Communication campaign drives membership in affinity groups

Like many large organizations, CBRE—the Los Angeles-based real estate services and investment firm—maintains several employee affinity groups. A Joint Membership Drive was implemented to drive membership numbers up, based on the knowledge that participation would also increase employee engagement. Its success has won CBRE first place in the “Employee Engagement” category of Ragan’s 2017 Employee Communications Awards.

The groups are designed to create networking opportunities and “help employees develop business skills, find volunteer opportunities, network with leaders across business lines and regions and build a satisfying career at CBRE.” They include the African-American Network Group, the Asia Pacific Network, CBRE Military, the Hispanic and Latin Business Group, LGBT & Allies, the Rising Professional Organization and the Women’s Network. 

The organization’s leaders set the goal of  increasing membership by more than 20 percent, which would mean 14 percent of all American employees would be active in a group. With that target in mind, the team charged with the project sought assistance from the marketing department to develop a theme, “Advantage Through Diversity.” 

The theme appeared on intranet banners that changed every two weeks, always including a call to action. An intranet series, “Career Stories That Inspire,” spotlighted employees who belonged to a network and enjoyed career growth and success as a result. 

The campaign beat the target by a mile, with 34.5 percent growth. During every two-week communication period, membership grew about 5.8 percent..

Congratulations to the team of Jaci Bayley, Eric Paul, Beverly Bradshaw, Chris Syyap and Sarah Sexton.