Talking employee resource groups in TomTom
Mariya Findzhikova·Sep 13, 2024
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Talking employee resource groups in TomTom
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Mariya Findzhikova
People Product Manager
Sep 13, 2024 · 4 min read
TomTom is on a journey to improve its representation. We’re already proud to have more than 80 nationalities, and have set targets to achieve a better gender balance in the company. However, this is just part of the wider effort to achieve full inclusivity. That’s why we moved to create employee resource groups.
We’re committed to better understanding and addressing the needs of TomTom’ers. As a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion professional, I have heard and read many success stories about employee resource groups (ERGs) in organizations. As a safe space for employees from underrepresented communities, these groups provide great insights into people’s needs and bring together passionate volunteers who want to support inclusion and belonging. We established our ERGs in October, and nearly a year on, we’ve made fantastic progress with initiatives, resources and more for all TomTom’ers to benefit and learn from. Here are five learnings we’ve taken from the journey so far, starting at the beginning…1. Be truly community-driven
We believe in the power of insights from TomTom’ers. That’s why, in October 2023, we sent out company-wide communications to TomTom’ers to ask for their feedback: “Is there a community that is currently missing at TomTom? Leave your input to make sure that communities you care about are represented…”
We had already put together a list of our existing communities, from special interest groups to local groups of inclusion champions. And then we waited. Thankfully, we were pleased to see both suggestions and valuable feedback coming in, demonstrating TomTom’ers’ passion for allyship and support. With the submissions, and after evaluating the proposed impact, we formed six global employee resource groups, featuring members of each community and allies who want to show their support:- WomTom (our community for Women at TomTom)
- Rainbow Road (our community for LGBTQIA+ TomTom'ers)
- Black TomTom’ers
- ADAPT (our community for Abled and Disabled Advocates Partnering Together)
- TomTom Parents
Neurodiverse TomTom’ers
2. Create a structure in which your DEI advocates can thrive
Our main objective for diversity, equity and inclusion is to embed it into our ways of working so it reaches every part of the business. But how can we reach everyone? We knew we needed to lean on our leadership principle, “Multiplying” – the behavior of spreading knowledge and sharing experience – and create a structure in which inclusion advocates could thrive. That’s why we formed the TomTom Inclusion Advocates Network, an online hub where TomTom’ers can get to know our employee resource communities, read about DEI philosophy, learn our priorities, get access to resources and share feedback.
These communities have welcomed inclusion advocates, with TomTom’ers being able to become a lead or co-lead and drive positive change within TomTom. We found this was especially helpful as other advocates have someone to lean on, and with leads in multiple locations, our approach to inclusion can be global but also culturally conscious.
3. People want to hear from our communities
How do we continue to build support and open more people to an inclusive way of thinking? Hearing directly from the people who would most benefit from it. That’s why we introduced TomTom’s OpenChats.These sessions give TomTom’ers from our employee resource groups the chance to tell their stories, share advice on how to be inclusive, and ensure the conversation continues about how we can all be empathetic, respectful and more collaborative. So far, we’ve organized OpenChats sessions with our Neurodiverse and Black TomTom’er communities. Altogether, the sessions have been attended by more than 650 TomTom’ers. What’s more, they’ve been championed by executive sponsors like Manuela Locarno Ajayi, SVP of Engineering, and Aaron Golden, SVP of Sales. We have more OpenChats planned in the future, and we are excited to collaborate with community representatives of other organizations to enable further knowledge-sharing and foster allyship.4. Start small and stay committed
OpenChats is a great example of the progress we’ve made. It’s all about raising awareness, educating people and celebrating our communities. However, with so much still to be done, there’s a lot of pressure to move the needle on representation, including from ourselves.
The reality is that, to make improvements in representation, we need time, invested resources, and commitment from all involved.
5. Track your progress and celebrate the wins
Every quarter, TomTom DEI advocates representing our communities get together for an online meeting, “Inclusion Advocates Connect”. During this, we look back on our progress, celebrate our wins and make plans for the upcoming quarter. Our next goal is to organize an annual event where we bring our community-organizing teams together to brainstorm. We’re a global bunch, so this is an exciting and interesting challenge.Looking ahead
The work doesn’t stop. Big or small, our initiatives will continue; our employee resource communities will look at ways of building connections between all TomTom’ers. After all, as a geolocation specialist, we want our offices to reflect the world we’re mapping: diverse, and full of personality and culture. Do you want to be part of a global team that is ready to support you to innovate and grow? We only have one prerequisite: that you’re ready to hop on board and make an impact.Drive positive change with us in more ways than one. Join TomTom today.
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