From goals to gold standard, Ergo’s Diversity and Inclusion journey yields results

The Microsoft Partner Pledge is a statement of intent in which we ask our partners to join us on our journey to use tech as a force for good. By signing the pledge, partners are committing to working with us to become ambassadors for digital skills, advocates for responsible and ethical AI, sustainability and diversity.

The program has been rolled out across 13 Western European countries since 2021, and Ergo are one of fifty Irish partners who have signed the Microsoft Partner Pledge. Ergo’s outstanding commitment to building a more diverse and inclusive workforce particularly aligns with a strategic focus of the initiative.

Meet our partner: Ergo, Dublin, Ireland

Ergo began life as a supplier of print components in Ireland in 1993 and in the almost 30 years that have followed, it has grown from a small team of eight people into now the largest privately-owned Irish IT services company in the country, and now boast a team of over 580 professionals. Ergo’s strong focus on diversity and inclusion is reflected in the fact that the team in Ireland itself is comprised of 25 different nationalities.

An Ambitious Diversity and Inclusion Programme

Ensuring everyone feels included is a major focus at Ergo – regardless of race, disability, gender, or sexual orientation. As part of their ambitious Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) programme, Ergo has established a committee to drive D&I policy and have reviewed and updated maternity, paternity, and flexible working policies.

The company also provides practical training tools such as inclusive leadership and unconscious bias training to build awareness of D&I issues. For example, during the Dublin Pride festival, Ergo provided awareness training around the creation of a respectful environment, support of LGBTQI+ employees and embracing diversity in the workplace.

Inclusive Recruitment

Ergo has also radically changed how they recruit candidates. Their recruitment policy is based on the premise that strength lies in differences, not in similarities. Demonstrating inclusive recruitment, Ergo’s employees range from 19 to 65 years of age and represent twenty-five different nationalities.

A key pillar of their recruitment strategy has been to train their recruiters to recognise and understand the role that unconscious bias plays in the recruitment process. Diverse interview panels have helped Ergo to get different perspectives when hiring candidates. This helps to counteract unconscious bias and also gives the candidate a better perspective on what the company stands for. They also outline a wide a set of requirements when writing a job description for a vacancy. This ensures that candidates are included in the process, who may not tick all the skillset boxes but can bring other valuable skills and experience.

Diversity and Success

Ergo’s Diversity and Inclusion Champion, Yvonne Meijerhof, believes diversity is a critical part of the company’s success and gives them the edge in a very competitive marketplace. Ergo understand that driving diversity and inclusion in the workplace is not just the right thing to do, but it also makes good business sense. Their D&I programmes are yielding favourable results, as they have seen deeper engagement from a broader group of employees on social and business initiatives and their efforts have been recognised.

A recent employee experience survey with Culture Amp highlighted that 85% of Ergo’s employees felt respected and 86% of employees feel they can be their “authentic self” at work. In recognition of their D&I initiatives, Ergo was recipient of a bronze award last year from The Irish Centre for Diversity. The company is expecting to receive a silver award shortly for their achievements in successfully embedding diversity and inclusion policies within the company. By the end of 2022, Ergo also hopes to achieve the gold standard award which is centered around excellence in ensuring that equality, diversity and inclusion are part of the DNA of the organisation.

Learn more about the Microsoft Partner Pledge here: https://aka.ms/MicrosoftIrelandPartnerPledge