Quick-to-read HR news & insights
From recruiting and retention to company culture and the latest in HR tech, HR Brew delivers up-to-date industry news and tips to help HR pros stay nimble in today’s fast-changing business environment.
Members of employee resource groups are often lauded for their dedication to enacting change and creating more equitable workplace environments. But as various ERG leaders previously told HR Brew, such initiatives can require enormous effort that often goes uncompensated.
ERG leaders at companies including ADP and JustWorks are now signaling something of a shot across the bow to their respective employers, disclosing the details of their ERG compensation (or lack thereof) in an open-source spreadsheet. Released earlier this month by the nonprofit Parents in Tech Alliance (PTA), the goal of the spreadsheet is to spread awareness of the “invisible labor” performed by ERG members across the country and motivate companies to make good on their pledges to champion DE&I, Tet Salva, director of strategy and operations at the PTA, explained to HR Brew. “This sheet builds accountability.”
How does it work? The database is the first of its kind, according to Salva, and currently includes entries from ERG leaders at 20 companies, who describe their employer’s ERG pay policy, where it’s listed, and when it went into effect. Organizations’ Just Capital rankings are also included. Any ERG leaders who access the list can populate it with their company's compensation policy.
Eventually, Salva explained, the organization wants the list to be shared far and wide, much like the variety of pay transparency databases that have proliferated in recent years.
Zoom out. ERGs have made progress in their calls for compensation: As HR Brew previously reported, 28% of ERG leaders were paid last year, up from 5.6% in 2020.
“We do a lot of the programming, we do a lot of the legwork, we do a lot of the focus groups. And just very recently, ERG groups have started to get a seat at the table to build policies within companies,” Salva explained.
Publicly listing compensation policies in an open-source format should serve as a reminder to companies’ HR departments that DE&I efforts require investment. “A lot of the time, we’re seeing the DE&I budget is flat or is declining. People jumped on that bandwagon, especially during [the] George Floyd [protests]. Now, they’re not really putting a lot of value or resources into it.”
At the moment, the PTA is working on “securing funding and operational support to catch up with our fast-growing community,” Sarah Johal, the PTA’s executive director, explained over email. Then, eventually, the organization hopes that ERGs that make noise about compensation will reach the ears of HR leaders.—SB
Do you work in HR or have information about your HR department we should know? Email [email protected] or DM @SammBlum on Twitter. For completely confidential conversations, ask Sam for his number on Signal.