knows better than anyone in business how to curate, organize and resource these individual organizational assets. This book is both a must‐have and a gift to anyone trying to achieve ERG excellence.”
—Shannon Trilli Kempner, Vice President, Corporate Responsibility and Diversity & Inclusion, Catalent Pharma Solutions
“ERGs are one of the first elements of a diversity & inclusion strategy most organizations kick‐off on their journey towards greater equity. Robert's knowledge, research, and actionable recommendations ensures that ERGs are set up for success and benefit both the employees and also the organization. Don't try to launch ERGs without the expertise and guidance provided by Dr. Rodriguez in this book.”
—Bo Young Lee, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Uber Technologies, Inc.
“Dr. Robert Rodriguez has been a trusted advisor, and major asset, to us in the area of ERGs by providing Facebook with critical guidance, strategic insights and creative solutions. His deep expertise and credibility are why he is such a sought‐after diversity leader and influencer.”
—Barbara Furlow‐Smiles, Global Diversity & Inclusion Engagement Leader, Facebook, Inc.
“Robert has been a steadfast advisor to State Street's Employee Networks for many years. We owe a lot of our growth to adopting his 4C approach and strategy. This book is a must‐read for those ERG leaders and diversity practitioners looking to turbocharge their networks.”
—Paul Francisco, Chief Diversity Officer, State Street Corporation
“Dr. Rodriguez's 4C ERG strategic framework is a best‐in‐class model for moving towards ERG excellence. The 4C Model creates employee resource groups that are business‐focused and impactful to business results.”
—Jessica Rice, Global Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Under Armour
ROBERT RODRIGUEZ, PhD
EMPLOYEE RESOURCE GROUP EXCELLENCE
GROW HIGH PERFORMING ERGs TO ENHANCE DIVERSITY, EQUALITY, BELONGING, AND BUSINESS IMPACT
Copyright © 2022 by Robert Rodriguez. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per‐copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750‐8400, fax (978) 646‐8600, or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748‐6011, fax (201) 748‐6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
For general information on our other products and services or for technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762‐2974, outside the United States at (317) 572‐3993 or fax (317) 572‐4002.
Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print‐on‐demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in ebooks or in print‐on‐demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.
Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data is Available:
ISBN 9781119813743 (Hardback)
ISBN 9781119813767 (ePDF)
ISBN 9781119813750 (ePub)
Cover design: Wiley
To Mom and Dad: Thanks for all the sacrifices you made to help give me more opportunities and a better life. This book extends your legacy of always giving back to the community. Little did you know that your decision to move our family to Minnesota would lead to the start of my lifelong connection with employee resource groups. All my love.
To Bailey and Benjamin: I can have no greater ambition in life than to be the best father I can be to you both. You are yet too young to have launched your professional careers, but if you should be fortunate enough to work for a company someday that has employee resources groups, I hope that you will join an ERG and that your ERG experience will be as rewarding as mine has been. I love you both.
To Sofia: You'll always be the love of my life. Thanks for your unwavering support, not only during the writing of this book, but in sharing me as my ERG consulting commitments often requires extensive travel away from our home. Who knew that it would be an ERG event that would bring us together? Te Amo.
To companies: Thanks for all you do to support employee resource groups. May this book help you create the conditions that will nurture ERG excellence.
To ERG members and leaders: This book is dedicated to you, due to your willingness to give back and commit your time and energy above and beyond your day jobs to help run and maintain your employee resource groups. This book is my gift to you for all that ERGs have provided me during my lifetime. I will be forever grateful.
Introduction: The Milli Vanilli Syndrome
My Personal Connection to Employee Resource Groups
The city of Matamoros in Mexico seems like an odd place to point to as the origination point for this book that eventually was destined to be titled Employee Resource Group Excellence. Matamoros is a city in the northeastern Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located on the southern bank of the Rio Grande, directly across the border from Brownsville, Texas.
Matamoros is the birthplace of my father, German. My father is the oldest of eight children, all of whom were born and raised in or near Matamoros. When my father reached the age where he could work, he would go across the border to work in Brownsville, Texas. It is in Brownsville that my father eventually met my mother, Janie. Janie is Mexican American, but she is a United States citizen, born in Texas. After a short courtship, German and Janie married and settled in the city of Lubbock, located in the panhandle region of Texas.
Lubbock is the city where I was born in 1969. My memories of Lubbock are rather