Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are critically important within companies. Also known as Business Resource Groups (BRG) or Community Resource Groups (CRG), they provide a sense of community, offer moments for employees to learn from one another, and allow employees to source mentorship or sponsorship relationships.

In a previous post, we touched on the importance of ERGs and why they matter. This time, we are excited to spotlight Bernadette Ford, Senior Specialist - Talent Development at Relativity, who shares her thoughts on the importance of investing in CRGs and the impact she’s been able to deliver to employees. Enjoy our conversation with Bernadette below!

Q: Can you share how you got to where you are in your role at Relativity?

Bernadette: Networking was such a big theme of how I got to where I am in my career. I am a senior specialist on the talent development team but I originally joined Relativity 8 years ago as a scrum master on our engineering team. I had never considered joining tech before I accepted my first role at Relativity, and it was one of my friends who encouraged me to apply.

So I started as a scrum master for a couple years and then the role evolved into a technical training role within the engineering team, with thanks to my manager who helped me transition into that role. Then the technical training team ultimately folded into HR. Now, I’ve been part of the HR team throughout the majority of my time at Relativity, which has been really great, because I can support our internal folks and learn how to create great training for our staff.

Bernadette: Relativity makes software to help its users organize data, discover the truth and act on it. Our SaaS product, RelativityOne, manages large volumes of data and quickly identifies key issues during litigation and internal investigations. We also offer an AI-powered communication surveillance product, Relativity Trace which proactively detects regulatory misconduct like insider trading, collusion and other non-compliant behavior. We serve thousands of organizations globally primarily in legal, financial services and government sectors.. Our goal is to help our users gain information that is digestible and helpful for them in their decision-making when pursuing legal and compliance challenges.

Q: Can you tell me more about CRGs at Relativity?

Bernadette: At Relativity, we refer to our internal employee resource groups as CRGs (community resource groups) and that says something about our culture because we foster community throughout the organization. Earlier in my time at Relativity, I had the pleasure of connecting with women across the business via our first CRG RelWoW (Women of the Workplace). It offered a space for women to connect and support each other back when there weren’t as many women at the organization. I was a member at large of RelWoW and also served in a leadership capacity.

Then, in 2019, Relativity hired their first Program Manager of Inclusion and Diversity, which demonstrated the organization’s willingness to fully support DE&I initiatives. To date, we have a few CRGs such as B-Rel, RelAsians, RelWoW, and other groups.

Q: What has your experience been as a Co-Chair of a CRG? What has been successful and what has been challenging? 
Bernadette: I think our employees have had a safe space to talk about social justice or share their experiences especially in 2020 because of our CRGs. I would count this as a success because we were able to create space for support and connection especially during the early stages of the pandemic. I know that the Black community at Relativity definitely used B-Rel as a space to talk about social injustice and events that were happening in 2020. 

Additionally, back in 2020, our employees shared their challenges and struggles during the pandemic, and the CRGs echoed their concerns to the point where Relativity stepped up to support its employees. For example, Relativity offers flexible work arrangements, crisis support groups, and emergency donations to organizations supporting Covid relief and social justice efforts.

As a result of the events in 2020 surrounding racial injustice, Relativity also saw an opportunity to use our software to help and created the Justice for Change program to leverage the unique capabilities of Relativity and our ecosystem to positively impact racial and social justice in our communities. Meaning that organizations, including current Relativity customers, doing legal work on behalf of racial justice that would benefit from software to help them organize and search documents and build out a case narrative can apply for free use of our cloud-based e-discovery product, RelativityOne. This idea was actually championed by one team member, our Community Engagement Lead, Johnathan Hill, who saw an opportunity to connect our market-leading capabilities to real legal needs impacting racial and social justice in our communities.

At Relativity and probably at similar organizations, most people are accepting and welcoming of CRGs. However, every once in a while, you get some people who don’t get what “diversity and inclusion” is about; it seems like those who don’t understand the value of investing in DE&I can be so loud, and it can be challenging and frustrating. So in those moments, I need space to reset and think about how to bring more awareness to those who don’t understand the mission behind DE&I while also building up and supporting our community.

Q: How do you and the HR department measure what employees want to get out of CRGs at Relativity?

Bernadette: There are some formal processes to capture data such as surveys (whether a survey after a session with an Electives teacher or an all-Relativity survey that features different parts of the business which also includes our CRGs). We also build casual touchpoints to check-in with the communities. We also have regular touchpoints with the executive sponsors of the CRGs so we can collect feedback. We want it to be embedded into our entire company culture, not just hold CRGs accountable for success within DE&I initiatives.

Q: What advice would you give to employees who want to lead ERGs or CRGs within their organizations but seem hesitant to take this on alongside their day-to-day responsibilities?

Bernadette: It’s typical that employees tend to question if they can lead a CRG while balancing their day-to-day responsibilities especially since there isn’t additional pay.  However, my advice to them would be that you should go into it because you are passionate about it, not because you want additional pay or you want to pad your resume. Hopefully, you are already involved and active in the CRG so then you have an idea of the expectations around the role. Ask questions about the leaders/co-chairs about how they balance their responsibilities. Think about whether or not you’re willing to put in the extra hours to do the work. Have a thick skin – sometimes the role can be hard because you have to take in criticism but think about it as a way to improve the employee experience. Also, get the support and buy-in from your manager so they can give you the space to dedicate time to this especially if you’re passionate about it.

Q: What is one thing you hope to do more in your spare time?

Bernadette: I would like to travel more! I’m trying to reframe how I think about vacation/travel. I used to think of travel as getting on a plane for 2-3+ hours but I used to think I had to work hard in order to get that time off. Now, I'm taking a step back and realizing that travel can mean that I’m crossing state lines and just booking a bed & breakfast and seeing more of the world or the country, trying different foods, and meeting new people. I’m an introvert but I do miss being able to get out and just have new experiences.

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are critically important within companies. Also known as Business Resource Groups (BRG) or Community Resource Groups (CRG), they provide a sense of community, offer moments for employees to learn from one another, and allow employees to source mentorship or sponsorship relationships.

In a previous post, we touched on the importance of ERGs and why they matter. This time, we are excited to spotlight Bernadette Ford, Senior Specialist - Talent Development at Relativity, who shares her thoughts on the importance of investing in CRGs and the impact she’s been able to deliver to employees. Enjoy our conversation with Bernadette below!

Q: Can you share how you got to where you are in your role at Relativity?
Bernadette: Networking was such a big theme of how I got to where I am in my career. I am a senior specialist on the talent development team but I originally joined Relativity 8 years ago as a scrum master on our engineering team. I had never considered joining tech before I accepted my first role at Relativity, and it was one of my friends who encouraged me to apply.

So I started as a scrum master for a couple years and then the role evolved into a technical training role within the engineering team, with thanks to my manager who helped me transition into that role. Then the technical training team ultimately folded into HR. Now, I’ve been part of the HR team throughout the majority of my time at Relativity, which has been really great, because I can support our internal folks and learn how to create great training for our staff.

Q: Can you tell us about Relativity?
Bernadette: Relativity makes software to help its users organize data, discover the truth and act on it. Our SaaS product, RelativityOne, manages large volumes of data and quickly identifies key issues during litigation and internal investigations. We also offer an AI-powered communication surveillance product, Relativity Trace which proactively detects regulatory misconduct like insider trading, collusion and other non-compliant behavior. We serve thousands of organizations globally primarily in legal, financial services and government sectors.. Our goal is to help our users gain information that is digestible and helpful for them in their decision-making when pursuing legal and compliance challenges.

Q: Can you tell me more about CRGs at Relativity?
Bernadette: At Relativity, we refer to our internal employee resource groups as CRGs (community resource groups) and that says something about our culture because we foster community throughout the organization. Earlier in my time at Relativity, I had the pleasure of connecting with women across the business via our first CRG RelWoW (Women of the Workplace). It offered a space for women to connect and support each other back when there weren’t as many women at the organization. I was a member at large of RelWoW and also served in a leadership capacity.

Then, in 2019, Relativity hired their first Program Manager of Inclusion and Diversity, which demonstrated the organization’s willingness to fully support DE&I initiatives. To date, we have a few CRGs such as B-Rel, RelAsians, RelWoW, and other groups.

Q: What has your experience been as a Co-Chair of a CRG? What has been successful and what has been challenging? 
Bernadette: I think our employees have had a safe space to talk about social justice or share their experiences especially in 2020 because of our CRGs. I would count this as a success because we were able to create space for support and connection especially during the early stages of the pandemic. I know that the Black community at Relativity definitely used B-Rel as a space to talk about social injustice and events that were happening in 2020. 

Additionally, back in 2020, our employees shared their challenges and struggles during the pandemic, and the CRGs echoed their concerns to the point where Relativity stepped up to support its employees. For example, Relativity offers flexible work arrangements, crisis support groups, and emergency donations to organizations supporting Covid relief and social justice efforts.

As a result of the events in 2020 surrounding racial injustice, Relativity also saw an opportunity to use our software to help and created the Justice for Change program to leverage the unique capabilities of Relativity and our ecosystem to positively impact racial and social justice in our communities. Meaning that organizations, including current Relativity customers, doing legal work on behalf of racial justice that would benefit from software to help them organize and search documents and build out a case narrative can apply for free use of our cloud-based e-discovery product, RelativityOne. This idea was actually championed by one team member, our Community Engagement Lead, Johnathan Hill, who saw an opportunity to connect our market-leading capabilities to real legal needs impacting racial and social justice in our communities.

At Relativity and probably at similar organizations, most people are accepting and welcoming of CRGs. However, every once in a while, you get some people who don’t get what “diversity and inclusion” is about; it seems like those who don’t understand the value of investing in DE&I can be so loud, and it can be challenging and frustrating. So in those moments, I need space to reset and think about how to bring more awareness to those who don’t understand the mission behind DE&I while also building up and supporting our community.

Q: How do you and the HR department measure what employees want to get out of CRGs at Relativity?
Bernadette: There are some formal processes to capture data such as surveys (whether a survey after a session with an Electives teacher or an all-Relativity survey that features different parts of the business which also includes our CRGs). We also build casual touchpoints to check-in with the communities. We also have regular touchpoints with the executive sponsors of the CRGs so we can collect feedback. We want it to be embedded into our entire company culture, not just hold CRGs accountable for success within DE&I initiatives.

Q: What advice would you give to employees who want to lead ERGs or CRGs within their organizations but seem hesitant to take this on alongside their day-to-day responsibilities?
Bernadette: It’s typical that employees tend to question if they can lead a CRG while balancing their day-to-day responsibilities especially since there isn’t additional pay.  However, my advice to them would be that you should go into it because you are passionate about it, not because you want additional pay or you want to pad your resume. Hopefully, you are already involved and active in the CRG so then you have an idea of the expectations around the role. Ask questions about the leaders/co-chairs about how they balance their responsibilities. Think about whether or not you’re willing to put in the extra hours to do the work. Have a thick skin – sometimes the role can be hard because you have to take in criticism but think about it as a way to improve the employee experience. Also, get the support and buy-in from your manager so they can give you the space to dedicate time to this especially if you’re passionate about it.

Q: What is one thing you hope to do more in your spare time?
Bernadette: I would like to travel more! I’m trying to reframe how I think about vacation/travel. I used to think of travel as getting on a plane for 2-3+ hours but I used to think I had to work hard in order to get that time off. Now, I'm taking a step back and realizing that travel can mean that I’m crossing state lines and just booking a bed & breakfast and seeing more of the world or the country, trying different foods, and meeting new people. I’m an introvert but I do miss being able to get out and just have new experiences.

empower your organization's ERGs

Bernadette Ford highlights why organizations should invest in ERGs or CRGs and shares her experience leading CRGs at Relativity. 

Bernadette Ford Shares Importance of Leading CRGs at Relativity

Wed May 04 2022

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