Watch highlights from the ERG Accelerator Summit 2021 here.

Micron's employee resource groups (ERGs) are employee-led and volunteer-driven groups centered around shared identities or experiences, as well as those who identify as allies to these people. Their mission is to create communities that bring employees (called team members) together and ensure they feel supported and empowered to stand up for equality, both within Micron and the communities where Micron’s team members work and live.

Micron currently has nine ERGs, providing community for team members who are Black, Hispanic, women, young professionals, disabled, tenured and experienced, veterans, multicultural, LGBTQ+ or allies to any of these groups.

Sharawn Connors, Micron vice president of Diversity, Equality & Inclusion, said that Micron’s ERGs are vital to the success of its inclusion commitment to create a greater sense of belonging for all. That’s because Micron data shows that ERG membership enhances the company’s engagement and inclusion scores, with ERG members scoring 3% higher on team member engagement survey. In addition, abundant evidence indicates that ERGs drive company profitability.

Summit activities cover the 4C model, strategic planning and development opportunities

To foster the ERGs and promote membership, Micron held its first annual ERG Accelerator Summit for ERG leaders and ERG executive sponsors at the end of January. Even though the event was virtual, the energy and engagement were exceptional.

The summit was a unique opportunity for ERG leaders to better understand how they can more quickly achieve business goals. They learned about an industry-standard ERG operating model called the 4C model, presented by Dr. Robert Rodriguez, founder and president of DDR Advisors, LLC. This model will be used by ERG leaders to build more intentional, actionable objectives into their ERG business plans around culture, career, community and commerce — all areas where ERGs can significantly influence the company.

“I think one of the most important aspects that I learned was how to be able to relay the importance of ERGs,” said Pablo Rosas Jureidini, Lehi lead for the Micron Hispanic Professionals (MHP) ERG. “Besides the abstract notions that we hold dear like how it impacts culture and belonging, putting [metrics and key performance indicators] behind [ERG work] is very important. I am very excited to share the well-documented impact ERGs have had on different industries back to my team members.”

ERG members also met with their executive sponsors to start drafting their individual ERG plans. And they learned how to incorporate their ERG leadership goals into their performance or development objectives to support their career growth within Micron.

ERG leaders learned how their experience can support their leadership development and professional careers. All ERG leaders learned how to add an ERG professional or development goal to their development plans. Leticia Vazquez Bengochea, a Micron Young Professional (MYP) steering team lead in Boise said she isn’t a leader yet in her role at Micron. But her ERG leadership experience is preparing her to lead work teams in the future.

One example of how ERGs can drive innovation is the Women’s Innovation Network (WIN) Patent Mentorship program. Founded in 2019 through a partnership between the Micron Women’s Leadership Network (MWLN) ERG and the Patent Development Group, WIN has been a force for developing more women inventors at Micron. Founder and inventor Carla Christensen shared that, back in 2018, there were only 77 female inventors in all of Micron, “But largely due to the success of the Women Innovate program, we were able to achieve 136 female inventors in fiscal year 2020.” Christensen also shared a detailed presentation on how all ERGs can replicate this program.

Mehrotra demonstrates Micron's commitment to ERGs and leaders.

During the summit, Micron President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, made two announcements demonstrating Micron’s commitment and faith in ERG leaders: ERG members can now work up to five hours a month on ERG programs, and each of Micron’s nine ERGs will be awarded $50,000 from Micron Gives grants to distribute to charities. This decision was based on the success of Micron’s ERGs in directing equitable giving during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

“I really believe the culture that ERGs help us promote in the company ultimately translates into a better business result, a bigger business impact on the community,” Mehrotra said.

The summit was an opportunity for ERG leaders to connect, learn and grow. They will take their lessons learned back to their ERGs and build new strategic 4C plans to direct activities globally. Said Teddy Pramono, Mosaic global lead based in Singapore, “Through the summit, we learned so much more can be done and it inspired us to bring our ERGs to a higher level.”