In celebration of Pride Month, I thought it would be appropriate to showcase a tool I demoed recently specifically designed to not only provide professionals a social network but also an opportunity for organizations to nurture those who identify as LGBTQ. My journey to coming out personally and professionally got a late start in life. One of the first things I noticed was there was no real place for me to connect professionally. Sure, I could join a disjunct group on LinkedIn, but what if I wanted more of a sense of community and access to relevant topics? At the time, there was nothing out there. The demo for Mygwork.com opened my eyes to the possibilities of a product for professionals who were like me and searching. It also has a fantastic added benefit of helping organizations attract, engage and retain LGBTQ talent. Here’s what I learned.
About the Product
From the company website:
myGwork is the business community for LGBT+ professionals, graduates, inclusive employers and anyone who believes in workplace equality.
We want to empower the LGBT+ community by offering our individual members a safe space where they can connect with inclusive employers, find jobs, mentors, professional events and news.
myGwork is an Award Winning Company. Its founders won the Attitude Award Young LGBT+ Entrepreneur of the Year and the organisation was listed in the Top 5 startup with Pride by Geek Times.
https://www.mygwork.com/en/about-us
The best way to describe the product is a LinkedIn for the LGBTQ community. It had a very simple, yet engaging interface which allowed employees to self-select into the community. Members are able to set up their profile, identify areas of interest and start engaging the platform quickly. It offers mobile apps to help members stay connected and engaged.
Employer Benefits
Even though I am a member of the community, I’ve found it incredibly hard to engage talent. I’ve been asked while on diversity panels why this is the case for most organizations and I honestly think many of us still live in the “don’t ask, don’t tell” mentality. What I like about mygwork is that the audience self-selects in and as an employer, I can work to engage them directly with content, job postings and events. This is great for attracting new talent but don’t underestimate the value of leveraging this tool for employee engagement as well.
Employee Engagement
I honestly hate broadcasting employee events through email, even though it’s a necessary evil. I’d much prefer use other channels to increase the odds that employees might actually attend and engage. This product allows firms to create LGBTQ specific events and market them to their employees on the platform. I think this is such a more impactful way to engage the community, especially those who are not quite out or recently out. There’s still an internal struggle most professionals have as to how involvement in events, even online events, might be portrayed by their teams. Allowing employees to have a safe community to engage with your firm is definitely a major selling point for mygwork.
DEI Training
As if the product wasn’t already serving the void for LGBTQ, employers are also provided training on DEI by an expert trainer. The trainers are identified and selected by mygwork so it takes the work off the plate of the employer. For these events, up to 5,000 employees can attend and enjoy learning about a large list of topics. Here are just some of the workshops provided in the basic package mygwork offers:
Employer Branding
So how do you let the world know you are a LGBTQ friendly employer? Sure, you can buy advertisements or create banners on your social media but how far does that really go?
Mygwork gives employers the platform to truly create their LGBTQ Employer Branding. You will be able to build your employer page including photos, video and other content, just like any other platform. The key difference is rather than your LGBTQ page being an offshoot of your main corporate page, you can lead with your commitment through the Employer page of mygwork.
Reviews
There are so many benefits to organizations that leverage this part of the product. One of the first I’d like to mention is the ability to invite and engage ambassadors to talk about the brand. It’s well known that employees are the best brand ambassadors and have the highest ROI in the space. You’re already paying them to perform a certain task for the organization so when they become ambassadors for your brand, you’re getting more than your money’s worth. The review section allows potential talent better understand how current LGBTQ employees feel working for your company and is not open to the public.
Content
Do you have video content or perhaps some saved video of an “open-talk” in the organization about LGBTQ related topics? If so, you’re in luck! There’s an amazing section for organization driven content to be shared with the mygwork community. This allows organizations to directly engage and inform their employees while also attracting new talent to the organization.
The firm also helps with content calendars and gives ideas on content relevant to current topics in the community. If your firm is new to the space, this is an ideal way to partner with an organization that knows the audience and can help you avoid any potential mishaps.
Ok, I could go on more about the product but I don’t want to ruin the surprise in store for you during your demo. I’d encourage you to at least explore the product and determine how it can fit into your diversity strategy. If you are interested in seeing the product for yourself, reach out to Michelle (she knows you’re coming).
- Michelle “Michi” Raymond (she/her/hers)
- Business Development Directormichelle.raymond@mygwork.com
mygworkThe Business Community for LGBT+ professionals, graduates, inclusive employers & anyone who believes in workplace equality#workstrongwww.mygwork.com
AND, if you want to connect on mygwork, you can find me by searching my name or just click here.
Also, if you want to learn more from my friends at Chad and Cheese, check out their playlist LGBTQ for Dummies!
About me
and Sprint Recruiting
I joined the HR industry in 2004 after working as a sales leader in the Financial Services Industry for eight years. After spending his first couple of years in HR trying to fit in, I found my voice. Now I leverage all of the things I once hated about HR to become a consultant and invaluable partner to the businesses I support. I contribute to the HRGazzette and to DataDrivenInvestor on Medium. WARNING: my writing style is raw and in your face, not what you would expect from an HR executive.
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