I have recently been reading about Google and their commitment to diversity and inclusion. Some of the things I’ve been reading make my heart sing, so I thought I’d share.
Google has Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) for different communities (Asian, Black, LGBT, Latin American, employees with disabilities and women). The great thing about these ERGs is that they provide a place for employees who share an identity to come together to talk, learn and support each other, as well as creating magic internally and externally like:
– community-specific outreach
– speakers series to empower and inspire employees
– internal education and awareness
– helping shape company policy
– building external presence
– input on products and workplace issues
– supporting education initiatives
What strikes me most is the encouragement of employees to come up with ways Google can make a difference in communities, and their understanding that their staff help them to understand their customers better.
Google’s revenue continues to increase. What does that tell you?
But that’s largely external. Often companies start on the outside, and their internal environment isn’t part of the vision. Well, when I read: “At Google, being yourself is a job requirement”, I almost wept.
Sounds like they “get it”.
How would a culture like this transform your organization?
Who could you be at work, if you worked for a company like Google?
See more.
copyright 2011 Annemarie Shrouder
author, speaker and facilitator on issues of diversity and inclusion
www.beeing.ca
It is heartwarming to learn that there are companies who “get it”, that their greatest assets are their employees and that if they invest in them, the rest will follow. Instead of the usual practice of focussing on the bottom line and squeezing ever ounce of everything out of the their people.