We recently hosted our fifth-annual Nielsen Employee Resource Group (ERG) Experience Week, also known enERGize Week. Originally started in 2014, enERGize week showcases the value and benefit of ERG membership and engagement globally. At Nielsen, ERGs are the cornerstone of our Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) strategy, specifically fulfilling the Retention pillar of our five-prong strategy. We have nine ERGs, and each group is tasked with providing business impact by supporting talent acquisition initiatives, community outreach, and education while driving innovation for the benefit of our clients and our company.
Nielsen enERGize week 2018 kicked off with two globally broadcast town hall discussions from Madrid, Spain, led by our Chief Diversity Officer Angela Talton, who introduced the enERGize 2018 theme: “The Power of We.” This year’s theme aimed to inspire collaboration between ERGs at Nielsen and our clients, embodying one of our core company values: Connected.
Our associates spent the week in virtual and in-person workshops on developing effective strategies for communication with diverse teams, fostering mentoring relationships and excelling on the job during times of change. These professional development opportunities, which our ERGs offer throughout the year, positively affect our associates’ careers, allowing them to add new skills and stay engaged with our company priorities and D&I strategy.
To further galvanize our associates’ engagement in ERGs and share our commitment to D&I with important global clients, Angela visited several of our European offices. During her visits to Madrid, Spain; Oxford, U.K.; Warsaw, Poland; and Istanbul, Turkey, Angela met with our associates and leaders to get their perspective on how we can continue to drive ERG engagement, share best practices and identify opportunities for strategic partnership with clients.
Angela also engaged with several important clients during her visits throughout Europe. She spoke on a LEAD Network panel alongside representatives from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Procter & Gamble (P&G) and also visited Coca-Cola’s U.K. office to discuss D&I strategy and how ERGs can drive cross-company collaboration. In addition, she met with the American Chamber of Commerce in Poland, which is a leading voice for international investors in the country and includes 80 companies of the U.S. Fortune 500. Angela ended the week leading a panel discussion in Warsaw with representatives of Facebook and Marie Brizard Wine and Spirits Polska.
"我们的企业工作组是将多样性和包容性融入我们对内对外一切工作的重要工具。在公司内部，ERG 为我们的员工提供了一个平台，使他们能够获得知名度、接触机会和机遇，同时有助于招聘、留用和职业发展。对外，ERGs 是打开客户参与之门的渠道，"Angela 说。"通过我们的员工关系团体，我们让差异得到表达，同时颂扬创新和'我们的力量'，以培养一种包容性的文化，这不仅有利于我们自己的业务，也有利于我们的客户。
One of the ways we’re activating the “Power of We” year-round is through mentoring. During the week, we launched a virtual mentoring platform called myMentor, which will facilitate mentor-mentee matches. In addition, we hosted several virtual sessions designed to help mentees make the most of their mentoring relationships. At Nielsen, we encourage mentorship because it is proven to increase employee engagement and allows our associates to Grow With Us—a pillar of the Nielsen employee experience.
Angela’s presence in Europe was designed to exemplify our enERGize 2018 push to increase both awareness of and engagement in our global D&I strategy and ERGs. Our efforts successfully energized our global workforce. Across nearly 100 sessions, we engaged more than 5,600 associates and 19 clients. We created six new ERG chapters (all outside the U.S.) and increased global ERG membership by nearly 600 members.
“Our nine global ERGs simultaneously link our associates to our global D&I strategy, our company priorities, our clients and the communities where we live and work,” said Myriam Vidalon, VP, Diversity Programs, Nielsen. “It is vital that we energize our associates and educate them on the benefits ERGs have for their careers and our business. ”
Learn more about our ERGs and our global diversity and inclusion strategy.
