After the speakers said their final remarks and everyone applauded, Multy Oliver felt a swell of encouragement. As everyone started to leave, Oliver knew that sticking around for a face-to-face conversation needed to happen.
“It was an important moment of growth for me professionally and personally to speak with them one on one afterwards and talk about how they kept going in their toughest moments,” said Oliver. “I’m so thankful I got to experience that, and I can’t understate the importance of seeing fellow Black women succeeding and making names for themselves in a world that often overlooks us.”
The event that Oliver, finance operations coordinator and DEI Council member at Harry’s, attended was a Juneteenth panel hosted by the African Ancestry Collective employee resource group. Oliver spoke about how the panel was deeply encouraging.
“It was heartwarming to hear about their respective journeys and how they give back to their communities,” said Oliver. “We got the chance to hear from extremely accomplished Black entrepreneurs and trailblazers that I may not have met otherwise.”
The AAC panel was inspiring for Peter Pranata, manager and global supply planner, as well. Pranata is a co-leader for H’API, which stands for Harry’s Asian and Pacific Islanders. He notes that being part of H’API has made Harry’s truly memorable.
“Since I joined in 2021, being active in H’API has given me a community at work with people who share similar interests and backgrounds,” said Pranata. “It’s not just about diverse voices — it also makes minority groups feel included.”
Pranata helped organize a speaker event for AAPI heritage month where the group was able to learn from professionals in the mental health field — specifically about the challenges in the AAPI workforce.
“Participating in an ERG offers employees a platform to express and share their voices within a more comfortable and supportive environment,” he said. “This plays a crucial role in fostering a sense of belonging within any company, as it goes beyond mere headcount and makes individuals feel truly seen.”
WHAT IS HARRY’S CONNECTION TO SOCIAL GOOD?
Harry’s is a consumer packaged goods company that primarily focuses on razors, personal care and pet care products. However, the company also has a strong emphasis on social impact. It launched an initiative called Open Minds, which is a $5 million program in partnership with Futures Without Violence, National Council for Mental Wellbeing and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America designed to reach more than a million people in its first three years. In addition to this initiative, Harry’s donates 1% of its sales of the following products to relevant social causes:
- Harry’s razors — 1% of sales supports mental health services for men with a particular focus on young men and boys, Black men, Veterans and LGBTQ folks.
- Flamingo razors — 1% of sales supports nonprofits that focus on helping women to build healthy, positive relationships with themselves.
“ERGs not only acknowledge but also celebrate the diverse backgrounds of employees, providing a sense of representation for those involved,” said Pranata. An example that he noted was H’API commemorating cultural holidays such as Lunar New Year.
“This initiative holds particular significance for AAPI employees, turning the workplace into a more inclusive and culturally aware community,” he added.
Constant Change
AAC and H’API are both evidence of the ERG evolution at Harry’s.
The company started with five ERGs in 2018: The Advocates, which is for employees with disabilities and their allies; All Equals, which is a women’s ERG; DNA, which is a multicultural ERG for BIPOC employees; Fuerza, which supports Hispanic and Latino employees; and Pride, an ERG for LGBTQ+ employees.
Eventually, AAC and H’API launched from previous affinity groups, with support from Harry’s C-suite leadership.
“Our ERGs were loosely organized and did not have an overarching programmatic strategy,” recalled Nate Lewellyn, manager of DEI programming. To improve on this, he explained that, starting in 2022, the team became more rigorous in their ERG strategic plans — taking the time to create goals for the program overall as well as goals for each ERG group.
“We identified specific expectations for the ERGs and aligned on key metrics we’d track around program attendance and satisfaction,” said Lewellyn. “Additionally, we further specified the role of the executive sponsor and defined what ‘good’ looks like.”
Transforming its ERGs meant that tracking impact was even more important, so Harry’s used its annual employee engagement survey to assess if, and where, employees felt a sense of belonging.
When Lewellyn was reviewing that annual engagement survey, something stood out.
“I noticed our population of employees with disabilities scored notably lower on feeling a sense of belonging,” said Lewellyn. “I held a conversation with our employees with disabilities ERG and discovered that managers, while well-intentioned, struggled with having effective conversations around disabilities.”
Oliver added, “This led to robust discussions about how to support this population and ensure that our physical office is accessible and that our company culture is inclusive.”
It was those conversations that led Lewellyn to build a disability awareness training for managers — all while collecting feedback and insights from the ERG along the way. The program launched in 2023 and will be woven into new manager training programs going forward.
“I have learned a lot about disability awareness thanks to Harry’s DEI efforts,” said Oliver. “In 2023 in particular, I took advantage of the disability awareness trainings and noticed an increased focus from Harry’s leadership and managers to fostering inclusivity and advocating for employees with disabilities.”
DEI Values
The ERGs at Harry’s are becoming an integral part of the company’s mission.
“At Harry’s, Inc. our mission is to ‘create things people like more’ — diversity, equity and inclusion is central to this mission,” said Lewellyn. “We hope to cultivate a workplace where our employees feel valued, safe and empowered to show up as their best selves; leaders who can build teams that are home to a variety of perspectives and experiences; a family of brands led by our values and our differences to authentically serve our community; and a collection of products that are useful and address a diverse range of needs.”
Lewellyn went on to say how DEI is being thread throughout the organization’s values, with examples like “collaborate inclusively,” “bring in diverse voices,” “be growth minded” and “contribute to our community.”
“Our values are more than just words on a page — we evaluate prospective and current employees on our values during our interview and in performance and promotion processes in equal proportion to the evaluation of quality and impact of work output,” added Lewellyn.
Open Communication
For employees like Pranata and Oliver, the evolution of the company has created a space that not only allows their cultural identity to be present at work but to have a community to celebrate it with.
Oliver is part of both AAC and Pride ERGs at Harry’s, and noted that both offer a strong sense of community whose members are ready to listen, learn and support each other in and out of the workplace.
“I think it’s important to look around your workplace and see people with similar life experiences succeeding in their respective fields,” said Oliver. “ERGs offer a way to connect employees who share a common identity, are passionate about advocating for an identity, or both!”
Oliver adds that participating in the DEI Council, which acts as a sort of focus group dedicated to DEI initiatives, has been particularly meaningful. The council makes a point to tell different teams that they are a resource and a listening ear for any ideas or feedback related to diversity, equity and inclusion.
“We also encourage teams to bring their ideas to the whole council,” said Oliver. “For example, a team can present a new ad campaign they’re planning to launch and get the council’s feedback, or our benefits team can run their comms plan by us for a new benefit they’re planning to offer. I think having a council with diverse perspectives — from different areas of the business and different lived experiences — that anyone can go to allows us to approach DEI holistically.”
I think having a council with diverse perspectives — from different areas of the business and different lived experiences — that anyone can go to allows us to approach DEI holistically.”
Having a specific group of employees who are dedicated to bettering the company, championing inclusivity and relaying important topics back to leadership is comforting for Harry’s employees.
“The difficult conversations we have are often easier to discuss because our council is made up of compassionate individuals who are truly committed to improving our work community,” noted Oliver.
Being an ERG co-lead has helped Pranata develop effective communication skills and navigate difficult conversation topics surrounding the AAPI community. Now, he feels able to openly talk through common issues, which has helped Pranata feel more holistically seen at work.
“ERGs contribute to fostering a sense of belonging by allowing employees to organize and plan events that represent a part of their identity and culture,” concluded Pranata. “Building a community of like-minded individuals allows employees to feel more visible and heard across the organization.”
