Nothing puts the power and beauty of diversity and inclusion into the peoples’ hands quite like an ERG. An ERG, Employee Resource Group, is a voluntary group led by employees centered around a commonality like race, gender, religion, etc. Within organizations and industries, just like our larger society, many people have been excluded, underrepresented, and discriminated against and ERGs allow the team, the people themselves, to be a part of the solution. ERGs do not foster division; they create welcoming spaces, solutions to larger issues, and work to develop a better and more inclusive company culture and a more fair and equitable environment.
Define the group’s purpose and necessity. This doesn’t have to be complex or wordy, but it does have to be clear and make sense. Why do you want to create this ERG? Why is it necessary? The purpose of ERGs is not to create more cliques in the workplace or to create division at a time when much of the country is already divided. ERGs serve to uplift the un or underrepresented, cultivate community, heighten engagement and morale, celebrate diversity, and create inclusive work environments.
This part may seem minor, but it’s extremely vital. Without a clear, sensible explanation, someone who is unaware or not as knowledgeable may reduce the group as divisive or unnecessary, preventing its creation and launch.
If it’s something lighthearted like a parents group, say why that’s important, necessary, and how it will benefit the organization.
If it’s more substantive, heavy, and revolves around identities such as race, gender, or sexual orientation/expression, then be clear in the importance it serves, necessity, and solutions it creates.
This state lays out the goals of the group and how it will function – what the group does. This doesn’t have to be a full detailed business plan describing rules, voting, and other processes or provide a full calendar of events and tasks, but a short statement of the purpose of the group (that you’ve already defined from the first step) and a fair workable idea of how the group will function is perfect. This will serve as your “elevator pitch” when advertising to leadership for support, to the staff as recruits, and will keep the purpose and goals always in clear sight.
Executive buy-in may not always be mandatory, but I will say that the best and most successful ERGs have enthusiastic leadership support. Can you launch an ERG without leadership? Yes. But is that ideal? No. Another capability of an ERG is creating a bridge between the team and leadership, forming a partnership. When there is no clear management support, there’s a disconnect and that separation will only make everything harder to achieve. This is why the WHY and the mission statements are so important; they help convince, pursued, and create allies and support.
Now you’re ready to go! Take your statement and leadership support and advertise your ERG. Great ways to advertise are through intra-organizational email or being allowed time during team meetings (which comes from leadership support), or posting information in public spaces. Engage with potential new members, inform them of the benefits, and onboard new recruits. Now, you have your ERG.
You have everything in place, now launch your events. This is the step where after you’ve planned and organized, you execute your vision, whether that be email promotions and outreach or various types of events.
When you have a clear goal, you have something to always strive towards and will thus need a system of evaluation to ensure consistent progress. As you execute and host various events, evaluate them within a week for any opportunities for improvement. From there, it’s simple: take those notes, implement them, and improve.
The work of creating a company culture that encourages diversity, promotes inclusion and creates equitable results is never over. There are always new opportunities and new ways to improve, and if your ERG has created a system of continual growth, you will always be ahead of the game.
When you’re ready to host events and promote your ERG, having an captivating speaker can elevate the awareness of your ERG. As an international speaker, I’ve helped AAPI, women, and disability centric ERGs spread awareness about their presence in a company through in person and virtual speeches. Click the link below to get a quote for your ERG today.
