Workplace community programs: The catalyst for organizational growth
You have started a community in your organization or are looking forward to starting one. You know your goals and how they are aligned with the business ones.
Have you considered the power of community programs?
Fostering connections among employees with shared interests, expertise, or goals can significantly benefit your organization. A well-structured program, whether as a starter for a long-term community or a new initiative for an existing one, can enhance collaboration, innovation, and employee engagement. This strategic approach aligns individual and organizational objectives, driving growth and success.
In this article, we’ll explore the importance of community programs in today’s business landscape and share examples of successful programs by leading global companies. Whether you’re an experienced community builder or just beginning your journey, you’ll find valuable insights to help you create a thriving community within your organization.

The critical role of community programs in today’s business landscape
Community programs play a pivotal role in modern business by fostering a sense of belonging, engagement, and loyalty among stakeholders such as employees, customers, partners, and local communities. These initiatives encompass a wide range of activities designed to support continuous learning and development, enhance satisfaction and retention, and promote open communication and collaboration.
For employees, community programs such as professional development groups and wellness initiatives improve job satisfaction and productivity by creating a supportive and inclusive work environment. The most popular example of an employee community is likely the Employee Resource Group (ERG). ERGs are internal organization groups aimed to encourage a diverse and inclusive workplace. They operate in accordance with the organization’s values and goals, and are usually led by volunteer employees. Groups are usually created around a common affinity such as gender, ethnicity, religion, or a shared interest. Through the groups, underrepresented employees receive personal and professional development opportunities, and often tackle wider challenges at their local communities. Most of the leading companies have ERGs, including Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and others.
Customers benefit from loyalty programs that build trust and brand loyalty through feedback platforms, support services, and exclusive benefits. These interactions provide valuable insights for improving products and customer service.
Moreover, businesses strengthen their relationships with partners and local communities through targeted networking and engagement efforts. This builds robust, collaborative networks that drive long-term success.
Overall, community programs are essential for cultivating a connected, engaged, and committed business ecosystem capable of adapting and thriving in a rapidly changing market.
What does the community manager role look like?
Learn about the skills and responsibilities required to manage a thriving community
What are the core principles of community programs?
While there are major differences between community programs, they all share these principles:
- Shared purpose and identity: Successful community programs are built around a shared purpose, interest, or identity that resonates with members and brings them together. This shared purpose fosters a sense of belonging and creates a foundation for engagement and collaboration.
- Voluntary participation: Community membership and participation should be voluntary and driven by internal motivation. Members should feel encouraged to contribute, share, and engage based on their own interests and motivations, rather than being forced.
- Open and inclusive: Community programs should embrace diversity and be open and inclusive to all members who share the common purpose. Welcoming different perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences enriches the community and fosters a culture of learning and growth.
- Mutual respect and trust: Fostering an environment of mutual respect and trust is crucial for participants to feel comfortable sharing their knowledge, experiences, and ideas. This trust is built through establishing shared rules and transparent communication.
These core principles provide a strong foundation for building vibrant, engaged, and sustainable community programs that deliver value to members and align with organizational goals.
How to build a community?
These 9 components will help you design a successful community strategy
What do effective workplace community programs look like? Here are some examples:
1. Mentoring program
Mentoring has long been proven to be useful in the workplace and can even fulfill the conditions that lead to profitability, retention, revenue, and work satisfaction.
Organizations design structured mentoring programs to pair experienced professionals with those seeking guidance, fostering knowledge transfer, career development, and personal growth. The goals of mentoring programs are varied, from onboarding new employees, helping them adjust to the company culture and navigate workplace dynamics, to reverse mentoring, where the younger employees have the chance to challenge the seniors. Other mentoring programs focus on leadership skill development, or fosters collaboration across teams through matching employees with mentors from different departments. Organizations can also offer mentoring to specific target groups, such as women and underrepresented populations, to reduce disparities.

Founded in 1997 to accelerate the advancement of women at General Electric, the GE Global Women’s Network helps thousands of women at its more than 150 hubs around the world. Through events, workshops, and mentoring, these groups offer critical support to women working in largely male-dominated fields.
One unique network mentoring program was created to address the retention challenge of female employees. This led to one of GE’s employees building a support network for expectant and new mothers. In this program, each participant is assigned a one-on-one mentor. Additionally, the sub-network offers a peer group where they can lean on other working moms at GE. Since the program was founded in 2017, more than 300 women have benefited from it.
Struggling with employees’ disengagement?
2. Matching program
Another type of program that relies on the knowledge exchange potential of its participants is matching programs. These initiatives connect individuals with shared interests, expertise, or goals, facilitating peer-to-peer learning, networking, and problem-solving.
Google’s Googler-to-Googler (g2g) program thrives on this power of connection. This internal initiative fosters a vibrant ecosystem where employees can find colleagues who share their interests, challenges or professional domains. By facilitating these connections, g2g opens up abundant peer-to-peer learning opportunities. Googlers can participate in courses led by fellow employees, receive one-on-one mentoring, or collaborate on the creation of learning materials. This unique model empowers Googlers to share knowledge organically, fostering a sense of community and a space for problem-solving collaboration.
Learn more about g2g from an ex-Googler who served as the Global Lead for the program:
3. Innovation program
Innovation programs leverage the community’s diverse perspectives and collective knowledge to generate ideas, develop new products or services, and address organizational challenges through collaboration and co-creation.
The Innovation Pipeline (TIP) by AT&T is an online crowd-sourcing platform for its global workforce to bring together the finest ideas from throughout the company.
In the first phase, employees submit ideas that will positively impact AT&T, while voting, discussing and collaborating on ideas, 24/7, all year round.
At the end of each “TIP Season” of ideas submission, the top ideas are selected to be pitched to the AT&T Angel Committee. Successful idea founders leave with funding and executive support to prototype their ideas. Prototypes are showcased to AT&T Business Units which assess commercial potential. Finally, successful projects are commercialized or implemented internally to enhance customer satisfaction, improve internal systems, or reduce costs.
That’s how this community program serves as a space of democratized innovation, open source, and acceleration of developing impactful applications and services to the market.
To sum up the success of the program, here’s a quote from John Donovan, who headed the AT&T Technology Organization when TIP was launched:
“I think it was successful in the beginning because people wanted to participate. But it sustained itself through the life of great ideas. Now it’s a community, and that community is where a lot of our innovation sits today.”
How do you keep employees engaged and develop a truly innovative workforce?
Other workplace community programs types include:
Branding program
Programs centered around the organizational brand are typically designed to encourage members to share their experiences and stories related to the brand or organization, cultivating emotional connections and brand loyalty. Storyteller communities exemplify this. They equip employees with storytelling skills to promote the company’s values and culture through personal social media channels.
Leadership development program
When organizations aim to enhance their employees’ leadership skills, they design programs focused on developing various aspects of leadership, such as effective communication, negotiation, and handling workplace challenges. These programs often offer training and provide opportunities for members to take on governance and facilitation roles within the organization.
Ambassadors program
Ambassadors programs engage influential employees, customers, or other key community members to represent and promote the organization. These ambassadors act as advocates and promoters to attract new members, drive engagement, and increase sales and revenues. Learn more about the benefits of building an ambassador program for your organization here.

Programs around challenges
Presenting a challenge within a set timeframe is an effective way to boost motivation and achieve goals. That’s why organizations design programs centered around challenges that leverage the community’s collective intelligence and creativity to solve specific problems, develop innovative solutions, or reach personal development goals. Following covid, many organizations started challenge programs focused on their employees’ wellbeing and wellness. For example, a 5:AM club that encourages employees to wake up at 5:AM for a month, and continue to receive support from the community following the challenge.
Educational partnership program
At the heart of educational partnership programs are collaborations with academic and educational institutions. Together they offer internships, mentorship programs, and joint research opportunities to bridge the gap between academia and industry.
Building a successful community program
Effectively launching an internal community program requires a strategic approach.
Begin by identifying key stakeholders and defining their roles in program development and management. Clearly articulate the program’s goals and objectives, ensuring alignment with broader organizational aims. Remember that your program should be integrated into your overall community strategy and aligned with its objectives. Once you do so, develop a comprehensive roadmap outlining the program’s lifecycle, from defining the content and marketing to ongoing management, completion and scale. Finally, select appropriate technology platforms and tools to facilitate member interaction and engagement. A well-structured foundation is essential for creating a thriving community program that delivers tangible value to the organization.
Willing to start an employees’ community?
Read the benefits of such communities and how the building process looks like
Drive success with engaging community programs
Fostering vibrant community programs creates opportunities for organizations to drive innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning. By harnessing the collective intelligence and diverse perspectives of their stakeholders, companies can tap into a powerful source of expertise, knowledge, and ideas.
Investing in community programs not only strengthens engagement and loyalty but also cultivates a culture of knowledge sharing, empowerment, and growth. Whether it’s mentoring initiatives, innovation challenges, or brand-building platforms, these programs have the potential to transform organizations and propel them towards success.
If you’re ready to explore the potential of community programs for your organization, let’s talk. Together, we can design and implement tailored strategies that align with your specific goals and help your community to thrive.
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