How Accenture’s APA ERG secured a year of tailored programming with Anise Health
More than 56,000 people who work in Accenture’s US offices belong to Accenture’s Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) as part of their broader commitment to Inclusion and Diversity. One of these associations is the Asian and Pacific American employee resource group, which not only has one large national chapter but several regional and local office chapters.
The goals of the partnership included:
Curating events that embraced intersectionality and could be attended by allies from other ERGs.
Expanding optionality to a diverse set of workshops ranging from professional development to community building topics.
Reducing ERG leads’ workload required to produce high-quality, consistent programming in a time-sensitive and resource-constrained environment.
The opportunity
In addition to their regular, full-time day job, ERG leadership spent a significant amount of time coordinating among dozens of regional offices.
This exacerbated the risk of burn-out, which was ironically counterproductive to the purpose of ERGs to uplift and empower diverse communities.
Furthermore, ERG leadership ran a survey among employees to poll which of Anise Health’s workshop topics that ERG members wanted to attend. The results showed a strong interest among members to attend all of Anise Health workshops. As it turns out, employees were impressed by the large selection of events offered by Anise Health and wanted access to all of the content in an easily accessible manner that accommodated their busy work schedules.
The solution
Rather than choosing a one-off individual workshop, Accenture unlocked an entire series of culturally-responsive events by signing a one-year partnership with Anise Health. This had many compounded benefits.
First, ERG leads did not feel pressure to secure last-minute speakers or hurriedly organize events, because they had on-demand access to Anise Health’s clinical and professional speakers.
Second, Accenture could ask Anise Health for guidance at any time, especially during crisis moments when ERG employees were struggling with uncertainty, anxiety, and stress.
Finally, Anise Health shared a continuous stream of alternative in-person and online event opportunities hosted by Anise’s partners to Accenture’s ERG members for free. Cumulatively, this meant that Anise Health provided Accenture with a colorful and holistic array of programs, including but not limited to:
A clinician-led psychoeducational webinar about Destigmatizing Mental Health, which was attended by nearly 200 participants
Two intimate therapist-led peer support circles on the topics of Tools for Richer Relationships and Processing Uncertainty for 20 people
Over a dozen invitations to happy hours, conferences, and online workshops with Anise Health’s partners
A leadership panel at Accenture’s New York Office about Asian founders and minority entrepreneurship
The impact
“Anise Health is an incredible mission-driven organization, and they’re trailblazing leaders in the movement to provide the AAPI community culturally responsive care.”
“We’re so lucky to have been able to form a fruitful partnership together as our Accenture employees have benefitted from attending a variety of events hosted by Anise Health, including educational webinars and peer support sessions. The glowing feedback we receive from our employees speaks for itself. They’ve voiced feeling seen and supported, and that they walk away with increased awareness and tangible actions on how to live more authentic and mentally healthy lives.
The Anise Health team and clinicians demonstrate thoughtful professionalism, compassion, and broad expertise. Collaboration feels effortless as they’re always flexible and creative in meeting our audience’s needs. The level of care and support we’re able to provide our professionals is magnified by Anise’s network and passion in this space. We look forward to continuing to work together, as the impact they’ve had on our people is invaluable”