality. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Black and Hispanic people with disabilities are than their white counterparts to be without a job.

5. Allow flexible schedules and remote work

The flexibility of remote work compared to in-person work can be especially valuable for employees with disabilities. For example, if someone has chronic pain and cannot drive an hour to get to the office, they cannot accept a job. If they can work remotely, they are better able to manage their pain and work in a safe environment.

6. Ensure that training and development opportunities are inclusive

Present information through different modalities, including visual, written, and auditory. For audio or video components, ensure that captions and transcripts are available and work with screen readers.

Wise organizations are catching on to the value of hiring and engaging people with disabilities. Research by the Economics Innovation Group found that people with a disability aged 25 to 54 were in the second quarter of 2022 than pre-pandemic. How is your organization adapting and making your workplace more attractive to employees with disabilities?

Want to know exactly how you can support your employees?

Being intentional about your DEIB initiatives starts with understanding your workforce in detail. Great Place To Work 카지노커뮤니티™ helps you measure and track your employee experience with our research-backed Trust Index Survey. Ask us today about how to get started on your 카지노커뮤니티 and access the workforce data you need to improve your workplace for diverse groups, including those living with a disability.

Burnout is on the rise again in 2024, and managers are missing the signs.

A and The Grossman Group found that while 89% of managers say their employees are thriving, only 24% of workers said the same.

“We have lost awareness of this issue at the manager level,” says David Grossman, CEO of The Grossman Group, a leadership and communications consultancy. “Senior leadership is so focused on other priorities that this has fallen off the radar.”

Having a leader who is tuned into employee well-being makes a huge difference.

A study from UKG found that managers impact employees’ mental health more than doctors or therapists, and 81% of employees worldwide prioritize good mental health over a high-paying job.

During and immediately after the pandemic, managers learned the importance of one-on-one check-ins with employees, what Grossman calls an “emotional check-in.” A short conversation about what is going on with employees both at work and in their lives can build trust and engagement.

“We’ve forgotten how successful these conversations were,” Grossman says.

Neurodivergent masking

One explanation for burnout in the workplace is a lack of inclusion for neurodivergent employees.

Researchers believe that there might be as many as 1.2 billion neurodivergent people worldwide, which suggests that every company has at least one neurodivergent employee.

However, most companies don’t know much about these employees. Only one in 10 employees within a disability category , and nearly half (45%) of neurodivergent or adjustments at work.

When neurodivergent professionals don’t disclose their status — called “masking” — these employees are spending extra energy to fit in and avoid detection. This extra effort can take a toll over time, says Ed Thompson, CEO of , a platform for awareness and education around neurodiversity in the workplace. At Accenture, No. 7 on the Fortune 100 Best 카지노 커뮤니티 추천 to Work For® List in 2024, over 16,000 employees have used the platform.

“In the neurodivergent community, people talk about burnout all the time,” Thompson says. When employees don’t feel like they can disclose their status, they don’t have a psychologically safe environment. In short, they don’t trust their organization.

Great Place To Work® research has shown that when employees decline to share parts of their identity with their employer, workplace trust suffers. For every 10% of employees who chose not to respond to survey questions about their identity, there was a six-point decrease in overall levels of trust at a given company.

A threat for retention

Burnout isn’t just a threat to engagement. Employees are more likely to leave a job rather than try to get help for a mental health issue, according to Ramona Schindelheim, editor-in-chief at , a nonprofit focused on helping employees thrive in the modern workplace.

“Employees are leaving their jobs because of not feeling comfortable talking about their mental health issues,” Schindelheim says. “Instead of having to seek an accommodation or try to talk out an issue with a boss, they just leave their job instead.”

As , particularly for highly skilled workers, any barrier to acquiring talent is a problem. “When you see that there is a need for talent, doing anything to take that talent off the table has an impact on the bottom line,” Schindelheim says.

A better workplace for everyone

Why should leaders focus on neurodiversity when tackling burnout and mental well-being?

Solving workplace issues for neurodivergent employees has the potential to improve well-being outcomes all employees. At the For All Summit™ in New Orleans, Dr. Daniel Wendler, a researcher and expert on neurodiversity in the workplace, spoke about the power of universal design.

“When you design with everyone in mind, it makes it better for everybody,” Wendler says.

One simple step: Make sure to publicize your commitment to diversity and inclusion for all disabilities.

“If you can say that you are open to all disabilities, and include in that public statement that you recognize this includes mental health, neurodiversity, and physical disabilities, you can make sure that a current or a prospective employee understands this is a welcoming environment that recognizes talent exists in everyone,” says Schindelheim. 

카지노 커뮤니티 추천 can do a lot of good just by raising awareness, Thompson says. “I know it’s not sexy, but what we hear from people is that they would trade a free yoga class for people having basic appreciation of people thinking differently,” he says.

Tips for inclusion

Here are some ways companies can break down barriers and help neurodivergent employees find a sense of belonging:

1. Update the “golden rule”

“Treat others the way you want to be treated” is good advice, but can be problematic if leaders assume that everyone’s experience matches their own. Instead, great leaders should create room for a variety of experiences.

“Everyone will want to contribute, but not in the same way,” Thompson says. Make sure you extend the flexibility and space to others that you would want for yourself.

2. Share your inclusive message with current and prospective employees.

New hires are looking for signals that your workplace is welcoming and inclusive, but it’s an important message for your current workforce as well.

It’s not always an employee’s boss who can make them uncomfortable when disclosing a disability or specific status, says Schindelheim. “Sometimes it’s their co-workers.”

An inclusive environment is the responsibility of every employee, not just management. 

3. Track the positive/negative cycle

When one employee has a positive experience sharing their story or status with their employer, that can create a positive cycle, says Thompson. When an employee has a negative experience, that also reverberates throughout the organization.

4. Survey your workforce

If you don’t know how neurodivergent employees are experiencing the workplace, go get that data. “Give your people an opportunity to tell you,” Thompson says.

When looking to gather data, it’s crucial to empower employees to share their stories in a way that makes them comfortable. These employees are not looking for amateur diagnosticians to label them, Thompson warns.

“It’s not about identifying who is who,” he says. Instead, companies should ask: “What can we do to allow everybody to contribute their best?”

Benchmark your culture

Discover what employees value about working at your company, and how you can boost retention rates and increase productivity and performance with Great Place To Work 카지노커뮤니티™.

Why do veterans struggle to find adequate employment when transitioning to the civilian workforce?

There are some common myths about former service members that may lead employers to discount veterans’ experience and skills — but that’s a mistake, according to Alveda Williams, chief inclusion officer at Dow.

Williams joined Bob Ferrell, executive vice president, global HR and diversity, equity and inclusion at World Wide Technology — himself a veteran and retired three-star general — for a discussion about veterans in the workplace at the 2024 For All Summit™ in New Orleans.

Hear from leaders of the Fortune 100 Best 카지노 커뮤니티 추천 to Work For® at the For All Summit™ April 8-10 in Las Vegas!

Debunked myths about veterans in the workforce

Williams started the conversation outlining four common misconceptions about veterans and the experience they bring to a civilian role:

1. Veterans are more susceptible to turnover

“There’s this myth around turnover, that veterans don’t get acclimated or integrated well,” Williams says. The idea doesn’t pass muster when you dig into the data. Veterans remain with their initial post-service employer 8.3% longer than non-veterans, .

2. Veterans’ military experience doesn’t translate to civilian roles

Williams and Ferrell acknowledge that there are new skills veterans must develop when working at a for-profit organization, but argue that veterans also bring unique and highly valuable experience to a role.

“We run big manufacturing and production facilities, often with pretty dangerous stuff running through the pipes,” Williams says about the experience needed to work at Dow. “One of the things that’s inherent in our culture is our safety culture — veterans, they know the power of one bad decision and what a difference that can make. It’s all about tapping into what they’re capable of and translating that into an environment for them where it makes sense.”

As it relates to technology, Ferrell notes seeing more veterans come to World Wide Technology with skills in areas like cybersecurity.  

3. All veterans have the same strengths and weaknesses when joining your organization

Like any other demographic group, veterans are not a monolith but instead contain a vast wealth of diverse experiences. “They’re made up of a bunch of different communities, a bunch of different backgrounds and experiences,” Williams says. “We need to be sensitive to that and meet people where they are.”

For example, while veterans are more likely to experience post-traumatic stress disorder than their civilian co-workers, it’s a mistake to assume that every former service member has a mental health issue.

“We need to acknowledge where that’s true and dispel that as a sort of catch-all myth for the entire community,” Williams says.

4. Veterans only need support during the hiring process

While lots of attention is paid to helping veterans navigate the transition into the civilian workforce, they might still need support after getting hired.

“Just like any other employee, we need to rally around them, provide the support that they need so that they can be successful in our organizations and thrive,” Williams says. That could include starting an employee resource group (ERG) or developing targeted programming to help them translate their military experience into civilian skills.

In addition to being purposeful in hiring veterans, Ferrell says employers must be purposeful in how they embrace veterans once they join the organization. Ferrell recommends connecting newly hired veterans to your veterans ERG or to other veterans in your organization as a part of the onboarding process. 

How you can support veterans in your workforce

Here’s how World Wide Technology and Dow are using their company resources to build a welcoming workplace for veterans that support their transition to a civilian role:

Partnering with external groups

“There are multiple programs that we are connected to,” Ferrell says, naming the Tap program, SkillBridge, NPower, and Hiring 카지노 커뮤니티 랭킹 Heroes as examples. These partners work with companies like World Wide Technology to give veterans on-the-job experience and sometimes place them in jobs at the company. World Wide Technology’s veterans ERG also has a strategic partnership with My Warriors Place, a retreat center for veterans and their families that offers recovery and coping programs

“A big key in the entire process of hiring vets is to meet them where they need you,” Ferrell says. That might include help with preparing résumés or tips on how to negotiate salaries.

To really increase the number of veterans joining your organization, Ferrell recommends adding military veterans to your talent acquisition team and taking advantage of their large networks. Veterans in your organization can reach over the fence and use their network to identify other highly skilled veterans as candidates for hire.

Invest in employee resource groups

Dow in particular places value on its ERGs with more than 60% of its current workforce participating in one of its 10 resource groups. One of its groups is called the Veterans Network or VetNet and is an essential resource for leaders to understand veterans’ experiences at the company.

It was with input from its VetNet group that Dow developed a military degree equivalence program, giving former service members with a rank of E-6 or higher credit for their service, equivalent to having earned a bachelor’s degree. For a materials science company like Dow, where degrees are often required for the work, this step made a huge difference.

Williams gives the example of one Dow employee who had worked at the company for 16 years who came with experience in the Naval Nuclear Program. “Because of military degree equivalence, he’s now able to lead one of our key projects with small modular nuclear reactors,” Williams said.

World Wide Technnology's veterans ERG — VETS — provides a rally point for veterans to gather for support, and supports purposeful accommodation of those who continue to serve in the National Guard or Reserves. VETS also brings education and awareness of veterans' matters to the broader workforce at the company.   

Use company resources to increase visibility for vets

World Wide Technology and Dow commit company resources to celebrate veterans and their service, both internally and externally.

World Wide Technology partnered with the Honor Flight Network, an organization that transports veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit the memorials and monuments honoring them and their service. For one veteran who didn’t have family members to accompany him on the journey, more than 50 World Wide co-wokers rallied to hand write cards thanking him for his service.

Dow took advantage of its partnership with NASCAR to wrap the No.3 car it sponsors with a design to honor the service of 2,000 veterans, both employees who served and employees’ family members who served. “There is nothing more powerful than when this car gets unveiled, to see the employees going and looking and finding their names or their great-grandfather's name,” Williams says.

Ferrell says that individual leaders can also have an impact by taking a personal interest in their Veterans. “When you see a Veteran, ask him or her how they’re doing,” he says. “Transitioning into the corporate world is not easy. Ask how they’re doing and then figure out how you can give back and help.”  

For employers seeking candidates with like entrepreneurial mindset, curiosity, leadership, self-awareness, and growth potential, veterans represent a unique and diverse community of untapped talent.

After eight years of active-duty service, I transitioned out of the military in 2019. I completed graduate school and began my job search as a civilian with the expectation that I would easily land a role.

I was quickly proven wrong. Not only did I need to learn how to find a role that matched my skill set, I also had to learn to translate my military experience so that employers could understand how my nontraditional background would benefit their company. 

When I did land an interview, I was often met with hesitation and resistance. Interviewers asked questions such as:  

• I don’t see how your experience applies. Can you connect the dots for me?

• I see in your résumé that you led a team of 30 people. Did you lead a project that included a team of 30 people, or were you the direct manager for a team of 30 people?

• The military is a highly structured and hierarchical organization. How will you adapt to a less structured organization?  

These types of questions made me doubt that these interviewers could possibly understand a veteran’s employment experiences, or whether they were even capable of valuing my skills. When I interviewed with companies that understood the value I bring as a veteran, my enthusiasm for the company and the role increased knowing I would be appreciated and encouraged to bring the entirety of my professional experience to the table.

Learn how to develop resource groups and improve belonging for all employees at the For All Summit™ April 8-10 in Las Vegas. 

What veterans bring to the workplace

Hiring leaders should consider how military members’ unique experiences prepared them for civilian work by developing several :

• Entrepreneurial mindset. Veterans are self-motivated, proactive, and resilient. They demonstrate an entrepreneurial mindset through their ability to adapt and innovate in challenging situations, solve problems quickly, and think five steps ahead in any given situation. 

• Curiosity. Although the common perception is that veterans are rigid and require clear structure, their experiences also foster curiosity, and a willingness . Their curiosity drives them to explore new approaches to problems, which is crucial in businesses across all industries. 

• Leadership. The military prides itself on developing strong leaders who can handle heavy responsibility in challenging conditions all over the world. Veterans spend many years leading teams of various sizes, making critical decisions, and ensuring their teams are cared for at every level, skills they can bring into civilian organizations. 

• Self-awareness. Veterans’ experiences in the military often force them to confront their strengths and weaknesses, promoting a strong understanding of themselves and their influence on others. Self-awareness enhances their leadership abilities and allows them to adapt easily to diverse environments. 

• Growth mindset. Veterans are committed to growth in every aspect of their lives. In the military, they are trained to operate at their highest potential, consistently seeking growth in all areas. This commitment to learning does not end when they transition out of the military — in the civilian workforce, veterans are to be promoted early compared to employees who did not serve, per data from LinkedIn. 

Yet despite these desirable qualities, data shows that veterans are than non-veterans to take a step back in seniority during their careers. Furthermore, 33% of veterans are underemployed in lower-paying, more junior roles after transitioning to the civilian workforce. 

So, how can companies create an effective veteran recruitment strategy to help veterans feel supported in their role as they adjust to a new work environment?

How to add veterans to your workforce

As a veteran who recently went through the military-to-civilian career transition, here are the top three strategies I recommend:

1. Develop a veteran-specific recruitment strategy

To effectively recruit veterans, companies should develop a plan that proactively pursues them rather than waiting for them to apply. An effective strategy could include partnering with organizations such as 50 Strong, which helps close the gap in veteran recruitment, and participating in hiring events such as the Service Academy Career Conference, which provides direct access to skilled veterans seeking new opportunities.

When looking for their first post-military role, many transitioning service members seek educational opportunities, transition programs, or hiring fairs for veteran support and recruitment. 카지노 커뮤니티 추천 such as DOD SkillBridge, Hiring 카지노 커뮤니티 랭킹 Heroes, 50 Strong, American Corporate Partners, and the Service Academy Career Conference support veterans transitioning out of the military by facilitating connections with military-supportive companies looking to hire veterans.

By collaborating with veteran-focused organizations and creating veteran-specific outreach initiatives, employers can create a welcoming environment that highlights their commitment to hiring veterans.

2. Create a veteran-friendly culture

Celebrating veterans honors their unique contribution and sacrifice. Employers can honor veterans through appreciation events such as Veterans Day, create veteran-specific mentorship programs, and support shared experiences through a veterans’ employee resource group (ERG). By actively acknowledging the value and perspective veterans bring to the organization, you can create a veteran-friendly culture that strengthens cohesion and boosts morale.

3. Offer training and development opportunities

Offering training programs and development opportunities that align veterans’ military certifications with equivalent civilian credentials is essential. Many veterans face challenges in navigating the complexities of civilian qualifications. By providing resources to help update certifications and enhance skill sets, companies can empower veterans while clarifying career advancement opportunities. This approach fosters a sense of belonging and significantly improves employee retention.

Veterans’ business impact

Increasing the number of veterans in your workforce is not simply a gesture of support, it’s a strategic decision to improve your organization’s diversity, strength, curiosity, and resilience.

Veterans enhance organizations by fostering a culture of growth, excellence, and teamwork, and bring a wealth of experience that can drive your organization forward. By implementing veteran-specific talent strategies, you can build a more dynamic, diverse, and effective team within your organization.

The first step in building belonging and inclusion is investigating the contours of your workforce.

What demographic groups are underrepresented or overrepresented? What are the gaps between the experiences of different groups?

Those are hard questions to answer when you only have a handful of members of a particular demographic group in your organization. The number of responses from a group in your employee survey might not produce a statistically significant sample. Popular strategies like creating an employee resource group (ERG) might not make as much sense, either — but that doesn’t mean these groups shouldn’t get support from the organization.

When employees look at the roster of ERG groups at a company and don’t see one that fits their identity, they can feel overlooked, or worse.

“In some cases, they might feel that they can’t be their full selves at work,” says Matt Bush, senior strategic advisor at Great Place To Work®. “In a worst-case scenario, people might assume there is antagonism towards their identity in the workplace.”

Learn more about industry-leading ERG strategies at the For All Summit April 8-10 in Las Vegas!

How to support invisible groups

First, companies can ensure that employees feel comfortable sharing their identity with their employer.

“You may actually have more members of a group in your company, but not know because you have not created the conditions for them to be open about who they are,” Bush says. A self-ID campaign is a crucial early step to increase visibility and build trust.

“What we always recommend is coming up with a listing strategy and inviting members of your target group to collaborate with you,” Bush explains. Questions to ask include: “How would you like your organization to show up for you?” and “How would you like to be seen in the organization?”

Different groups will want different kinds of support. Employees might want to create an ERG, but they might also prefer something smaller, such as specific programming around a cultural holiday or awareness day.

Finally, if there is a specific group that your organization is looking to engage, you can lean on external resources and subject matter experts.

“Whether it’s a speaking engagement or someone that you can bring into consult, inviting in external leaders and experts can fill in the void,” Bush says. You can build a relationship with a resource and vet them over time, starting with a small engagement and building into a more meaningful partnership.

Nested ERGs offer important subgroups

Great Place To Work’s report “Untapped Energy: The Potential of ERGs” offers insights on adapting these groups to offer inclusion and belonging to smaller subgroups within an underrepresented demographic.

These subgroups can be crucial for giving smaller subgroups a place to experience the full benefits of ERG participation. Bush gives the example of a women’s ERG, which can have a vast amount of diversity within the group.

“A member might say: ‘Yes, I’m in a women’s ERG, but I'm still very much a minority here because I’m a Black woman,’” he says. To counter this experience of marginalization, some ERGs will create subgroups with dedicated separate meetings, programming, and goals.

Another strategy for ERG leaders is to open membership to all employees.

“This is something that a lot of companies disagree on,” Bush says. “Should ERGs be exclusively for people who identify as part of a group, or should they be also inviting to people who are allies or people who do not identify as a member of that group?”

Whatever strategy you adopt, it’s important to clearly communicate your approach. Some companies add a plus at the end of ERG names to expand expectations on who can participate and how groups will operate.

Make your ERGs work for all

To ensure that your ERG strategy creates space for every employee, Bush offers four tips:

1. Start with clear community agreements that provide space for all participants

“We always recommend that when ERGs are started, founding members in the organization work together to come up with a charter that makes sense for the goals of the people, the community, and the business,” Bush says.

These are often positioned as agreements, not rules, and are intended to guide behaviors and practices that will be productive toward the goals to the group. One example: Always have space and open floor time for subgroups in the ERG at group meetings.

2. Don’t prioritize demographic groups based on their prevalence in the organization

It’s a mistake to allocate your resources and levels of engagement solely based on who you think is represented in your organization, Bush says. Even if you are pretty sure you don’t have a single employee that identifies with a particular group, there is still value in raising the visibility of that group and its experiences.

“Whether it’s acknowledgement, education, lunch and learns, guest speakers — the value of these activities can still benefit the organization,” Bush says. “One day you might have someone who identifies with that group in your organization. You might have customers or suppliers who identify with that group. Building more understanding and empathy between groups is always beneficial.”

3. Find ways to get involved outside your organization

When looking to engage with underrepresented groups, consider opportunities outside the workplace. Find relevant charities where you can donate or sponsor a volunteer event, Bush recommends.

“Those are always beneficial, not only for the people who identify as those groups, but also just for your entire workforce to build bridges for themselves and develop the skills to build connections across wider, more diverse groups,” Bush says.

4. Start where you already have engagement and momentum

If you are just getting started with your ERG strategy, start by offering an ERG to employees who are actively requesting more support and resources. When one ERG launches and starts having events and producing results, other groups may want to follow suit.

“ERGs should be employee-led,” Bush says. “If some employees just have more energy or are just more gung-ho about doing it, let them take the lead.”

Alveda Williams, chief inclusion officer at Dow, talked about the enormous difference Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) have on policies, practices innovation, and overall business success at Dow. With 600 chapters globally, these groups have influenced policies and contributed to product innovations, such as the Pride collection sneaker with Under Armour.

She also shared why influencers and non-people managers are part of leadership, and how that fosters a culture of collaboration and inclusion. Her insights remind us that inclusion is not just a policy, but a practice requiring intentional effort and leadership at all levels.

On the benefits of employee resource groups:

So often we get stuck on the first letter. Is the focus on the” E”? My tendency is to say we're focusing on the wrong thing. We really should be focusing on that “R,” because these groups are a resource for the employees and they're a resource for companies.

It's why we've spent so much energy around them. Over the last seven years, we have quadrupled participation in our ERGs. In 2017, 15% of our employees were engaged in one of our ERGs, to today, 60% of our employees are engaged in one of the 10 ERGs. We believe in the power of ERGs to move the needle for our people and for our company.

[Learn how ERGs drive business success at the For All Summit™ April 8-10 in Las Vegas. Better listeners save $200!]

On how ERGs influence business decisions:

In terms of business outcomes, I tend to think of that really broadly. I think about policy changes, changes in our practices, and of course changes in innovation and in terms of our overall results.

We recently expanded our global parental leave policy, and we went from six weeks of parental leave to now 16 weeks of parental leave, time off for all birthing and non-birthing parents, regardless of gender. And that policy came out of our women's inclusion network.

I think about the work that we've done around expanding benefit coverage for same-sex couples, born out of our GLAD ERG.

And then there are examples around innovation. One of our key customers is Under Armour. Every June, Under Armor puts out a Pride collection sneaker and in the mid-sole of that sneaker is Dow technology. And so you take the innovation that we bring in terms of delivering the technology into the shoe, partner that up with our global GLAD LGBTQ+ ERG, and you've got a powerful product that is on display, and the proceeds of that go to an organization called Athlete Ally in support of LGBTQ athletes.

ERGs are fully empowered. There are things happening around the world through our ERGs that I, as the chief inclusion officer, did not dictate, and did not play a part in.

When they speak, we absolutely listen. When they bring the ideas, we absolutely vet them. The highest level of leadership in our company serves as the executive sponsors for these ERGs, and it speaks to the level of importance that we place on them. They are not just there waiting to be called up. They are fully empowered and activated to bring their best ideas forward.

On how ERG goals are connected to the company’s goals:

We've said ERGs have long been a place of connection and community in our company, but what are the things that we can do to help them better serve the company's direct needs?

Three years ago, we developed this concept that we call an ERG agenda each year, and it speaks to the things that are critically important for the company. ERGs are going to do the work of providing a place of connection and courage and community for their group and the allies that support them. But if you want to be a resource for the company, here are the things that we are asking you to focus on.

We don't dictate the programming, but we will say that in 2024, for example, well-being is important. And we watch what they do with that, and it can be powerful. What well-being or mental health means to somebody in the Veteran's group may look very different than what it means in the women's group.

We give them five or six sort of anchors, if you will, every year. And then we just let them go and have fun with it, and it's great to see what they can come back with.

When they speak, we absolutely listen. When they bring the ideas, we absolutely vet them. The highest level of leadership in our company serves as the executive sponsors for these ERGs, and it speaks to the level of importance that we place on them. They are not just there waiting to be called up. They are fully empowered and activated to bring their best ideas forward.

On the impact of ERGs on the employee experience:

Seven years ago, when we had 15% of our people in ERGs, we looked behind the curtains of our employee survey and what we saw is that people who were participating in our ERGs were having a significantly different and positive experience relative to those who are not.

We could see it in the data. We were literally proving out the business case around ERGs ourselves, and I mean significant — 11, 12 basis points. This year, it's about 14 basis points. That was with 15% of the people in our ERGs. We knew that if that were true, what we were seeing is higher overall employee satisfaction. That satisfaction translates to engagement, engagement translates to productivity, and productivity translates to bottom-line value.

On how Dow defines leaders:

We have a community that we call Lead, and includes everyone who is a leader of people, in addition to those leaders who are a certain career grade in our organization who do not have people. At Dow, we believe that leadership is a privilege, not a right, and so we want to make sure that we're setting up our leaders to be able to serve the community of employees that we have.

At the center of the employee experience, the data that you at Great Place To Work has shared with us, and the data that so many of our partners have shared with us, is that leaders make the difference. The data will show you that more than 70% of an employee's experience is based on their experience with leaders. And so we are tapping into that unapologetically and making sure that we start at the heart of the house, which is our leadership community, 3,000 or so of our 36,000 employees.

It's time for US leaders to rethink how they support women in the workplace—and menopause must be part of the conversation.

At 49, menopause hit me. I was blindsided and completely unprepared, despite being an educated and intelligent woman. The symptoms hit me like a freight train—hot flashes, sleepless nights, brain fog, fatigue, and loss of my mojo!

In the workplace, I told no one and hid my symptoms. I did not want to be labelled as menopausal, as I feared I would be considered as “old,” “past it,” and unable to do my job. I found myself questioning my competence and confidence. I wasn’t alone — millions of women are silently struggling through menopause at work, often with little to no support.

Menopause affects half the workforce at some point, and yet, so few workplaces are addressing it. Ignoring menopause isn't just bad for women—it's bad for business.

In the US, an estimated 6,000 women reach menopause every day, and by 2025, around 1.1 billion women worldwide will be postmenopausal. Menopause occurs between the ages of 45 and 55, at a time when women are often at the peak of their careers. Despite the growing number of women in the workforce, menopause still remains a taboo subject, often misunderstood and shrouded in stigma.

In reality, every woman will go through menopause. Menopause isn’t merely “hot flashes” and “mood swings.” There are more than 40 symptoms, including brain fog, insomnia, anxiety, depression, joint pain, and many more. For women going through menopause, 85% report experiencing symptoms of varying type and severity, lasting on average seven to 10 years.

Join us in Las Vegas April 8-10 for our For All Summit™ with leaders and culture champions!

The impact on women’s careers

Menopause can have a significant impact on women’s professional lives. Up to 20% of women experience severe symptoms . Nearly two-thirds (63%) of menopausal women said their symptoms negatively affected their work performance. , nearly a third of respondents considered reducing their hours and 22% said they would consider early retirement.

카지노 커뮤니티 추천 with that proactively address this issue will see clear benefits:

• Retention of talent. The loss of skilled, experienced women due to unmanaged menopause symptoms creates a talent drain that’s difficult to replace.
• Increased productivity. Providing reasonable adjustments (such as flexible hours, hybrid working or access to quiet spaces) can significantly improve women’s productivity and reduce absenteeism.
• Improved employee engagement. Offering menopause support fosters a culture of care, resulting in higher employee engagement and loyalty.
• Diversity inclusion. 카지노 커뮤니티 추천 committed to gender diversity and inclusion cannot overlook menopause. Addressing it head-on is key to supporting women’s health and long-term career progression.

While the U.S. has yet to follow the U.K. in classifying menopause as a workplace issue under equality law, the tide is turning. Ignoring this issue could soon expose businesses to legal risks around discrimination or failure to make reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

How companies can respond

If you want to become menopause inclusive, here are 9 tips:

1. Get sponsorship from senior leaders which encourages the rest of the organization to engage meaningfully.

2. Build male allyship to ensure that the impact of menopause is understood by the entire organization.

3. Invest in education and awareness to normalize the topic and give managers and co-workers the confidence to support their colleagues.

4. Introduce menopause-friendly policies, such as flexible working, hybrid working, access to quiet or cooler workspaces, and health benefits that cover menopause-related treatments.

5. Find low-cost accommodations, such as desk fans, more frequent breaks, or the option to work from home, which can make a significant difference for menopausal employees.

6. Tap internal champions offer peer-to-peer support, a listening ear and help direct others to internal and external resources about menopause.

7. Use your EAP to offer additional support, such as confidential counselling and coaching. Occupational Health benefits can also offer guidance and advice.

8. Follow a risk assessment process to protect both the individual and the employer.

9. Measure your efforts to improve effectiveness going forward.

Menopause can no longer be ignored. The first step for any employer is to acknowledge the problem and commit to change. This means reviewing current HR policies to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement. Leaders should gather employee feedback, consult experts, and start crafting comprehensive menopause policies.

카지노 커뮤니티 추천 can make a difference by taking a proactive approach to menopause. It's not just about doing the right thing. It's about protecting your talent, boosting productivity, and staying competitive. The time to act is now. Let’s make workplaces where every woman feels supported, respected, and empowered to thrive at every stage of her life.

For companies that are committed to diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging, programs must have a clear connection to key business outcomes.

For CareSource, a health care insurance provider in Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, and West Virginia, President & CEO Erhardt Preitauer set an ambitious goal for the company to become the employer of choice for .

The goal has clear strategic benefits for CareSource.

“CareSource makes a difference in more than two million lives. While we are supporting our members, we want to ensure we support employees and make a space that is inclusive for all.” says Solomon James Parker, director, research and development, complex health solutions at CareSource.

“How can you do that if your employee base is not representative of that population?”

CareSource sees its efforts as crucial for elevating the culture of the organization to drive innovation and progress that downstream impacts the lives of members.

“Building an inclusive workplace is a bet on the future,” Parker says. “We are investing in and creating spaces where the leaders of tomorrow can thrive.”

Learn more about industry-leading ERG strategies at the For All Summit April 8-10 in Las Vegas!

Setting benchmarks to measure impact

To understand how to create more inclusion for people with disabilities, companies might want to explore a self-ID campaign to learn more about the employees in the organization.  

“First, we have to ask, ‘Who are our employees that have a disability?’ and ask if we are creating a culture that makes them feel supported in disclosing that they have a disability,” Parker says.

At CareSource, this became a campaign to invite people to share information about their experience with the HR team.

“카지노 커뮤니티 랭킹 initial percentages of individuals who felt comfortable self-identifying as persons with disability was fairly low,” says Patrice L. Harris, director of diversity, equity and inclusion at CareSource.

“If you’re not engaging your employee base, how can you know what is working and what is not?”

To increase participation, CareSource has focused on trust, and uses its Great Place To Work survey to understand the experiences that increase or decrease trust across its workforce.

Survey results are broken out by different demographic groups, including employees with a disability. Statements around things like psychological and emotional well-being revealed gaps between employees with disabilities and the larger workforce at CareSource.

“It wasn’t horrible, but it was lower,” Harris says. The team then takes the results and builds action plans to try and improve scores.

To increase the number of employees who trust the organization enough to share their status, the team has focused on communication and education.

“We built two web pages, one external, one internal, so people can go and see our goals, annual KPIs and accomplishments,” Harris says. “We’ve launched education around disability inclusion, how our words matter, etc.”

Executive sponsorship has also been incredibly important, with engagement from Josh Boynton, senior vice president, specialty companies and complex health solutions, and Jennifer Dougherty, chief human resources officer. With these top leaders making the issue a clear priority for CareSource, there has slowly been an increase in the number of employees who are disclosing their disability status.

“Are we where we need to be or want to be?” Harris says. “No, but we are really, really proud of the progress that we’ve made.”

Making disability inclusion a business priority

To build more inclusion and offer support to employees with disabilities, CareSource launched 10 workstreams to tackle different aspects of the employee experience, from recruitment processes to offering accommodations.

Each workstream is made up of a cross-functional team with measurable goals that are not a side-project, but rather a core part of their job duties. A workstream might include employees with lived experience or who identify as having a disability, but also have relevant roles such as human resources, IT, facilities, and more.

"First, we have to ask, ‘Who are our employees that have a disability?’ and ask if we are creating a culture that makes them feel supported in disclosing that they have a disability.” 

When Dougherty as CHRO sent out invitations to join workstreams, the first message was sent to managers. “From the start, we wanted to set our expectations around DE&I,” Harris says. That meant being explicit with managers and seeking their input on the right person for the workstream and what would be expected of those that participated.

Harris summarized the message: “If you say yes, this work is a part of their workload, not something that they do off the side of their desk when they have time.”

When performance reviews come around, Dougherty reaches out again to make sure managers are considering the disability inclusion work and all the progress the workstreams have made when evaluating their direct reports.

“We created an internal dashboard that all the workstreams can access,” Harris says.  “They go in, they put in their desired goals and their deliverables. They tell us to what degree have they completed those goals — and we revisit on a quarterly basis.”

Getting direct employee feedback

Employee resource groups (ERGs) are an essential part of the strategy and ensure that employees can share their experience.

“If you’re not engaging your employee base, how can you know what is working and what is not?” asks Parker.

At CareSource, there are two ERGs that have direct responsibility for employees with disabilities, but other ERGs can also offer their insight and provide valuable visibility around different intersections, like race or gender.

For the CareSource team, the groundswell of support that employees have shown for the effort to increase visibility and inclusion for people with disabilities has been tremendous.

“It was almost like people have been waiting for us to say or have this conversation out loud and to simply say, we want to help,” Harris says. For others looking to tackle this challenge in the workplace, she advises doing your prep work to avoid being bowled over by the enthusiasm and energy people will bring to the work.

“Partner with consultants or advisors — people who have been there, who know what you don’t know — to help you put your strategy together, then sit still for a minute,” she says. “Take time to pressure test your strategy and socialize it before you launch.”

Both Parker and Harris are clear about the opportunity that exists for companies of all sizes to have an impact.

“Just start the work,” Parker says. “Don’t wait for the perfect timing.”

Employee resource groups (ERGs) can be effective tools for building a more inclusive workplace.

They are unmatched listening channels and serve as crucial catalysts for transformation and change inside the best workplaces. Great Place To Work® research on ERGs has found that ERG members are 40% more likely to feel good about their company’s impact on the community and 30% more likely to have confidence in their executive team.

Some great workplaces are using ERGs to improve the experience of employees with disabilities, a demographic that is often overlooked and underappreciated. 

At Navy Federal Credit Union, its “Diverse Abilities Network” is the second ERG to be launched at the company. The group is designed to support employees with both visible and invisible disabilities, with membership open to caretakers and allies, as well.

Launched in May 2023, the group’s success is measured against three strategic pillars: education, career development, and belonging.  

“Meetings — which happen on a monthly basis — have some sort of component to tie to one of these strategic pillars,” says Athena Villarreal, manager, diversity, inclusion and belonging & corporate social responsibility strategy and optimization at Navy Federal Credit Union.

Activities include “Accessibility Corner,” where the team shares tips and tricks to improve the experience, such as how to turn on closed captioning or turn off distracting notifications. The group also launched a cross-functional project to develop new best practices to support neurodivergent employees.

“[ERG members] are helping to provide perspective and feedback in real time, says Villarreal. One example is a new benefit the company offers called Joshin, which supports neurodivergent employees and offers coaching for managers on how to work with different learning and communication styles.

The group also has the opportunity to volunteer or support causes that matter to them and support external partner groups like .

Learn more about industry-leading ERG strategies at the For All Summit April 8-10 in Las Vegas!

Responding to employee needs

Would your company benefit from having a resource group for employees with disabilities? For Navy Federal Credit Union, the group was started as a direct response to requests from employees at the company.

“카지노 커뮤니티 랭킹 employees were asking for a space where they can get together and talk about things,” says Villarreal. When the company offered events or celebrated observances on the topic of disabilities, they saw impressive engagement rates.

With this input, Navy Federal Credit Union launched the ERG and within 48 hours, it had more than 400 participating members. Today, more than 1,100 employees at the company belong to the ERG.

Apart from membership, Villarreal and team measure engagement to understand how their efforts are landing with employees. Digital communications channels like chat offer metrics, and the team measures readership on content pieces and educational resources shared on the company intranet.

Collaborating across resource groups

When employee resource groups collaborate, the results can be profound.

Navy Federal Credit Union’s other resource group, focused on the military community, found common cause to have a discussion around PTSD awareness in June 2024.

“A leader from each of the ERGs provided their own experience and they shared their own stories to the group, which was received really with open arms,” Villarreal says. By joining together, the groups were able to expand the conversation and offer powerful evidence of shared values and experiences employees have, regardless of past life experience.

Lessons learned

For other companies thinking about launching an employee resource group to support employees with disabilities, Villarreal offered six tips:

1. Be sure to connect with crucial HR and operations partners

"Make sure to connect with key partners like employee relations, medical accommodations, employee benefits, and wellness teams," Villarreal says. "This makes the effort a collective action and allows the team to route questions to people with the power to make change."

2. Prioritize privacy and safety

“There is a specific privacy aspect to this type of ERG,” Villarreal says. She advises setting clear guardrails around confidentiality and how information shared in ERG meetings will or won’t be disseminated. At Navy Federal Credit Union, it was important to be clear that joining the group didn’t mean a participant was disclosing any personal experience.

“This is a safe and judgment-free zone geared toward supporting employees,” Villarreal says.

3. Demand the inclusion of employee voices

Make sure that you are hearing from and including the voices of employees with disabilities in your organization.

“There’s a really important phrase for disability inclusion: ‘nothing about us without us,’” Villarreal says. “Representing lived experiences accurately is a really meaningful part of this particular ERG.”

4. Get leaders involved from day one

The quality of the engagement you receive from top leaders in the organization is an important signal for employees about how safe they are to share their honest experiences.

“If there can be explicit leadership support, that will absolutely open pathways forward,” Villarreal says.

5. Sweat the small details

When thinking about activities or events for employees with disabilities, small details can have a huge impact.

“For things like event activation, specific details really matter, like sign language interpreters, or offering closed captions in a digital setting,” Villarreal says. In another example, Navy Federal Credit Union’s ERG members specifically requested a quiet, sensory-friendly space for employees to decompress.

These accommodations can dramatically change how an event is received and encourage participation in future events.   

6. Don’t wait for a big budget to get started

You don’t have to wait for the perfect campaign or a big ERG budget to start transforming your workplace culture.

“I know we’re a huge organization, but the way that we were able to get started was by celebrating observances like Autism Acceptance Month,” Villarreal says. These observances created the momentum to unlock potential for new programming.

For others looking to start a similar group, Villarreal recommends focusing on a small calendar of observances or events and then using employee feedback to gauge what the company should do next.