One Workplace: Turning rapid expansion into a catalyst for equity and ERG impact
One Workplace partnered with Simetras to reignite its ERG strategy during a period of rapid national growth, emerging with stronger leadership alignment, a unified ERG culture, and the tools to drive measurable organizational change.
PROGRAM TYPE
ERG Activation Retreat
SESSIONS
78% dialogue-based
FORMAT
2-Day Immersive Summit
COHORT SIZE
Executives + ERG Chairs
One Workplace's ERGs were born from a moment of reckoning
One Workplace launched its Employee Resource Groups in 2020, in direct response to global calls for racial justice and inclusion. But what started as a grassroots initiative met a new challenge: the organization nearly doubled in size, expanding across state lines, and its ERG model hadn't scaled with it.
The mission was still there. The energy was still there. What was missing was a structure that could hold it all together at enterprise scale.
Three gaps standing between good intentions and real impact
As One Workplace grew, three critical issues surfaced. Executives lacked the frameworks to sponsor ERGs effectively or model inclusive leadership at scale. Geographic dispersion was weakening the connection and shared purpose across ERG chapters. And without the right tools, ERGs couldn't translate member passion into measurable organizational change.
The core insight that shaped everything: culture change moves at the pace of trust. ERG success would hinge on unifying leadership commitment with member energy, and that required a human-centric design approach, not a policy one.
"They pushed back on statements in ways that made us challenge our thinking while keeping us engaged. I walked away wanting to do more."
— GHV Senior Leader
The ERG Activation Framework: leadership development meets community building
Simetras designed a 2-day immersive ERG Summit, co-created with ERG leaders through a series of workshops before the retreat even began. The agenda wasn't handed down from above. ERG leaders helped shape it, which meant they arrived with ownership already built in.
1
Cross-functional collaboration labs
Mixed groups of executives and ERG chairs working side by side, designed specifically to bridge hierarchy gaps before they could calcify.
2
Mission-refinement sessions
Structured time for each ERG to sharpen its purpose and connect it to the organization's broader equity goals.
3
Data-driven impact planning
Research-backed frameworks, tied directly to One Workplace's values, giving ERGs a path from intent to measurable outcomes.
4
Trust-building activities
Sessions that started with self-reflection, asking participants to explore identity's role in their leadership before they could lead others through it.
78% dialogue. Zero lectures.
The summit replaced the usual format of presentations and panels with interactive workshops where 78% of activities were built around dialogue. Cohorts were intentionally mixed: executives and ERG chairs in the same room, working through the same challenges, dismantling hierarchy through shared experience rather than policy.
Custom tools were embedded throughout, including a Conflict-to-Connection guide designed for immediate use back in the workplace.
Numbers worth noting
Beyond the metrics, the qualitative shifts were just as significant. Executives began proactively advocating for ERG-led policy changes. ERG missions got sharper, with some directly informing client diversity targets and revenue goals. And the Conflict-to-Connection guide saw 86% adoption across participating teams.
What actually drove the change
Cross-level integration works faster than top-down training
Pairing executives with ERG chairs in the same cohort dismantled silos in ways that no amount of leadership mandates could have.
Co-creation drives buy-in
Letting ERGs shape their own summit agenda turned participation into ownership before the retreat even started.
Action tools are what make learning stick
Frameworks like the Conflict-to-Connection guide gave participants something concrete to carry back. That's what anchors behavior change.
ERGs as strategic assets, not side projects
One Workplace's transformation is proof that intentional structure turns ERGs from well-meaning groups into real drivers of organizational equity. By investing in leadership capability and ERG agency at the same time, the organization now shows how scalable growth and deep inclusion can reinforce each other rather than compete.
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Simetras turned expansion from a DEI liability into a catalyst for equity, equipping One Workplace to build bridges across geographies, hierarchies, and histories.