At G2, Our ERGs Are Going Strong and We’re Not Backing Down

This summer marks a special milestone for the G2 community. It was around this time five years ago that G2 formalized its Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) strategy and established our ERG network. Back then, we had two interest groups—G2 Women’s Group and G2 Together, which was an informal group of employees dedicated to building a more vibrant community and advancing DEI in the workplace. 

But in the summer of 2020, the world seemed at a crossroads with the COVID-19 pandemic effectively shutting the world down and the story of George Floyd taking precedence in our collective conscience. This spurred the G2 Employee Success team to take action to build a more inclusive, supportive, and representative workplace.

One of the first actions we took, with support from our executive leaders, was to build an ERG handbook with official guidelines and best practices. By doing this we could now formalize our interest groups and  provide them financial, leaders, and administrative support. It would also make it easier for others to establish their own ERGs as well.  These early efforts paid off because today, we are a  robust network of 9 ERGs:

• APAC Women & Allies
•    Asian and Pacific Islander & Allies
•   Divergent Abilities & Allies
•  Ebony & Allies
•   Latinx & Allies
•   LGBTQ+ & Allies
•   Parents & Allies
•   Veterans, Military Families & Allies
•   Women & Allies

Our ERGs help to drive G2’s success by igniting excellence in our people, celebrating the identities and diverse backgrounds of our global team. They create trusted spaces in our workforce to help each and every G2er reach their personal and professional PEAKs. In many ways, our ERGs have become the heart and soul of our work community so we wanted to commemorate 5 years of ERGs at G2 with a proper celebration.

Our Annual Kickoff is always an exciting event, but this year the anticipation was even greater as members of our APAC and EMEA team flew in for the occasion. Because it was a truly global  in-person event, we seized the opportunity to hold our first ever ERG Fair. Eight of our ERGs hosted tables with activities designed to showcase their missions and initiatives. For new hires or tenured employees,  the ERG Fair is the perfect opportunity to find a group that is aligned with their passions, interests, and/or identities.

On our first day of all-company presentations, G2ers were encouraged to visit ERG tables during their  breaks to meet the co-leads, learn more about the groups, and participate in fun activities. We also had a Fair Passport to  collect stamps after visiting an ERG’s station. Fully stamped passports were entered into a raffle for a gift card, and the winner could also make a generous donation to the charity of their choice. The ERG Fair was one of the true highlights of Kickoff and we got overwhelmingly positive feedback.

Here is what a few of our co-leads had to say about the fair:

Rachael Hill (left) and Brandon Summers-Miller (right), co-leads for LGBTQ+ and Allies ERG	“I loved representing the LGBTQ+ & Allies ERG at the fair as a new co-lead, particularly because it allowed me to connect with co-workers across G2 and showcase our community-building initiatives! It reinforced how important ERGs are in creating safe, supportive spaces where people can bring their authentic selves to work while fostering understanding and belonging throughout G2.” - Rachael Hill, GRC Manager
Ashish Sahu, Supporter and super ally of APAC Women & Allies ERGS	“The ERG Fair was such a vibrant reminder of the power of community at work. It was inspiring to see so many people come together to celebrate identity, allyship, and belonging. ERGs truly make space for everyone to feel seen and heard.” - Ashish Sahu, Talent Acquisition Manager
Folake Olatoye-Ojo, co-lead of Ebony & Allies	"The ERG Fair made me so proud to be part of this community. It was such a beautiful reflection of the creativity and care each ERG puts into building community. From handcrafted journals to teas from different cultures, every table told a story and it was nice to see our differences celebrated in such meaningful ways.” - Folake Olatoye-Ojo, Principal Tech Supp Spec
Lally Marino, co-lead for Parents & Allies ERG	“The ERG fair was such a creative way for every ERG to show off its "secret sauce’ within the broader, strong G2 culture. It was heartwarming to see how engaged and enthusiastic the G2 community was in visiting and participating in each table's unique activity.” - Lally Marino, Marketing Operations Manager

With first-time events, there’s always learning.  We’re already excited by the prospect of  applying our co-leads’ ideas  to our next ERG Fair to make it even more impactful. I want to thank each of our co-leads, executive sponsors, and all the G2ers who  not only showed up for the Fair, but who continue to show up for our ERGs on a regular basis. The community support is what makes our ERGs great and I’m confident it will keep our ERGs going for many years to come.