The Employee Progress Paradigm
 
On May 17, Out & Equal University began its presentation of an Advanced Track webinar series called The Employee Progress Paradigm. 
 
One of the cornerstones of advancing workplace equality is the creation of an LGBT Employee Resource Group (ERG). ERGs come together for a common purpose and work to change organizational policies, procedures and workplace climate. ERGs make significant advances over the years toward LGBT inclusion. But often, after a few years of powerful work, the progress of an ERG may falter. The leaders are worn out or need to move on to other job priorities. The group can't identify what their next steps should be and progress just doesn't seem fast enough.
 
What tools can be used when a group gets stuck or is having difficulty getting started? Using a systemic and programmatic approach, Liz Winfeld will present The Employee Progress Paradigm. This series of webinars covers how you can use the paradigm to structure your ERG and move on to the next step towards workplace inclusion for LGBT employees.
 
Part one of the series (Paradigm in Focus - How it Works) focuses on the paradigm model as an outline and process to keep people moving, engaged and working together. In this first program, you'll learn how to create functional goals from mission statements and achievable, actionable items from your goals. You'll also learn how to plot out those actionable items in a time/space continuum based on reality and not unrealistic expectations.  If you missed part one of the series, you may still complete the course via the Out & Equal University Archive.
 
Part two of the series (How to Structure an ERG for Long-term Success) takes the paradigm theory and applies it to how to create and work within the ERG. Issues addressed will include reducing burnout, maximizing the chance of attracting new membership and working toward a viable succession leadership plan. This course will provide some models to structure your group to increase involvement and commitment of the entire group. Creating a layered organization that can maintain the high level vision and complete action items is vital to the sustained work of an ERG and such tools as the Progress Plan show how the paradigm can be used for long term work. 
 
Part three of the series (Case Study - Including Gender Identity/Expression in an Organization's Non-Discrimination Policy) takes a current workplace issue for many corporations, inclusion of gender identity/expression in current EEO policies, and shows how the paradigm can be applied to organization goals. The key to success in reaching each goal is how you move from a goal statement to a series of actionable items.
 
The courses that make up The Employee Progress Paradigm may be taken individually, as needed, but enrollment in the entire series is recommended. At additional cost, an individual consulting session will be available for those attendees who have completed the series and would like to work more with this model. 
 
Speaker:Liz Winfeld is principal of Common Ground, an education consulting firm specializing in workplace diversity specific to sexual orientation, gender identity/expression and gender roles. She provides customized, leading-edge education on these topics to organizations of all kinds throughout the world. She is the author of Straight Talk about Gays in the Workplace and lives with her partner in all things on both coasts.
 
Course: How to Structure an ERG for Long-term Success (Employee Progress Paradigm, part two) 

Course: Case Study - Including Gender Identity/Expression in an Organization's Non-Discrimination Policy (Employee Progress Paradigm, part three)

  
[Out & Equal Advanced Track courses have been submitted to the Society for Human Resources Management's Human Resource Certification Institute and are pending approval for continuing education credits.]

When: August 10
Time: 10:30 a.m. Pacific; 11:30 a.m. Mountain; 12:30 p.m. Central; 1:30 p.m. Eastern

 
Pride Month is just around the corner!  This is a perfect month to talk about LGBT employees and some of our cultural traditions.  Many people are surprised to learn that Pride is a remembrance of the Stonewall riots over 40 years ago.  They are also just as surprised to find out that LGBT employees don't have the same benefit packages as their married heterosexual peers.  When you begin to talk about the 1138 rights that are granted to married couples, you realize that the workplace is not equal for all.  If you don't get a chance to set up a "lunch & learn" in June, see if you can post some LGBT facts in your newsletter or diversity web page.  Encourage your ERG to march in your local pride parade and staff a recruiting booth at the event.  Check with your HR and management to see if you can get volunteer hours or matching credits from your company for work you do with the community.  This is a chance to see what the next steps are for your company on the Advocacy Frontier.  Also, if you need Out & Equal materials for your event, please let us know and we can ship informational materials and giveaways to you!  Training moments can happen anywhere, anytime, and the impact can make a difference in our workplaces!

 

 

This month our Senior Program Associate, Morgan Green, will be leaving Out & Equal after 3 years.  She is going to return to school and will be missed for all her work with the Training & NETWORKS! programs. Beyond running registration, moderating the town calls and keeping the database up to date for training, Morgan has helped push Training to the next level over the last 2 years.  We have standardized and applied timelines to projects and this has directly improved the quality of all Training programs.  Please join me in wishing Morgan good luck in her studies and thanking her for the difference she has made in advancing workplace equality.