Our Employee Resource Groups Are Growing. Which One’s Right For You?

Since unifying as one team a year ago in 2021, CoverMyMeds has sought to fully integrate our coworkers across the country. Today, we’re happy to celebrate a giant leap toward that goal with the official coming together of our employee resource groups, or ERGs — a merger months in the making.

According to Gartner, ERGs — also called “employee affinity groups” — are voluntary, employee-led diversity and inclusion initiatives that are formally supported by an organization, and they’ve been around since the 1960s when Black workers at Xerox organized to discuss race-based tension in the workplace.

Not only do ERGs create a safe space for important conversations, but they also help improve employee engagement. According to a 2021 CoverMyMeds employee survey, those involved with ERGs were 2.5% more engaged overall.

To mark the occasion in a visual way, our newly merged ERGs rebranded with fresh identifiers, and the bold, beautiful designs continue to draw attention and positive feedback from our ERG participants and program leads.

It’s our hope that by working together to combine our collective ERGs and provide them with cohesive branding, they can make an even bigger impact on the lives of our employees, their families and our communities.

Jennifer Gamboa-Copeland, diversity, equity and inclusion leader at McKesson, helps manage the company’s enterprise-level ERGs. According to Jennifer, ERGs play a vital role in amplifying our I2CARE and ILEAD values, and they help create a sense of belonging for our people.

“The Diversity, Equity & Inclusion team at McKesson worked with our CoverMyMeds partners the past few months to transform and elevate our shared ERGs to the enterprise level,” Jennifer said. “Every employee is welcome to join an ERG — they’re a great way for coworkers to connect on a deeper level.”

From a data perspective, 21% of CoverMyMeds employees are currently involved with an ERG. By the end of 2022, the company hopes to increase that percentage to 25%. Luckily, employees have plenty of options to choose from. From Women Empowered to Black Excellence and Pride, there is quite literally an ERG for everyone.

Exploring the 11 CoverMyMeds Employee Resource Groups

Ability

Ability’s goal is to be the healthcare employer of choice for people within the disability community. It aims to do so by building community awareness of disabilities — both seen and unseen — within the company and by providing necessary resources and support for employees. Ability also works to improve the recruiting, hiring and retention of people within the disability community, as well as drive positive change through local community outreach.

Affinity Council

The Affinity Council — a legacy CoverMyMeds ERG — mission is to provide the tools and resources to practice true inclusion across multiple dimensions of diversity, foster an equitable culture by creating opportunities for allyship, and continue leveraging diversity on all levels of the organization. The ERG’s main event planned for 2022 is Culture Day, an annual celebration of employee backgrounds, beliefs and experiences; Affinity Council is also planning to adopt a new name soon.

Black Excellence (BE)

BE helps provide professional development and growth opportunities to Black employees and those of the African diaspora, aid in the recruitment and retention of quality employees, support diversity awareness activities and be a volunteer resource for relevant, positive events in local communities. Similarly, the ERG’s vision is to become the best workplace for Black employees and those of the African diaspora to thrive, reach their full potential and ultimately advance healthcare.

Emerging Professionals (EP)

EP’s goal is to produce top-level leaders and empower them to build the careers of their dreams. The ERG connects its members to valuable people and resources, and also provides personal and professional development opportunities, including its “Career Champion” speaker series and “Free Agency” resource-sharing program. Notably, EP is open to employees at any stage of their careers — whether they’ve been active in the workforce for one year or 20.

Middle Eastern and Northern African (MENA)

McKesson’s newest ERG launched in May of 2022. MENA’s mission is to promote awareness and celebrate diversity of the Middle Eastern and Northern African culture, empower employees through professional development and connect them through social, cultural, professional and service initiatives. Since MENA is newly launched, the ERG is still working through programming for 2022 and beyond. That said, they encourage interested employees to get involved to help bring their plans to life.

McKesson Military Resource Group (MMRG)

MMRG provides opportunities for employees to recognize and welcome veterans and their families to the company. In doing so, it strives to provide social networking opportunities, facilitate personal and professional development, support the recruitment, hiring and retention of veterans and sponsor events to respect, honor and support service members. Notably, the ERG also raises awareness around post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury and suicide prevention in the veteran community.

Pan-Asian Voice of Excellence (PAVE)

PAVE provides career growth opportunities to employees with Asian backgrounds and helps foster business excellence by harnessing strengths found in their diverse experiences. The ERG’s key pillars involve keeping the community connected in our “new normal” and enabling professional development through employee-led events and a speaker series. Specifically, PAVE is planning to celebrate Lunar New Year, Diwali and dragon boat races, and will provide a weekly yoga and meditation series.

Pride

Pride is an ERG for LGBTQ+ employees and their supportive allies, and it strives to be an inclusive resource for members in support of the overall goals, objectives and initiatives of McKesson. Throughout the year, Pride provides employees with access to educational events and encourages participation in pride-related activities across the country. Notably, CoverMyMeds’ local chapter of Pride is called QCrew, and they’re in the midst of planning celebrations for Pride Month in June.

Professional Association of Latinos at McKesson (PALMa)

PALMa unites our Latino and Latina employees to help inspire greatness, drive positive change, promote workplace diversity and nurture leadership skills, while also developing the community to grow their careers. PALMa is currently planning events for 2022. They’re excited to host celebrations during Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15) to recognize the histories, cultures and contributions of our Latinx community at McKesson, CoverMyMeds and within the healthcare industry.

UNITY

Unity celebrates native and indigenous cultures and embraces diversity by educating, connecting and empowering employees. They do this through professional development and community outreach that builds cultural awareness at McKesson, CoverMyMeds and within the communities they serve. Unity helps amplify the voices of native and indigenous employees through events like a speaker series, artist highlights, inclusion trainings and after-work movie watch parties with coworkers.

Women Empowered (WE)

Women Empowered, or WE, is an ERG with a mission to make McKesson a top employer of choice for women by promoting the development and advancement of a world-class female workforce. CoverMyMeds’ first ERG, WHIT (Women in Healthcare IT), was established in 2016, and WE is now the enterprise-wide version of that group. Every year, WE celebrates Women’s History Month with weekly themes, activities and events. The ERG also offers a mentorship program for its members.

From five to 11: More than doubling CoverMyMeds’ ERG offerings

Before merging with McKesson’s ERGs, CoverMyMeds only had five of its own — including Alternative Commuting and Environmental Sustainability (ACES) and Wellness, which are now interest groups. Now, we boast 11 enterprise-level ERGs, more than doubling our advocacy for causes close to our employees’ hearts. Mike Bukach, director of employee engagement, said that’s a great thing.

“The goal of ERGs is to provide a safe, collaborative space where people can celebrate and empower our incredibly diverse cultures, backgrounds and experiences across the segment,” Mike said. “Aligning efforts with McKesson in an inclusionary move that will provide some serious go-power to our ERGs while also maintaining a grassroots ethos.”

If CoverMyMeds employees have any questions about which ERG to join — or how to join one — please reach out to me, Raymond Weaver, via Slack or email: Rweaver@covermymeds.com. Alternatively, you may reach out to Jennifer Gamboa-Copeland at jennifer.gamboa-copeland@mckesson.com. We’ll be happy to chat through opportunities for involvement and help you select the right ERG, or ERGs, for you.

Want to work at CoverMyMeds and join one of our 11 ERGs? Explore our open positions on our careers page.