CASE STUDY: Partnering with a strategic communication firm to build a DEIAB Council and launch ERGs
Client: A strategic communication firm
Timeline: 2023–2025
Focus Areas: DEIAB Council formation, ERG strategy and rollout, and leadership coaching
Background
The organization I worked with is a mission-driven, medium-sized (less than 200 people) communication firm with a strong focus on communication and equity. They sought to deepen their internal DEIAB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Belonging) practices. In 2023, they established an internal DEIAB Advisory Council with the goal of embodying the organization’s values and fostering a sense of belonging among its employees.
This work unfolded during a time of national DEI pushback and internal uncertainty. Like many companies navigating post-2020 DEI commitments, the leadership team carried both hopes for inclusion and hesitations about risk, resources, and organizational impact. Many staff felt like they were at a crossroads: in their external work, they were working with more diverse populations than ever and remained committed to helping collaborating parties better understand differences in perspectives as well as acknowledge power imbalances. Internally, however, they perceived disproportionate turnover in their BIPOC-identifying colleagues and articulated concern that their internal practices might not meet the standards of diversity, equity, and inclusivity they worked so hard to implement with clients.
The firm sought Erin-Kate Escobar Consulting to support the organization in not just launching a council, but in sustaining one through cultural shifts and evolving employee expectations.
The Process
Year One: Establishing the Council (2022-2023)
Our first year focused on:
Supporting the launch of the DEIAB Advisory Council
Offering real-time support, coaching, and facilitation during council meetings
Helping the group clarify its purpose, create psychological safety, and build early trust among members
Navigating leadership and employee concerns to address structural ambiguity around power, budget, and expectations
The first year was hard. Participants volunteered because they were convinced DEIAB work was important to our society broadly but also, crucial to embody in the company's relations to and between its employees. However, most of the volunteers didn't consider themselves subject matter experts and were overwhelmed by the sheer scope of how DEIAB could be addressed and improved across the company's communications, benefits, structure, and culture. The organization needed a place to start but no one wanted to be the one to claim they knew what was needed most urgently. In addition, participants didn't want to invest their effort into something that might be resoundingly rejected at the management level. Coalescing around the idea of supporting ERGs and getting messages from the management team that this was something that would be supported in at least some form allowed us to move forward.
Year Two and Three: Launching ERGs (2024–2025)
The second and third years of engagement centered on the Council’s first major initiative: Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). I supported the group through:
Drafting a rollout strategy including communications, timelines, and orientation sessions
Attending DEIAB council check-ins to answer questions and weigh in on practices
Consulting on the ERG charter template, application forms, and onboarding packets
Coaching around challenges such as billability concerns, the role of executive sponsors, and how to communicate an ERG’s value in a work culture that is constrained by billable hours.
Participating in each ERG’s Orientation session to help set the tone, norms, and direction
Despite limited resources and ongoing leadership skepticism, Four of Five ERGs launched—including ones for Global & Immigrant Experience, Mental Health & Wellbeing, and Working Parents & Caregivers.
Leadership remained dedicated to staying the course of building the council and ERGs amidst wider DEI rollbacks nationally, knowing that they would serve the organization long term.
Key Challenges & Lessons
Leadership Fear and Skepticism
One of the most persistent themes was a leadership team unsure of what ERGs do and what they might disrupt. Much of our coaching conversations centered around:
Leadership skepticism was not resistance to values, but a healthy caution about how to integrate change in a billable-hours environment
Helping the DEIAB Council share concerns with the C-suite leaders and help them understand how ERGs can serve as partners, not critics
Offering talking points that frame ERGs as value-aligned (rather than risky) initiatives
“What are ERGs really going to do?” was a lingering leadership concern. And the Council wondered, “Will we be trusted to do what is needed if leadership is new to listening in this new way?” In response, we created messaging rooted in the organization’s mission—demonstrating how ERGs build belonging, increase retention, and align with the company’s public commitments. Leadership was on board, and the council had increased trust that their work would not be in vain.
Structural Gaps
Early on, since this organization was brand new to building both a council and building out ERGs from that council we would be building the infrastructure to create and maintain ERGs, leading to a need for:
Role clarity and founding documents
Building support and interest from employees
Shared documentation of progress and strategy
I collaborated with the DEIAB council to give feedback on the launch campaign, the new ERG charter template, including a timeline, policies, and practices, to address this gap.
Results & Next Steps
ERGs have been launched, beginning with 3 newly defined groups with leaders and initial members who will be joining the first ERGs.
The DEIAB Council increased its visibility and impact across the company
What Similar Organizations Can Learn from This Case Study
1. Starting a Council is Only the Beginning.
Many organizations believe that forming a council or launching ERGs is a finish line—but in reality, it’s the starting line. What I enjoyed most about working with this organization was their commitment to ongoing structure, facilitation, and leadership support. This case demonstrates how success comes not from a launch alone, but from consistent, skilled support over time.
2. Success Requires Navigating Internal Tensions.
Even values-driven organizations can grapple with leadership skepticism, fear of risk, and internal questions about "what this work is really going to do." These are typical questions that any organization will need answers to support the work moving forward. By building in feedback and communication lines between a council and bigger decision makers with the organization, that hope is that internal tensions don’t have to fester long and can more easily be addressed to bring ease into the process. I help organizations surface these fears compassionately and work through them constructively.
3. The Right Consultant Bridges Vision and Reality.
Creating inclusive structures like ERGs isn’t just about diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility knowledge. It’s about organizational change. I help organizations move from intention to action by:
Translating equity values into operational strategy
Equipping employees and leaders to hold hard conversations
Providing tools, templates, and tailored coaching to sustain momentum
4. Culture Change Needs a Human Touch.
Your organization needs more than frameworks. That’s why I focus on facilitation, emotional intelligence, and real-time responsiveness. Building new communities at work is relational. I help organizations build psychological safety, honor complexity, and make belonging a lived experience.
Why Hire Me
Organizations that are serious about making more aligned changes within their organization but are unsure how to implement it need a consultant who can meet them at the intersection of values, resistance, and organizational design.
You should hire me if you’re:
Ready to move beyond performative actions and embed your company values into your employees’ lived culture
Facing internal resistance and need help bridging leadership fears with employee needs
Launching ERGs, a council, or other equity initiatives, and want to do it in a thoughtful, lasting way
Looking for a consultant who provides more than strategy—someone who supports the human side of change
I’m here to support organizations in building the infrastructure they need to create changes that are driven by staff needs and can pivot and change with what is needed at different times.
