Diversity, equity and inclusion
Creating impact for our employees
Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are our not-so-secret way to bring our supportive, inclusive, and engaging workplace culture to life.
And they bring us so much joy, and value too!
Bethany Marinacci and Pam Mazza photography by Hanna Yoon of Women Photograph
Here is why our ERGs are so important.
Feeling seen and heard
Creating strong and visible ERGs creates a “you’re not alone” atmosphere for our people.
Making real change happen
We’re not here just to talk. Our groups educate us about the kind of policies we need and how we can take action to be more inclusive.
Boosting engagement and productivity
When our people feel supported, they bring their A-game. Feeling valued at work, helps people have happier and more productive workdays.
Making meaningful connections
Our groups connect people from different departments and different parts of the world, help them find them mentors, grow their careers and work together to better support our existing clients, and find new ones.
Creating an inclusive culture
Actions speak louder than words. ERGs show that your company doesn’t just talk about diversity—they live it.
Re-branding our ERGs: finding the names that feel just right look
Our groups are so important to us, to the happiness of our people today, and to help us attract incredible and diverse talent. Over the past few years, we’ve been working closely with the groups to help develop strong, brand-aligned identities that allow the individual group personality to really shine through.
Pam Mazza, Principal and Chief Human Resources Officer, partnered with our brand team, led by Principal Katie Woodside, to design a solution that would allow us to support our people internally, foster inclusion and understanding, and present a consistent face of our groups externally.
The naming and branding solution centered on each group exploring a creative name that represents group members and the impact they want to have.
Our LGBTQ+ resource group Folx is a great example of this in practice.
Folx is a way of addressing people as “folks”, which is already a gender-neutral term, that emphasizes the intention of including all groups of people. We love that it’s a step in the right direction of vocabulary for a more inclusive world.
photographed by Hannah Yoon
of Women Photograph
Project: nomenclature
The brand team held specially designed workshops with each of the ERG leaders, helping them explore their purpose, audiences, comms channels, success criteria, and naming to find just the right naming structures like this for each group.
Following each workshop, the brand team created their ‘launch package’ – templates, images, illustrations and more. Then one by one, each group held their own launch party – open to all employees to celebrate their new name and reinvigorated purpose.
“We have a very special culture here at Avison Young. In fact, we like to say we created a culture first, and then a company to continue to do what we love. Embracing diversity and inclusion has always been at the heart of our culture because it not only enriches our workplace and helps people feel like they belong, it also fuels ideas and innovation for our business and our clients,” says Pam Mazza.
Presenting our employee resource groups:
We are proud to share that with all re-brand workstreams complete, each of our Employee Resource Groups now has a name that the group feels connected and inspired around —something they are excited to champion.