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Bolstering Engagement through
Employee Networks
By Robert Powers
Senior Vice President, Human Resources
Textron Systems Corporation
R
Recruiting and re-
taining the best talent is
a business imperative—
setting up a tug-of-war in
which companies target the same finite resources to fill
key positions. This is particularly true in the defense
industry, where Textron Systems is constantly on the
lookout for people with the right skills and experience
to help us create the high-technology products and ser-
vices that America’s troops rely upon.
Achieving this imperative requires a multifaceted
approach, including compensation and benefits,
advancement and educational opportunities, work
environment, and employee engagement.
Traditionally, employee activities used to be informal
and localized; for example, softball or bowling leagues.
Today’s employee networks and resource groups
address the many other areas in which colleagues share
common interests and backgrounds. They build a sense
of community and connectedness beyond the inherent
mission of the company, as well as provide employees
and leaders the opportunity to communicate across all
levels and functions of the business.
If the work environment is an extension of one’s
personal life, that is a valuable “gotcha” point. Engaged
employees are the company’s best champions for
a diverse, inclusive culture, as well as for recruiting
like-minded talent. In addition, the groups themselves
have an impactful presence on fellow employees,
driving the messages of diversity and positive change
across an organization more effectively than any policy
or process.
Informal mentorships also spring from resource
groups. These relationships are a vital source of
information-sharing, as well as an opportunity for pro-
fessional growth and development of leadership skills.
64 Pro f i les i n D i ve rsit y Journal M aY / J u n e 2 0 1 0
From a business standpoint, employee networks
are critical to keeping people interested, engaged, and
feeling valued. For all of these reasons, the Textron
Systems executive leadership team considers employee
networks and resource groups key elements of the
company’s employee engagement strategy.
Our strategy focuses on affiliations that are com-
monly shared around our businesses. The groups
are chartered and supported by the diversity coun-
cils seated at each of our operating units, and
currently include:
• A young professionals group at our Wilmington,
Massachusetts, headquarters—also home of our
Textron Defense Systems operating unit.
• A women’s network at our Austin, Texas,
Overwatch headquarters, along with a military
veterans network, which is particularly apropos
because more than 25 percent of employees at
this operating unit are veterans.
• A women’s network at the Hunt Valley,
Maryland, headquarters of operating unit AAI
Corporation.
Additionally, similar networks are being planned
across various sites. The meetings I have attended have
a palpable energy. People are excited to share their
ideas and enthusiasm for the business and its contin-
ued success.
The template for these groups is simple—give
colleagues the chance to come together from all areas
of the business, based on topics of mutual interest.
The employee engagement benefits unfold from
there. What’s good for our employees is good for our
business—and when we do our jobs well, the good
extends to our ultimate customers, America’s men and
women in uniform. PDJ