One of the ways we encourage connection at Spectrum is through our five Business Resource Groups (BRGs): Spectrum Women, Veterans, Multicultural, Abled and LGBTQ.
We welcome our employees to be part of a strong community that gives them opportunities to network, grow their careers and contribute to our company’s business objectives and success. We also believe our BRGs foster an inclusive culture and workplace where every employee is respected and celebrated.
2021 was another year of connecting with colleagues in a meaningful yet safe way, and while the world is still dealing with a pandemic, that didn’t slow our BRGs down. In fact, our BRGs were as busy as ever in 2021.
The Employee Impact
At Spectrum, we assist employees in their pursuit of professional growth through mentoring, as we believe it can play a pivotal role in helping employees expand their network, discover opportunities and amplify their careers.
In 2021, through mentoring programs offered by our Spectrum Multicultural, Women and Veterans BRGs, over 170 mentorship pairs were connected and over 1,000 mentorship hours were logged.
“The mentor program has shown me it is never too late to grow and to work on yourself,” said Lorna Allbritain, Director, Sales and Retention Operations, and a Spectrum Multicultural Member. “I found the experience to be a wonderful adventure where I was able to spend time learning about what I wanted and why I wanted it.”
The Business Impact
Charter is proud to reach a diverse customer base, serving 21 of the top 25 African American television market areas and 20 of the top 25 Hispanic television market areas. In fact, multicultural communities make up a majority of the population in many of Charter’s largest markets, including New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas, and San Antonio.
Our BRGs also play a role in helping us serve our diverse customer base.
As an example, our BRGs often provide our content creation team with TV and movie titles to consider adding to Spectrum On Demand programming in recognition of cultural heritage and identity dates. The BRGs focus on ensuring titles are reflective of the needs and interests of multifaceted communities.
Connecting Employees Through Storytelling
There are many ways to foster connectedness in a workplace. Sharing life experiences and storytelling creates a strong sense of community amongst employees and promotes an environment of understanding and inclusion. Our BRGs hosted multiple events in 2021. A couple highlights are:
In June, Spectrum LGBTQ hosted keynote speaker Judy Shepard on cultivating compassion for all individuals. Judy shared the powerful story of losing her son Matthew to an anti-gay hate crime in 1998 and the subsequent building of a foundation in his name. The organization’s mission is to champion social justice, diversity awareness and education. Judy also shared her perspective on challenges facing the civil rights movement, as well as the significance of BRGs, corporate responsibility and allyship.
Spectrum Veterans invited Colonel Gregory Gadson, an Army veteran and motivational speaker who lost both legs in Iraq, to talk about facing and overcoming adversity. He spoke with clarity and emotion about everyone’s capacity to get back up after a fall. Through the example of his personal experience, he explained that while we have no vote in the circumstances that may befall us, we do have a choice in how we overcome those circumstances.
The Importance of Growth
There are many ways to develop your career outside of the office. Podcasts, online publications, and webinars are popular avenues to take. Our BRGs offer reading roundtables that dive into professional literature that has direct business applications.
Last year, Spectrum Women hosted a reading roundtable where members reviewed three books centered on professional development, and then participated in collaborative discussions. The books were Dare to Lead by Brene Brown, Rise by Patti Azzarello, and Multipliers by Liz Wiseman.
“Members valued the ability to exchange learning, experiences and views,” said Erin Morris, Senior Manager of Research for Spectrum and member of the Spectrum Women BRG.
Learn More About Joining Our Inclusive Workplace
To learn more about Spectrum’s active and dynamic BRGs, click here. If you’re interested in joining a company that fosters diversity and inclusion, apply today.
