HRD Talk: Leveraging ERGs to boost employee engagement, retention

HR exec Kate Lister talks about employees wanting to feel a connection at work

HRD Talk: Leveraging ERGs to boost employee engagement, retention

Canadian Western Bank (CWB) has found success when it comes to incorporating different resource groups into its organization, according to one of its HR leaders.

The COVID-19 pandemic may have had a role to play in all that, says Kate Lister, the bank’s senior assistant vice president for employee experience & culture.

“When you move past just looking at diversity and inclusion, you get to creating belonging. And that's been something that we have been paying close attention to for the past many years,” she told HRD. 

“For us as an organization, during the pandemic, that really spurred on some significant organic growth in the kinds of programs that people wanted and needed to feel really strong belonging at work.”

With workers dispersed and having tools available to them, CWB employees decided to come together, says Lister in HRD Talk.

“They wanted more out of their workplace. They wanted to feel a connection to people and things that were important to them outside of their day to day jobs. And what happened then was a bit of an explosion of our employee-represented groups.”

“What we've learned from that is how can we take that notion of taking what people feel they need out of a relationship with their employer, and build that into other types of programming.”

Since the pandemic, Canadian Western Bank’s employee resource groups have grown exponentially and have become a vital source of not only talent retention but talent promotion, as participants in ERGs gain access to visibility and opportunities to demonstrate skills they may have otherwise missed.

ERGs are also an important networking tool for newcomers to Canada who may otherwise feel isolated. 

Lastly, Lister touches on company values, and how a revamp of their values enables employees to vocalize pride in their work and the work of their peers and the Bank’s initiatives.

Catch the full HRD Talk episode for free right here.

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