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I'm sure that most readers of this book work at organizations that have a diversity and inclusion (D&I) mission statement. Some are short but effective: “To create, nurture and sustain a global, inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our customers and employees.” Others are a bit more elaborate: “As both a global and local business, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our values and is an important part of our company's success. For us, creating a diverse and inclusive workplace is not only the right thing to do – it is a strategic business priority that fosters greater creativity, innovation and connection to the communities we serve.”

Table 1.1 Dr. Robert Rodriguez Partial List of ERG Consulting Clients (2017–2021)

Abbott AbbVie Adobe Systems Akamai Technologies Alcon Allstate Alto Pharmacy Altria Amgen Anheuser‐Busch Aon Hewitt Associated Bank Astellas Pharma Asurion Baxter Healthcare Biogen BCBS ‐ Massachusetts Blue Shield of California BMO Harris Bank Boeing British Petroleum Brunswick BSE Global C.H. Robinson CapitalOne Catalent Pharma

CBRE Chevron Cisco Comcast Cox Enterprises Cracker Barrel Diageo Discover Card E.J. Gallo Wine Electronic Arts Eli Lilly Ericsson Facebook FannieMae FiatChrysler General Electric Gilead Sciences GlaxoSmith Kline Google Gusto Hallmark Cards Harley Davidson Harvard University Health Care Service Corp. Henkel Corporation Herman Millar Hyatt Hotels Ingredion

Intel JetBlue Airlines Johnson & Johnson KMPG KraftHeinz Levi Strauss & Co. Liberty Mutual LinkedIn Lockheed Martin Lowe's Manpower Group Mass General Brigham McDonald's Corporation McKesson 3M Medline Medtronic Merck MetLife Micron Technology Microsoft Mondeléz National Basketball Association National Credit Union Association

NBCUniversal Nielsen Nike Northern Trust Northwestern Mutual Oppenheimer Funds Pacific Gas & Electric Prudential Insurance Raytheon Technologies Sanofi SC Johnson Sony Stanley Black & Decker State Street Corporation SurveyMonkey The TJX Companies Uber Under Armour Verizon VMware Walgreens Zillow

Dr. Robert Rodriguez Partial List of ERG Consulting Clients (2017–2021)

But regardless of whether the diversity and inclusion mission statements are short or long, the message is the same. Everyone benefits from having a diverse employee population who feel included in the organization. This synopsis of common mission statements puts employees at the very core of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. So, in my opinion, employee resource groups must be at the very heart of any effort to improve the workplace from a diversity and inclusion perspective.

You see, every company says, “Employees are our most important asset,” yet few rarely act as if this is true. Embracing and nurturing groups that are run by employees (a company's most important asset) to drive diversity and inclusion (a company's strategic priority) to promote equity (a company value) just goes to show why employee resource groups are critical. Given the important role ERGs play, it is no wonder they are prolific within organizations. Yet, it is still astonishing that ERGs are still mostly treated as a simple tool in the D&I toolbox, as opposed to being the very essence and manifestation of diversity and inclusion itself.

Why is the pursuit of ERG excellence so important? First consider the current environment of today's organizations. Companies are having to adapt to a workplace that has an increasingly diverse and global employee population. This diverse workforce demands inclusive work environments. Employee resource groups help to create these inclusive environments.

More diversity in the workplace calls for leaders who can effectively manage this diversity. Gone are the days when a manager could treat every employee the same way. Today's diverse workforce requires managers to be more inclusive. It requires them to know what motivates each employee and the unique strategies that allow them to get the most out of everyone. Diversity requires managers to use a variety of strategies, approaches, and methods to maximize employee performance. A one‐size‐fits‐all strategy to managing large groups of employees is not effective. Thus, the demand for more inclusive leaders has risen. Employee resource groups help an organization create the more inclusive leaders they need.

Even though organizations have increased diversity overall, employees from historically underrepresented communities are still lacking in most senior leadership teams. Organizations need to do better in grooming executives that come from a more diverse pool of candidates. With their focus on career advancement, ERGs help to create a more representative talent pipeline.

Not only have workplaces become more diverse, so has our society in general. The population growth in the United States is being driven by multicultural communities. The growing size of these minority populations means that their purchasing power is increasing. Thus, companies must cater to a consumer base that is less homogeneous. Multicultural marketing departments have grown in size as organizations look to penetrate previously overlooked market segments. If companies are to leverage diverse markets as a catalyst for economic growth, they need cultural intelligence. Employee resource groups provide this cultural intelligence.

Increasingly, employees want to work for employers that are socially conscious. They want employers who are good corporate citizens in the communities in which they operate. To accomplish this, organizations need employees who are closely connected to their communities. They need employees who want to give back to their neighborhoods, districts, and regions. Organizations also want employees who are involved in local nonprofits because this helps to build bridges with community organizations. Employee resource groups help companies establish stronger relationships in the community.

For these reasons, and many more, organizations need their ERGs to deliver on their goals. We need our ERGs to perform at their peak. And we need organizations to expand their value proposition to all their stakeholders. We are not asking for perfection from our employee resource groups. Perfection is not the goal. The goal is a desire to achieve excellence. The dictionary definition of excellence is “to surpass”; it is “the quality of being outstanding or extremely good.” When ERGs strive for excellence, they are always looking at where they are and how they can get a little bit better. And since we will be discussing the concept of ERG excellence throughout the book, I'm going to define it here at the very beginning of our journey.

As we continue along this book, we will periodically pause to reflect how this definition of ERG excellence came to exist and how it manifests itself in our organizations.

ERG excellence is a commitment to a data‐driven approach, resulting in an inclusively holistic value proposition in which employees drive accelerated career advancement, improved cultural competency, enhanced community relations, and greater company success.