We Must Be The Change - Magazine - Page 10
ACTION: Employee engagement
Lift every VOICE and sing
Valuing Openness, Inclusion,
Community and Education
African American Employee Resource Group
Employee resource group works to recruit, develop
and retain African American employees
Across the country, the movement
for racial equality is prompting
many to look for a platform
to come together and keep
conversations going. For Southern
Company system employees, there
are resource groups available to
facilitate that support.
One of those groups, VOICE (Valuing
Openness, Inclusion, Community and
Education) is an African American
employee resource group formerly
known as the African American
Women’s Networking Group that
started in 2003. It re-launched in 2014
with a broader mission to create and
sustain an inclusive work environment
that supports the recruitment,
development and retention of
African American employees.
In 2020, VOICE was led by President
Robin Pierce. VOICE’s vision is to
leverage every African American
perspective.
“(We want to) give a platform and
an outlet for our African American
employees to come together and
talk about retention, growth and
development. We want to be vital in
the community and give back and be
relatable,” Pierce said.
Unprecedented circumstances like
the coronavirus have presented new
challenges to VOICE on how they
engage with their members and the
community.
“Once COVID struck purposes shifted,”
Pierce said. “(We had) the thought that
we needed to be more proactive in
terms of putting information out there
to help our members with COVID and
how they need to navigate.”
VOICE looked for new creative ways
to hold membership events virtually
due to the coronavirus. Pierce and the
leadership team launched an online
“Lunch and Learn” series that focuses
on health and wellness management.
A financial advisor was also brought in
to inform members of changes to the
CARES Act, talk about estate planning
and planning for the future.
John Hudson
Meet three
HBCU grads
across system
10
WE MUST BE THE CHANGE
Hometown: Birmingham, Alabama
College: Political science at Alabama A&M
University and Miles College School of Law
Current position: President and CEO, Nicor
Gas; EVP, Southern Company Gas
Years with the company: 20