Diversity Executive - September 2008 - (Page 31)

package to appeal to black customers. According to company ﬁgures, the change boosted corn mufﬁn mix sales by more than 22 percent in one year. Spurring Innovation Even informal groups can impact the business line. Swedish automaker Volvo tapped into an all-female engineering team after identifying women as a growing market. In association with the research and development department, the team built a concept car designed with women in mind. “[The company] realized that a woman’s perspective and voice for innovation were hidden in what is traditionally a male-dominated industry,” Johansson said. The most striking feature of the car is the absence of a hood. Realizing that women rarely opened the hood, the design team instead engineered the car to allow gasoline and windshield washer ﬂuid to be ﬁlled through capless ﬁlling points, like those of a racing car. They also designed a pivot seat that makes it easier for women to get in and out of the car, included a ponytail notch in the headrest and storage compartments for keys, cell phones, coins, a notebook computer, a handbag and even a wastebasket. “In retrospect, [people] say it seems easy, it seems obvious, but nobody had thought of this before,” Johansson said. “These examples show [that organizations] tap into afﬁnity groups to leverage not only different perspectives and ﬁgure out how to reach [a particular demographic, but also] come up with genuinely good ideas.” Structuring an Effective Group Afﬁnity groups come about in different ways. Traditionally, they formed at the grassroots employee level, said Sweet Joy Hachuela, CEO of The Medici Group. “Usually, [the] folks who get together don’t see a lot of who they are represented in the company in terms of leadership and where they work, so they ﬁnd each other and form groups for support [and] mentorship,” she said. It was only later — when diversity departments were formalized — that organizations intentionally formed ERGs, Hachuela said. However the group comes into being, it’s important to have someone with institutional power speak for the group at higher levels in the organization, said Andrés Tapia, chief diversity ofﬁcer and emerging workforce solutions leader at Hewitt Associates. “You need strong grassroots leaders who have developed a vision for the afﬁnity group to be a really good platform to get visibility,” Tapia said. A clear purpose tied to meaningful business objectives is another hallmark of successful groups. “Cultural celebrations and social networking are wonder- ful, but if that’s the only reason [the groups] exist, that’s a real weakness,” Tapia said. “What will get business leaders excited about afﬁnity groups is their ability to speak to and add value to business objectives — and in ways that would not have happened if they did not exist.” Groups can strategically add value by gathering information and sharing perspectives from people in the organization and the community that spark new ways of thinking, said Steve Robbins, founder of consulting group S.L. Robbins & Associates. He also recommended everyone in the organization be made aware of the purpose of ERGs to head off potential negative feelings from majority groups. “You have to make the case that the afﬁnity group is there for an organizational purpose; otherwise, anybody with any type of afﬁnity could say, ‘I want an afﬁnity group of people with What is an ERG? small feet,’” Robbins said. Employee resource Hachuela said groups should be groups — also called open to everyone in the organetworking or affinnization to promote sharing of ity groups — provide cultures and enrich perspectives. forums for employees Organizations that lack signiﬁto socialize and share cant workforce diversity can start ideas outside of their broad ERGs, such as a multiculday-to-day roles in tural or a women’s group. These an organization. broader groups can spin off into Groups often are more targeted groups, such as Afestablished along racial, rican-American or Asian groups, ethnic and genderas numbers begin to grow. based lines, but many But regardless of the group’s organizations have makeup, it’s essential the group’s groups that bring initiatives tie back into organizatogether employees tional goals. based on religion, “Everything the employee rephysical disabilities, source group does is connected to age and sexual orientafurthering the business,” said Vintion, among others. cent Brown, managing partner at management consulting ﬁrm Global Lead. “They’re furthering the business in the marketplace: how they communicate, how they develop their internal talent and how they support each other in promotions, development and advancement.” Making the Connection to the Bottom Line Brown said there are several key ways ERGs can directly and indirectly impact the bottom line, from talent management to product development and customer relations. These include: • Connecting the company to customers. Afﬁnity groups allow the company to develop relationships and gain customer insight that ultimately drives business. • Linking the company to the community in a tangible, inLIKE MINDS continued on page 62 September/October 2008 | www.diversity-executive.com | Diversity Executive 31 http://www.diversity-executive.com

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Diversity Executive - September 2008 Editor's Letter Contents Leadership Connections Guest Editorial Diversity Executive Online 2042: A New Business Era Begins The Rules of Attraction Where to Look for Diverse Talent Like Minds Think Great Culture Teams Target Business Opportunities at Luxottica Retail Special Section Rebalancing Gender At ING Americas, the Color of Diversity Is Orange Profile Business Intelligence Case Study Strategies Advertisers' Index Editorial Resources

Diversity Executive - September 2008

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