Employee Resource Group Excellence

4The 4C Model^TM: A Holistic Approach Toward ERG Excellence

The day is still fresh in my memory. It was summer of 2008 and my excitement level was high as I was launching one of my first consulting engagements. A Latina executive at Avon had invited me to one of company's office locations in downtown Manhattan to discuss how I might help the organization with their employee resource groups. My name had been given to her by Avon's chief diversity officer as someone who could help. She served as the executive sponsor for their Hispanic ERG, which was called AHORA.

During our initial discussion, she provided me with a historical perspective on AHORA and some of their past accomplishments. She felt that while the accomplishments were strong, there is still untapped potential within the group. From there, we began to explore various ways that AHORA could make an even greater impact on the organization. She described professional development workshops AHORA had sponsored in the past. Next, she shared how she was very proud of AHORA's community outreach and how they had supported several local nonprofits. She did feel that the employee resource group could do a better job of helping Avon sell more products within the Hispanic community. Avon had always wanted to gain a bigger piece of the Latina consumer market and she felt that AHORA could be well positioned to do so. Finally, we spoke about the upcoming Hispanic Heritage Month and how AHORA usually held an event to highlight Hispanic ...