This year, EmERGe, Seramount’s employee resource group (ERG) conference, is back as an in-person conference and better than ever. ERGs help to engage all members of an organization and serve as a space of community and safety during turbulent times. Kamina Young, Seramount Advisor, has stated that “ERGs can be a valuable tool in continuing to support an organization’s day-to-day operations while mobilizing to respond to crisis.” But that’s not all—ERGs are also one of the best ways to retain diverse talent and can have a significant impact on the business. According to our research, 81% of companies believe that ERGs are extremely important for business purposes. ERGs can help advance business needs in specific markets by bringing marginalized groups to the table. Over time, companies have started to link business goals to ERG goals such as employee retention and representation and customer cultural competencies. In this same report, 72% of companies interviewed attributed an increase in retention of underrepresented talent to ERGs.
ERGs are vital to employees and organizations, and by attending EmERGe, DEI and ERG leaders and members will access critical tools and best practices in order to serve their employees better. Here are three things that attendees can expect to get out of this year’s event:
Empowering Keynote Speakers
The conference will host two keynote speakers who will talk on today’s most pressing DEI issues. The opening keynote speaker, Kenji Yoshino, is the Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Constitutional Law at NYU School of Law and the Director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging. Referencing his most recent book, Say the Right Thing: How to Talk About Identity, Diversity, and Justice, he will show how DEI leaders can begin to be more conscious of helping those around them. The Intersections of Inclusion keynote speaker, Imani Barbarin, is a disability rights and inclusion activist and speaker who uses her voice and social media platforms to create conversations engaging the disability community. Speaking from her lived experience as a disabled Black woman, Imani will share how she navigates the world, how inter-dimensional diversity can be, and how ERG leaders can support all types of people in their organizations.
Dynamic Learning Sessions
These two days will be filled with workshops and breakout sessions, led by subject-matter experts from Seramount, corporate leaders, and our partners. You can choose which sessions to attend depending on what stage you are at in your ERG journey. The second day will feature a special session with Seramount ERG experts, such as Kamina Young, leader of our “Activated ERGs” center of excellence. There you can ask questions live about best practices that our member organizations are implementing and ask how Seramount can help your organization advance your ERG/BRG strategy.
Networking Opportunities
EmERGe is a place to connect with other ERG leaders and other professionals in the DEI space and learn what peers both inside and outside of your industry have been doing in their organizations—what has worked and what has proven to be challenging. This ever-changing climate is difficult to navigate alone.
We hope that you will be able to join us May 8 and 9in New York or virtually for this incredible conference. If you need help convincing your manager to send you to EmERGe, on our EmERGe website we have a resource you can use.
Make sure to register by March 15 to take advantage of early-bird pricing.
