Transcript

Colin Uthe:

Welcome to Connected, a podcast about the operations and the people that make up Chamberlain Group. I'm Colin Uthe, and this month we're wrapping up our two-part episode on the business resource groups that support the diversity, equity, and inclusion of our company culture. If you haven't already, be sure to listen to our previous episode on POCA, our BRG that supports People of Color and Allies throughout our business. This month and recognition of Women's History Month, I sat down with active members of the Chamberlain Group Women's Network.

Tanseela Molani:

Hi, I'm Tanseela Molani, I am a senior manager of Design Research and Connected Services, and I am the current president of the Women's Network.

Jenny Reints:

I am Jenny Reints, I am the senior director of Strategic Sourcing Indirect and Real Estate, and I was one of the co-founders and an inaugural president.

Natja Guzman:

I'm Natja Guzman, currently director of sourcing here at Chamberlain, and co-founder and former advisory member for the Women's Network as a program and event chair.

Colin Uthe:

I am so happy to have you all here in this room. So this is the second part of a two-part episode of me diving into the BRGs. So the first episode is with POCA. We got to talking a little bit about what a BRG is, where they are in the BRG life cycle. I recently learned about employee resource groups versus business resource groups. I wanted to ask you all just to start, where do you see the Women's Network between ERG and BRG?

Tanseela Molani:

It's an important distinction actually between a BRG, a business resource group, and an ERG, which is an employee resource group. Typically, groups forms, they start with being an affinity group, which is just more of a casual coming together of like-minded individuals. And then as they formalize, they sort of turn into either a ERG or a BRG, depending on what their mission is. Do they want to be more closely tied to business goals or do they want to be more closely tied to employee goals and growth? So I feel like we're kind of in the middle. We're a BRG and an ERG. I know that's a non-answer, but we're kind of in the middle because we do a lot that helps the business grow. We do tie into a lot of our business growth opportunities, but we really do want to focus on what our members want from the Women's Network.

Colin Uthe:

You sound really satisfied with where the Women's Network is at currently and what they provide.

Tanseela Molani:

Yes, yes, I think we are. I think we're on a really good path.

Colin Uthe:

Awesome.

So the first question's kind of a big one, but this is something I didn't get to ask POCA and I'd like to follow up with you guys on. So why is there a need for BRGs in the workplace for minority groups?

I'm Natja Guzman:

I think diversity, equity, and inclusion is very important. We need to bring different perspectives, different points of view, and the only way you can do that is actually having this kind of a safe space where everyone can start bringing together a common goal and objective. For us, it's important to see representation and this is one of the first places where you can have that.

Colin Uthe:

So let's focus in on the Women's Network specifically. So what is the Women's Network's mission?

Tanseela Molani:

So we actually just recently refined our mission. So we've been around for almost five years now if you can believe that. And we felt that we had gotten through some growing pains and we want it to be relevant and continue to be relevant moving forward. So we actually did a survey with our Women's Network members to make sure that we're still giving them what they want and to understand where we might be missing opportunities and where they want to go.

Colin Uthe:

Staying relevant, right?

Tanseela Molani:

Exactly. So we refined our mission and our mission is basically to enable our One Team to thrive both professionally and personally by providing educational networking opportunities and that's safe and supportive space to foster community connection and growth. So what's really important for us is that both sides of the person, the whole person, the professional, and the personal side to the office.

So along with our refinement of our mission, we also had to update our goals. Our main goals are to continue to increase membership engagement. Just because you have lots of members doesn't mean there's necessarily an engagement. So we want to make sure that we have membership growth and engagement, focusing again on personal and professional growth opportunities. So different webinars, different events, and opportunities where our members can learn and grow and deliver fewer but more impactful events. We had grown and we had started to have events, so, so many events that we're kind of made it tough for our members to join every single time or to prioritize them. So we decided that we're just going to do fewer, but they're going to be more impactful. And so that's working again with the opportunities that they want to hear.

Colin Uthe:

Well, that sounds like it aligns nicely with the company as a whole because our whole mission right now is just simplifying, right? Every part of what we can and yeah, that sounds like it's right on the money.

Tanseela Molani:

Yes. And then, of course, to continue to have local events through our champions. So we are global network, so we have our champions in each of our company locations, and then a big one this year to support our Nogales chapter or to become a subchapter. Actually, they're still our champion location, but we want to half support them to become their own subchapter.

Colin Uthe:

Let's backtrack a little bit and I want to ask about how the Women's Network started.

Jenny Reints:

Women's Network started in a way that resulted in us co-founders having these really deep relationships. We all had become leaders in the last 24 months and really spoke about having somebody to trust. And so I actually personally went and picked several people in the organization that I trusted and thought were on a good path and asked them to be part of the co-founding team. So I approached people like Natja and Eileen King and Jing Zing and a few others who aren't here anymore, and we really just said, "What do we want out of this?" We wanted friendship, we wanted trust, we wanted leadership, and we wanted a safe place to say, "What do you think about me, about what I did, about this experience?" And really get feedback that was coming from a good place. So we wanted to be an infinity group, but we also realized we were going to be utilizing company resources, i.e. Lunchtimes or a facility room.

And so we approached the CEO and CHRO at the time, and they were really excited for us and said, "But guys, you need to put a charter around it, so we really want you to be a BRG, so go do your homework and come back just with the charter." And really funny story is Natja sat at my dining room table with me and we just crafted and drafted this charter. Then we gave it to the rest of the co-founders and the pillar leaders, and we got approved and we had our first event was a Renee Brown TED Talk, and we had about 56 people, men, and women who came into that meeting. So we were pretty proud, and it still to this day, feels good. And as an active member, I'm not on any board any more, but as an active member, I am so thrilled with where this is. We would never thought sitting at my dining room table, that this would be what it is today.

Colin Uthe:

So it sounds like the leadership team wanted you to be able to do this, but they were willing to give you some guidance on here's how you need to craft it. Here's how it's taken seriously, right?

Tanseela Molani:

Yes.

I'm Natja Guzman:

Part of that too in the conversation was that they knew that if we were going that route, other groups could be formed eventually. So they wanted us to, okay, you have to create a charter that is brought enough that can be used as a guideline for any other ones. As we know now, we have POCA, but you can have from LGBTQ, you can have from veterans, and Latinx. So they knew other ones, we could open the doors to other ERGs or BRGs to start the company.

Colin Uthe:

I mean, that's exactly what happened, isn't it?

I'm Natja Guzman:

Correct.

Colin Uthe:

Congratulations.

I'm Natja Guzman:

Thank you.

Colin Uthe:

Yeah, it's a lot of hard work.

Nearly five years after its creation, the Women's Network is preparing to take a giant leap forward and establish an official second chapter at our manufacturing plant in Nogales, Mexico.

I'm Natja Guzman:

So basically after the Women's Network started, we always have the vision of figuring out where and when to go global. We knew that after starting Oakbrook at some point, we wanted to extend it. Around 2020, I remember a co-founder was reaching out to different locations to figure out how to start that journey and reaching out to different key members. And then from that moment, also creating what we are calling the champions extension at different locations. But also we had the pandemic, right? So I believe that around July timeframe, that's when the rollout of the champions were executed at the different locations. But in 2021, I reached out some of the people in Nogales that, believe it or not, in Nogales, since 2015, they already had a committee for a committee [foreign language 00:09:49], basically like a Women's Network already working and being active. They had sometimes their own conferences, community services, and engagement locally.

So then we were explaining, let's have this umbrella from the Women's Network, from corporate, and then how we can extend with the champions. And eventually, maybe we're talking about the subchapter, but through the execution, we have these champions that were aligning with corporate on a monthly basis.

That's where you do report your events and also how we were going through the membership, the engagement, and things like that. We started getting traction. I think we can see that through 2021, 22, you can see that we show progress and growth. I am excited that the difference in 2022, we can see the change of, okay, let's work on the subchapter. We already have a good membership group and we already have laid out events that align with our values and missions and everything. We already have a whole week of events that we are very excited going on in Nogales. So I think also this is going to help us having that advertisement. Now, this is the way we want it to continue the growth, and this is how the governance, the framework, and everything works, so we can create the similarities of the structure that we already have on the chapter here.

Colin Uthe:

Yeah, it almost sounds like a merger.

I'm Natja Guzman:

Yes.

Colin Uthe:

That's really beneficial for everybody. That's awesome to hear. What was the experience like aligning them with the overarching Women's Network?

I'm Natja Guzman:

I think it works organically. I think we had very good communication with the team here. Basically, we just started participating on the meetings and then eventually saying, You know what? We're growing. Eventually, we will also like to highlight, let's say, the creation of a subchapter because eventually, that's what you want in other locations too." So basically we're going to be the first coming into the framework of having a subchapter.

Colin Uthe:

That's really exciting.

Jenny Reints:

It's some really huge events too, right, Natja?

Colin Uthe:

Yeah. Tell me about the events.

I'm Natja Guzman:

Well, we have a whole week events around the Women's International Women's Day on the eighth. We're starting with Monday the sixth with Health Prevention Day, where we're inviting different employees to attend. The second day that Tuesday, we are talking about the meaning of embracing equality. On Wednesday, on the same day, we're talking about, we're bringing a speaker to talk about resiliency, and on Thursday, March 9th, we're bringing local participants and members to participate in a leadership panel. And then at the end of the week, we're doing a bazaar, which is basically members bringing in their clothes and then reselling to whoever wants to buy it.

Colin Uthe:

And it benefits... I'm assuming that the profits benefit...

I'm Natja Guzman:

It's going to Benefit Jam. I don't even remember who [foreign language 00:13:09]. So it's a way to contribute in the charity event too.

Colin Uthe:

That's a jampacked week.

Jenny Reints:

Yeah. I have to tell you, Colin, that Nogales is spectacular at putting on events that totally engage their members and even non-members. I think you get a lot of non-members coming too, so they're always spectacular.

Colin Uthe:

Yeah, I'm pretty jealous of the Nogales events. I've seen some photos in the past.

What are some recent highlights or efforts from the Women's Network that have left a lasting impression on the business? And or what are your personal favorites of events that have been put on by the Women's Network?

Jenny Reints:

One of the best opportunities, and it's most beneficial, Colin, is the speed mentoring sessions where you get 15 minutes with various leaders in the different parts of the organizations that you get to ask questions about your own career, your career growth, et cetera. And I have been on both sides of that, and it's incredibly satisfying to meet other people and hear what they want to say. And then also to able to... For somebody to be interested in my story, it's just a really good feeling. And overall, it doesn't even take a lot of commitment, and I still have relationships with most of the people that I've mentored. They still talk to me, and I also talk to the people that have mentored me. So it creates an even safer environment, more long term. It's not one-and-done. It doesn't have to be. If both parties agree, which is a great experience.

I'm Natja Guzman:

I love this speed of mentoring event. You learn a lot. You can discuss about conflict communication, anything related to leadership, and our career path. So we have specified some themes that then require matching correctly the mentee with the mentor. So actually those 15 minutes are...

Colin Uthe:

Oh, so it's curated.

I'm Natja Guzman:

Oh, yeah.

Colin Uthe:

Okay.

Tanseela Molani:

Yeah. A lot of work goes into creating the right pairings so that you can get the best and the most out of your 15 minutes that you have.

Colin Uthe:

And that's available to anybody.

Tanseela Molani:

Yeah. Anybody. But I might say that one of the benefits of being a member is that you get to sign up first. So we do have limited slots, but yeah, so plugin for a membership.

Colin Uthe:

It sounds like a raving success so far.

Jenny Reints:

And there's a lot of ELT involvement, almost all I think of the ELT has been involved. So you're really getting access to a CHRO to a CEO to a COO and you that you might not get 15 minutes of fame with. So that's another plug.

Tanseela Molani:

Yeah, and I think that's really one of the key benefits of that speed mentoring is that you have dedicated time with somebody you may not ever have a chance to meet. So that that's a big driver. And speed mentoring is one of our signature events that our members and our members alike really, really enjoy.

Colin Uthe:

When's the next one coming up?

Tanseela Molani:

Speed Mentoring will be... We've moved the dates around. I think it's going to be in the third quarter this year.

Colin Uthe:

Okay.

Tanseela Molani:

September.

Colin Uthe:

I'm looking forward to it.

Tanseela Molani:

And the other signature event we have is Book Club, which is also ELT-supported. So usually, we have three different books, three different ELT members who choose a book that they have that they not only enjoyed reading but just meant something to them. And usually, these are professional-related books, so I don't think we've ever had anything that's...

Colin Uthe:

No John Green at the-

Tanseela Molani:

No.

No. But then we have engagement through teams, and then we end it with a one-hour sort of a book club discussion, if you will, with the ELT leading that discussion and really getting to dive deep into what sort of drove them to choose this book, what did they get out of it, and hopefully what did our members get out of it as well?

Colin Uthe:

How often do those happen?

Tanseela Molani:

That's the once-a-year event also. And that one will be in the second quarter. I think we're doing that in April. It should be coming up soon.

Colin Uthe:

Awesome. Great.

Okay. So I want to give you all an opportunity to answer this in your own words. How would you personally describe the impact that the Women's Network has left on the business thus far?

I'm Natja Guzman:

I will say that we initiated the way about having more conversations and discussions about diversity, equity, and inclusion, bringing some of the cultural awareness events that we started back in 2018, and then 2019. One of the first one I can talk about is even Black History Month, and also talking about the International Women's Day and Hispanic Heritage. It was bringing a little bit of that conversation during our initial events during that year. I would say it was maybe we started a wave during that time.

Colin Uthe:

I think that tracks back to just the mission of the BRGs as a whole. Giving a platform for those multicultural experiences to be appreciated and observed. You can show for the progress that has been made there.

Jenny Reints:

I think that the business has really flourished by having BRGs because we participated in a lot of voice of customer feedback. We got our own little forum together and provided feedback on products that are Chamberlain-driven access. And I think that it was great for the talent retention and recruitment to say that there were forums like this available to employees to engage both their professionalism and personal likes. So I think that those things have really helped the business in more ways than we probably thought in the very beginning.

Tanseela Molani:

I was actually doing a fair amount of hiring over the last year or so, year and a half, well, I should say interviewing, maybe not hiring, but interviewing for sure. And when I would mention that I'm part of the Women's Network and we have a BRG, we have actually two BRGs and most candidates were A, surprised, and B, pleasantly surprised that a company our size, we're not the Microsoft, we're not like these big giant tech companies where it's kind of expected, but this speaks to who we are as a company that we do in fact really care about our employees and want them to have different kinds of opportunities.

So to me, that was always really heartwarming in a way to see that response from people outside the company.

Colin Uthe:

What are some ways that employees can support or engage with Women's Network?

Tanseela Molani:

So the easiest thing to do is go to All Access, then sign up. It's free, and you're right away, you get access to Teams, you get access to our emails, you get access to first notice of events, and then once you get start getting those notices, just show up and participate and be part of the conversation and in being part of the conversation, I would say, even let us know what else we can do. What's missing? What are we doing well? What do you want to see more of those are, I think, some easy ways to participate, really.

I'm Natja Guzman:

I think something is important is sometimes people think Women's Networks only for women, but for everyone.

Tanseela Molani:

And I'm so glad you said that.

I'm Natja Guzman:

Yeah, and it's very important that because at the end of the day, we also look for advocates, allies.

Colin Uthe:

The same goes for POCA as well. That is really good information to know.

Tanseela Molani:

I think part of building up your network is having your allies be a part of it. So how do you get through all the DEI kinds of challenges, without your allies? You can't. So having them there and being curious and understanding where you're coming from is really important.

Colin Uthe:

To the Chamberlain Group employees listening, if you are not a woman, if you are not a person of color, I encourage you to still get involved with our Chamberlain group BRGs and the opportunities and programs they offer. Diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace is essential, not only for the benefit to our employees, but also to the benefit of our customers, our partners, and the communities where we live and work. Through embracing diverse perspectives and encouraging employees to be their authentic selves, we can open the doors to understanding one another, and we can gain new insights to create a better experience for our customers and partners that come from different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences. The potential for our business expands when we truly embrace what being one team is all about. Diverse people coming together to achieve one shared purpose, making access simple for our customers. If you are not a Chamberlain Group employee, I encourage you to check us out at @chamberlaingroup.com/careers, or if nothing else, engage with your neighbor, explore your differences, and learn something new about the world.

Tanseela Molani:

Being a good ally is about being curious. What is the experience of somebody else that's not my experience? And try to understand what that is, and that's what we would hope from our allies too. You have to understand first before you can start to move the needle somewhere.

Colin Uthe:

Easier said than done, but I completely agree with you. Well, I love what you all are doing, and I am looking forward to these events that are coming up. I'm looking forward to a recap of what's to happen in Nogales or by the time this airs, what has already happened in Nogales. But I just wanted to say once again, thank you all for sitting down with me.

I'm Natja Guzman:

Thank you for having us.

Colin Uthe:

For a while and giving me some insight. That's all I got.

Tanseela Molani:

Thank you.

Jenny Reints:

Thank you.

Colin Uthe:

Thank you for listening. Tune in next month to hear more stories of how all of us at Chamberlain Group are connected. This episode was written, recorded, and edited by me, Colin Uthe. Our producer is Megan McClendon. Our music was provided by soundstripe.com. Special thanks to POCA, the Women's Network, and the Chamberlain Group Corporate Communications team.