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ERG Storytelling

Join Britney Vaing, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Specialist at Amtrak, and moderator Priyanka Gujar, Sr. Manager, Marketing at Teleskope, as they explore how storytelling can elevate Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and keep members engaged.

Topics and Speakers

This webinar covers:

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  • How to promote ERGs and maintain member engagement

  • Making ERG messaging interesting and compelling

  • ERG storytelling using videos and podcasts

  • Challenges and impact of managing an ERG podcast

  • Practical tips and ideas for effective ERG storytelling

 

Speakers:

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Synopsis

Getting an Employee Resource Group off the ground is one challenge. Keeping people engaged with it, month after month, is a different one. In this conversation, Britney Vaing, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Specialist at Amtrak, walks through how Amtrak's ERG program has evolved its communication and storytelling approach, from initial launch through several seasons of original content.

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Vaing starts with the fundamentals: a promotional video and dedicated ERG Connect page at launch, a company-wide kickoff meeting to introduce leadership and mission, and welcome touches like intro emails and swag for new members. From there, the conversation moves into Amtrak's flagship storytelling project, Thriving at Amtrak, which began as a video series spotlighting ERG leaders' personal motivations, then shifted to a podcast format built around Heritage and History months. Vaing explains the reasoning behind that format change (video demands focused attention that many frontline, non-desk employees don't have, while a podcast fits into commutes and everyday tasks) and walks through the real production challenges: scripting interviewees without making them sound rehearsed, coordinating schedules across shift workers, managing background noise, keeping episodes to a tight 10 to 15 minutes, and covering a dense run of back-to-back Heritage months.

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The conversation also covers what's next: a planned Season Three that shifts focus from ERG-specific storytelling to broader employee engagement, pairing manager interviews with direct-report perspectives to test whether specific practices actually moved the needle on engagement survey results. Vaing details how Amtrak builds a full Heritage Month calendar around a mix of live events, hybrid programming, watch parties, and always-on options like Spotify playlists and trivia, so employees across a large, dispersed, and largely non-desk workforce can participate on their own schedule.

 

She closes with practical advice for any team trying to do more with ERG storytelling: keep messages short and lead with the core takeaway, let natural tone and humor carry a story rather than a script, try new mediums without needing to be an expert first, and treat recorded content as a reusable resource rather than a one-time event.

Key Takeaways

  • Launch new ERGs with a promotional video, a dedicated ERG Connect page, and a broadly broadcast kickoff meeting to build initial visibility and membership.

  • Diversify storytelling formats (video, podcast, written interviews) to match how different parts of the workforce actually consume content, especially frontline employees without desk access.

  • Structure Heritage Month storytelling around a short (10 to 15 minute) format that pairs an educational component with a personal story, so it's both informative and genuine.

  • Build in continuous, self-paced engagement options (playlists, trivia, watch parties) alongside scheduled events so people can participate on their own time.

  • Reuse and repurpose existing content (podcast sound bites, past episodes) as ongoing promotional material rather than treating it as one-and-done.

  • Keep messaging short, front-load the core takeaway, and let natural tone and humor carry the story rather than reading verbatim from a script.

Introduction

Priyanka Gujar (Teleskope): Hello everyone. Thank you for joining Teleskope's webinar. I'm Priyanka Gujar, and I lead Marketing at Teleskope. Teleskope is an Employee Community Platform, and it enables Employee Resource Group management, mentoring, internal communication and a lot more. Today we have with us Britney from Amtrak, and we'll be discussing ERG storytelling, which includes communication and promotion within ERGs, as well as about ERGs. Thank you, Britney, for taking time out for this webinar, and if you could just give a brief introduction about yourself, that'd be great.

Panelist introduction

Britney Vaing (Amtrak): Yeah, thanks, Priyanka. Hi, everyone. My name is Britney Vaing, my pronouns are she/her/hers. I've been with Amtrak for a little over a year now, and I've been working in Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging. I'm the Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Specialist at Amtrak. I started as an intern when I was first there a while ago and came on full time. So I'm really excited to be here and talk about what I've been able to do in this space.

How to promote Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and keep ERG members engaged

Priyanka Gujar (Teleskope): Thanks, perfect. So to start off, we're aware that once Employee Resource Groups are set up, the critical next step is to get the word out about them and let employees know about the Employee Resource Group. Also, when an Employee Resource Group is already in place, how do you keep the existing ERG members engaged? That's a real challenge. So could you share some thoughts on the basics of how ERG managers and leaders can go about getting the word out and getting employees involved with Employee Resource Groups?

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Britney Vaing (Amtrak): Yeah. So I think one of the first steps to really get the word out of an ERG, especially if you're new, is to have that promotional video, at least that's what we do at Amtrak. That promotional video is really there to communicate the mission, the vision, how to contact and join the ERG, and really boost that membership. So it has those kinds of details that really bring people in, get people excited about the ERG.

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One of the other first steps we take is creating that ERG Connect Page. Little plug for Teleskope there, but we do have our ERG platform that's our one-stop shop for all of our ERGs, and we always encourage that our ERG Connect Page is one of the first things people do, just so they can also have their mission, vision, values on that page, as well as a way to join.

 

And then we also have an ERG kick-off meeting that we encourage them to take part in, after they've developed their charter, their leadership team, and their mission and vision. It's really a meeting to introduce the leadership team, exec sponsors, explain the why behind the launch, their goal, next steps, and what the membership can do. This is really broadcast to the entire Amtrak network, not just the ERG membership, obviously, since they're new, they're not going to have very many members, but really for the entire employee base. So anyone can join during that time and really learn about the ERG and get started if they'd like.

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Then for the newer engagement, for people who are also joining, we have an intro member email usually that comes out for each of the ERGs. They customize their emails to each of their members, and that automatically goes out to the membership once people join. We're also trying to encourage them to have a little swag bag, so they have promotional items from either before, when they start the ERG, or if they've already been existing and they get new members, any of that swag they've been having, like umbrellas, t-shirts, sweatshirts, pens, notebooks, all the things you can think of. There's a little package new members can get, so it's a nice little welcome, something to be excited about.

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And then, while they're already in the ERG, we also have newsletters, events coming out, all-member meetings that can happen either monthly, quarterly, or bi-weekly, really depending on the ERG and their preferences, we don't dictate what they'd like. Every leadership team is different. At Amtrak we have ERG leaders in frontline employees, and we also have people in management roles, so it really depends on the roles of those employees and their time commitment, as well as surveys and ideas for feedback. Once an ERG is established, it's a little hard to keep that momentum going, to keep the members interested. So we encourage people to hold surveys for ideas: what events have you been liking so far, what's been going well, what would you like to see. And we really see that helps with keeping people interested as well.

How to make ERG messaging interesting?

Priyanka Gujar (Teleskope): Oh, that's really useful information. Another aspect ERG managers struggle with is keeping messaging interesting. It's a challenge to stand out in cluttered inboxes and for the message to actually be received and understood by the intended audience. So how has Amtrak navigated this challenge?

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Britney Vaing (Amtrak): So we love storytelling. One of my colleagues on the team will tell you storytelling is her thing, and I've really been trying to be taken under her wing to boost that as well. We've done that through a couple of ways. We have our video series called Thriving at Amtrak, which changed from a video series to a podcast series, also still storytelling. And then we also engage in continuous programming through Heritage months. For Heritage months, we always encourage people to have in-person and hybrid events as well, but that continuous programming really lets people activate during the month no matter where they are, no matter what they do. So they can be involved all month long despite not being able to show up to a certain event, maybe at 1pm Eastern time. If that time doesn't work for you, you can still engage in this continuous programming on your own time, which really helps.

ERG Storytelling using Videos

Priyanka Gujar (Teleskope): Right. So let's deep dive into each of those interesting ways. You mentioned videos, right? So could you tell us more about how you went about video engagement?

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Britney Vaing (Amtrak): Yeah. So I will not take credit for this, this was definitely not my baby, so to speak. Before I started at Amtrak, there was Thriving at Amtrak Season One, and Season One was a video series that explained why the ERG leaders were so excited, and really their drive and passion behind starting their ERGs. We were able to record, I believe, five of the current seven ERGs, we do now have eight. So there was a series of videos recorded really to tell the Amtrak sphere why these were created. It's a little bit like the kick-off, but really more in depth about their story. The kick-off might have explained, you know, we're interested in X, Y and Z because of this reason, but these videos really went into depth about who you are, where you came from, what your drive was like, how we got from here to here, and what you'd like to see now. A little more of a spotlight on those leaders.

ERG Storytelling using a Podcast

Priyanka Gujar (Teleskope): Okay. That sounds interesting, especially since videos are the preferred mode of information consumption these days, people prefer watching videos, right? Also, you mentioned Season One was videos, Season Two you mentioned was setting up a podcast. So could you tell us more about that? Because it genuinely sounds new and exciting, especially from an ERG storytelling point of view.

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Britney Vaing (Amtrak): Yeah, so you're gonna have to hold me back, because I can definitely talk about this podcast all day long. This was my baby, so I can go on and on about it. But really the why behind it was that, because the first season was a video series, I wanted to change it up a little bit. I wanted to see what was working, what wasn't working with the video, and I saw that with videos you really have to be seated, you have to put your full attention into the video, you want to be seated and able to watch it in its entirety. And I noticed that a lot of our employees might not have a laptop in front of them, they might not be working a desk job, they might not be able to do that as well. So really the thought behind the podcast is that it allows for multitasking.

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I've noticed, even now, with more of my friends and colleagues listening to podcasts, that you can listen when you're driving to work, when you're coming home, when you're cleaning your room, when you're cleaning your office, really when you're doing some mundane tasks. Obviously nothing too distracting, of course, but it really allows you to carry on with your everyday life while also getting some knowledge there. So I found it really useful, and I thought podcasts could be a good way to introduce this to the company as well. It had also never been done at Amtrak prior to my coming there, at least I don't think so, so I believe I was the first podcast at Amtrak, which was really exciting, and I thought it'd be a great opportunity to build that excitement around Thriving.

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I also had a bit of experience producing podcasts before, with a team, so this was a bit more of a challenge, taking it on just by myself, but I did have that prior experience to bring to Amtrak, to say this was what was successful, and I was excited to see how it could be done in a storytelling aspect here. I was really looking at this as a good way to shift the focus a little into a new medium, keep things exciting, keep things refreshing.

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So the podcasts were really structured in one kind of format, once we'd discovered the purpose of the podcast, really to celebrate these Heritage and history months. We wanted a podcast for every one of our ERGs celebrating their Heritage or history month, released during that month itself. I wanted there to be that storytelling aspect, but also a bit of an educational component. I don't think enough employees know the significance behind that Heritage or history month, and also the tie it has with the rail industry, they don't tend to think of that in their everyday jobs.

 

So that educational component happened at the beginning, then talked about the cultural significance of that month, and the storytelling aspect really dove into ERG leader and member stories about how they can celebrate the month, how they celebrate the month, how we can celebrate the month. And really emphasizing that it's not just the month they have to celebrate, but that we can celebrate that Heritage Month all year long, showing ways the Amtrak network can get involved.

 

ERG Storytelling using Podcasts: Challenges and Impact

Priyanka Gujar (Teleskope): Thank you. I was wondering, were there any challenges you faced while working on the podcast, since it is a new medium, right? And also, the impact, how was it received by the ERG members, did they enjoy it, what was their takeaway?

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Britney Vaing (Amtrak): Yeah, so there definitely were a few challenges. I think we wanted to make sure our interviewees were prepared, so we helped them script the podcast. We had some thoughts for questions and some one-liner answers, and then a blank for where their responses came in. We did encourage them to take a week to a couple of weeks to formulate their responses beforehand, but we found that was a little too prescriptive. We wanted it to sound authentic, we wanted to make sure people felt like they were just talking to us, not just reading from a script. So there were some challenges with scripting without being too prescriptive.

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Also, coordinating schedules. I think we can all agree coordinating schedules is pretty hard in the corporate world, and in the world in general, and especially since a lot of our interviewees were also frontline employees, that made it ten times harder, because their schedules are much different than ours, they work many different shifts, not just nine to five. So finding those times was also pretty difficult, especially since some months had one spotlight, some had three spotlights, so the more people you had, obviously the harder it gets.

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Background noise was always a difficult one. We have our Outlook notifications, our Teams pings, you could hear a little ding in the background, so we had to make sure people had those turned off prior to recording. We also encouraged people to have warnings for pets, furry friends, and all the things they had around their house, just because we've had our fair share of barks and meows in the background. Something to be authentic, of course, but we tried to reduce the background noise as much as possible.

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Keeping the content to about 10 minutes was also really hard. We chose that ten-minute mark just because we know nowadays people's attention spans aren't that long. So we wanted to make sure we were keeping it interesting but also keeping it short and sweet. We found the 10 to 15 minute mark was our sweet spot, and didn't really want to go over that. But of course these stories are so captivating, so meaningful, we didn't want to limit our interviewees, but keeping it to 10, or 10 to 15 minutes, was really important to make sure we were staying with our audience.

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Another struggle was that there are some back-to-back Heritage months. February is Black History Month, then we go right into Women's History Month. We have a little break in April, but then it goes into APA Heritage Month, then Pride Month, then Disability Pride Month, and you all know it gets really busy. So really making sure we were staying on top of our schedule, since it took at least a month for production, scripting, recording, editing, and all that, so during that stretch we were probably working on multiple podcasts at once to make sure they were going out on time. So that was a bit of a time struggle as well.

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Narrowing our talent was really hard. It was great to see the excitement around this podcast, the excitement to be included and share their stories. Our executive leaders put out the ask to their membership, and we got multiple responses, it was always hard to say no, but really the thought behind narrowing this talent is that we wanted to keep the panel diverse. We wanted to make sure we were interviewing people from all spans of the network, all parts of the country, all parts of even their backgrounds. For example, for APA Heritage Month, we wanted to make sure our panel had someone from Southeast Asia, from West Asia, we wanted people from all the different parts, to make sure we were getting that diversity on the panel: diversity of thought, diversity of perspective, but also that general diversity.

 

And then promotion outside the company-wide newsletter as well. We found it a bit of a struggle to get the word out besides just having it in the newsletter. We have a weekly newsletter that goes out on Mondays called ATW, Amtrak This Week, and we always promote it there. We also had our Employee Update, which is company-wide as well, for Heritage months, that we could include it in. We tried to find some digital signage too, so when you go into the office or into a break room, you can see that sign up there, with a QR code to scan and listen. We also tried to have a little plug in New Employee Orientation to talk about it, but did find a bit of a struggle to get more metrics outside of just that employee communication through the newsletter.

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So those were just a few of the challenges, but it was all worth it for the impact. Employees really got to hear those meaningful stories about their colleagues, stories you don't normally hear at work. You don't talk about Heritage and History months on the job usually, unless you work where I work, in DI&B. You really don't talk about people's stories, where they come from, how they celebrate at home, what their life is like with their families, when they're celebrating their culture. You don't talk about that at work. So really being able to hear this, and find that bridge to belonging in that storytelling, was super impactful and significant for us.

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And really having that addition of continuous programming that I talked about, things like a Spotify playlist or trivia, but also this really helped people celebrate through the month, because they could click and listen at their own discretion, they didn't have to be seated at a specific time, they could be riding a train home and just listen to the podcast. It was really nice that way as well.

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They also got to learn and be a bit more educated, as I said, on the significance of that actual Heritage or History month for the rail industry. That was really great, that people could see that connection. For example, for APA Heritage Month, May marks the anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, and the majority of those who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants, and we don't often think about that, or that that community might have had that big an impact on our industry, but they really did.

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And even for Black History Month, the name of our Black African American ERG is A. Philip Randolph, and the namesake is after this prominent figure, A. Philip Randolph, who was the president of the first African American labor union, and also the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, where he advocated for better pay and conditions for the Pullman Porters, which became one of the most prestigious jobs within the Black community thereafter. So our employees were able to learn so much about the communities at Amtrak and how they were really playing that significant role in the rail industry during that Heritage or History month as well.

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And then really having this as a promotional item too really helps our ERGs boost their membership and boost interest. They were able to use sound bites from the episodes to get some more promotional material for the ERG. Just recently we had our Heritage month for Hispanic Heritage Month, from September 15th through October 15th, and we've been asked to provide sound bites from last year's episode to get some little snippets into a different Employee Update or so, to get people interested and hear, this is what we had going on, maybe you want to take a listen to the longer version. I know that was a lot, but that's really where we're at.

What's next in Storytelling at Amtrak?

Priyanka Gujar (Teleskope): That was really good, and I think what was unique was actually creating a connection with the organization, with the history of the organization as well. So before we move on to learning more about the Heritage months, I wanted to know, Season One was videos, Season Two was a podcast, so what's next at Amtrak?

 

Britney Vaing (Amtrak): Yeah, so Season Three is taking a pretty different shift. Season One and Season Two were very ERG-based. Season One was obviously about the ERG leaders driving their passion. Season Two was about the ERG leaders and members and how they celebrate their Heritage and History months. But really, when you think about Thriving at Amtrak, it's not just about how ERG leaders and members thrive, but how we all thrive at Amtrak. So really the focus of Season Three is a little bit on employee engagement and diversity, inclusion and belonging, seeing the bridge between the two.

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We'd like to interview our managers and employees about different aspects from our Employee Engagement survey that we didn't do so well on last year. For example, say we didn't do well in the flexibility category, we'd like to interview a manager who did really well in this category, to ask what they did for their employees, what they found useful, and how they were able to create that environment. But to make sure we have that validity, we'd also like to interview their direct reports, to see what impact X, Y and Z had on them, if their manager was flexible, what impact did that have on them, were they able to do more things, schedule more doctor's appointments, be more flexible and go to different events, what impact did it have on them. Really trying to see the significance of that, so we'd lead by example.

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This would be more of a written interview, because we find that even in podcasts, sometimes it's a bit hard to listen, and people prefer reading. I've seen that instead of reading or looking at a video, people read the transcripts instead, so we're seeing if this different medium would also bring us some more love or engagement. We'd like to publish this in our Leaders Edge communication, which is our managers-only newsletter, so managers can read it and think, my colleague is doing this, maybe I should do this too on my team, to up the possibility, to up the inclusivity on my team, and see the impact. And really the metrics would be looking at next year's Employee Engagement survey, to see if those different areas we talked on, that we tried to improve on, did really improve, and if those numbers went up.

How to celebrate Heritage months at the workplace?

Priyanka Gujar (Teleskope): Okay, so we really explored different types of engaging and getting the story out there, and now coming to Heritage months. They're so important, and a great way to create cultural awareness and actually celebrate diversity at the workplace. I know Amtrak is really focused on Heritage months, right? So I just want to know how you've all undertaken storytelling when it comes to these months.

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Britney Vaing (Amtrak): Yeah, so, of course, like every other company knows, I'm sure it takes months of preparation to really get down to the business of each Heritage and History month, to really prepare for the events, the programming, the communications and all that. So at the very beginning of the month, we have an Employee Update, a special message that usually comes out from the CEO or the president, talking about the importance of the month, what it is, what's the significance behind it, and how we're celebrating.

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We'll have a list of all the programming happening throughout the month, which could include webinars, events and gatherings. We try to encourage our ERGs to have hybrid programming now. In this world we're navigating now, people are really yearning for that in-person connection again, so however it's done safely, we try to encourage people to have that hybrid programming or events, so there are always options to be virtual or in person. And if you can't be virtual or in person, we also have a third option: watch parties. These are also virtual or in person, but they can happen anywhere, and it's nice to gather in person at a different location, but watch something else happening in another. So it's not just virtually participating at home, you could be virtually participating in person, if that makes sense, in another location. This year for

 

Juneteenth we had seven watch parties across the nation to participate in, and that was really great, and really huge.

And in person, we try to keep it interesting, trips to museums and different things like that, to keep it engaging. Different events in person, not just meeting up at the office for a networking event, but taking it to another level, saying let's have an educational piece, let's go to the National Museum of African American History and Culture for Black History Month. So we did do that.

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These reminders also come out weekly in our ATW newsletter, as I mentioned, Amtrak This Week, so we have constant reminders. The first Employee Update has all the events on the very first of the month, but then throughout the weeks it's more like, this week is this specific event, make sure you check it out, make sure you have it on your calendar. So that constant reminder really helps employees as well.

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And as I already mentioned, continuous programming. We really want to encourage each of the ERGs to have this element, so that even if you can't come to the museum, even if you can't come to a virtual event, you can participate in this programming on your own throughout the month. We have a Spotify playlist where we've encouraged ERGs to have their employees, their membership, and really anyone submit songs for consideration into the playlist, and then they can listen to the playlist after the songs have been vetted.

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There's also been ideas like a weekly trivia, a different question each week, and anyone who answers correctly is picked out of a raffle. And then you don't feel left out, since you can participate on your own time, you have the whole week to do it, it's not just Monday from 4 to 5pm. So it's a nice way to make sure our employees are kept in the loop, especially because we have such a wide base of employees in the first place, across the nation, across different industries and jobs, so really making sure everyone is included in that.

ERG Storytelling: Tips and pointers

Priyanka Gujar (Teleskope): Okay, it's really fascinating to see the use of modern ways of engaging, like watch parties, that you didn't hear about before, especially in the corporate world, also Spotify playlists. I'm sure the ERG members really enjoy that kind of engagement and want to be more involved. So thank you for sharing that. Before we wrap up, I just wanted to know if you have any tips or pointers for those who are looking to redefine ERG storytelling at their workplace.

 

Britney Vaing (Amtrak): Yeah, so I would really encourage anyone, if you haven't already, to really take part in storytelling and bring it to your organization. It's really the bridge to belonging. Sharing our stories really helps foster that inclusion and empathy we're looking for, it's really that universal human experience. As I said earlier, we don't normally talk about these things at work, so talk about them at work. Bring the storytelling intentionally to the workplace. It creates the opportunity for people to look through new lenses, see themselves reflected, or learn something new. So I really encourage everyone to build that connection through storytelling.

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And ERG storytelling is no different. You can ask your ERG leaders and members to share their stories about their past lives, their lived experiences, and what they brought to the company from that. I would definitely advise everyone to keep it short and sweet. As I said, we had some trouble keeping it to that 10-minute mark, or that 10-to-15-minute mark, but really keeping it short and digestible makes sure our employees, whoever your employee base and audience is, are really getting the message you're intending to put out there. We don't want to make it too long, belabor the message too much, so keeping it short and digestible is really important.

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So maybe have the message you want out there front and center. Some of our questions were more geared toward, there's so much to celebrate this month, but how have you celebrated, and our responses would be, I could talk about this all month long, but there are three things I want you to take away from this, and it would go a bit more into that. So really seeing how you can put that message in the forefront, so people know exactly, I'm looking for these three things. As much as we love hearing these stories, keeping them to a minimum is definitely important to keep our audience engaged.

 

Having those natural inflections in your voice also helps in that storytelling aspect. As I said, being scripted is a bit hard, because you want to make sure you're prepared, but you don't want to just be reading from that script. So having those natural inflections in your tone, and really connecting with the words you choose and the tone of your voice, so when you're telling a more exciting part of the story your voice might go up a bit, and when you're going through a more serious thought, it might go a bit more monotone, a bit lower. So really finding ways to keep your tone and inflections natural in that.

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Also using humor. We found that using humor is a great way to keep people engaged, to keep people around. We've always seen that in our communications and presentations and so on, but that's no different with storytelling. Keeping people engaged by telling a funny story about how you might celebrate at home, and finding those ways of human connection that way.

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And really just exploring new ways and new mediums. If you haven't explored a podcast before, explore the podcast, if you haven't looked at a video, explore the video. You don't have to be an expert by any means. I'm sure we all have lots of people we can lean on, I definitely didn't do it alone, I had a great team to support me in this as well.

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So really keeping things fresh by reusing these creative assets, using those podcasts for sound bites, seeing where you can keep things alive. Just because you recorded it once doesn't mean that's a one-and-done and no one can ever listen to it again, it's still there. Use it as a resource, reuse it next year too. There are new members who probably haven't listened to it, new employees who probably haven't listened to it. So make sure you're keeping it engaging, keeping people in the loop, and using it that way as well.

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Priyanka Gujar (Teleskope): That's perfect, and that's really a lot of useful information that I'm sure everyone is going to enjoy. So thank you once again for sharing your experience and your expertise with the D&I community. Thank you, Britney.

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Britney Vaing (Amtrak): Thanks, Priyanka. Thanks for having me.

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