The Power of Business Resource Groups with Karen Brown

How can you transform your employee resource group into a business resource group? Take a listen to this interview with Karen Brown, CEO and Founder of Bridge Arrow.  Karen is the author of the Harvard Business Review article, “To Retain Employees, Focus on Inclusion, not Just Diversity”. She founded Bridge Arrow to ensure businesses are more profitable by focusing on return on equity for investors, shareholders, and employees, with an understanding born of over 25 years in the corporate world. Karen advises global companies about how to drive growth and profitability by promoting diversity and inclusion in their organizations. She has served as a global keynote speaker and panel moderator at conferences hosted by the US military academy and the Chicago council on Global Affairs among others. Karen is a compelling storyteller whose presentations spark conversation and spur action.

Transform Employee Resource Groups Into Business Resource Groups:

>> Create business resource groups to meet the needs of your members.

>> Recognize members both formally and informally.

>> Survey members and listen and share insights.

Karen shares how she empowers DEI leaders to win stake holder buy-in.

Example from her time at Monsanto and leading DEI.

>> Prepare them on how and when to engage with stakeholders.

Five Strategies for Business Resource Groups:

1. Ask for input when designing the strategy to report progress on a regular basis throughout the year.
2. Support and host regular quarterly meetings with key stakeholder groups.
3. Share a progress report to the executive sponsors, managers of the employee group leaders and HR leaders who were assigned to these employee groups.
4. Create an executive DEI council and share out results.
5. Host an employee resource group conference that brings together the entire executive team, DEI council, managers of the employee leaders, HR sponsors, and the heads of the employee groups.

“It is a huge missed opportunity for a business and C-suite executives to not recognize the qualities in the leaders of employee groups, to tap into them and to position them as incubators of talent for the leadership of the organization overall.”- Karen Brown

Find Karen Brown on LinkedIn | Bridge Arrow | email: Karen@bridgearrow.com

Natalie Benamou is the Founder of HerCsuite™, HerCsuite™ all-in-one platform is a SaaS private network hub is designed for organizations to retain and engage female talent. Our simplified user interface makes it easy for women to achieve success in every level of their careers. It is a ready-made customizable solution for Employee Resource Groups, Membership Organizations, and Individual Women Leaders.  Check out our Newest Mastermind HerCsuite™ NEXT for Women over 50.

LinkedIn: Natalie Benamou | HerPower2 Lead | HerCsuite™

This podcast is sponsored by Aaptiv, our favorite health and wellness app with over 4,000 videos. Listeners can get your free 30-day trial here.

Credits: Thanks to Julie Deem and the Business Podcast Editor for editing our podcast!