What is an Employee Resource Group?

An employee resource group is made up of employees who have a commonality and meet to discuss issues they might have or plan events that can benefit the group. ERGs are recognized by the employer as a workplace group and are led by employees who volunteer to take part. Some of the categories for employee resource groups are:

• race
• religion
• nationality
• gender
• sexual orientation
• disability

The purpose of Employee Resource Groups

Employee resource groups can have a positive impact on the people they represent because they:

• create an open forum for employees who share a common identity to support one another,
• help empower the people in the group with financial support, organizational support, and access to decision makers,
• facilitate communication between ERG and leaders to help solve issues of diversity and inclusion,
• seek to advance a respectful and inclusive company culture .

Benefits of Employee Resource Groups

The following are some of the benefits of employee resource groups:

• Building future leaders: Employee resource groups can help younger employees become more confident in their leadership skills. By giving people a voice, ERGs can give certain opportunities to employees that may not be qualified for traditional leadership roles.
• Attracting a diverse workforce: When your company is known to have ERGs, people from diverse backgrounds will want to work with you. Diversity leads to more ingenuity as the diverse perspectives means employees think differently about problems and how to solve them.
• Alerting leadership to issues: ERGs can be a great asset to communication between management and employees. Since employee resource groups are made up of employees, the groups can easily alert management if there are issues arising in the workplace. This allows problems to be solved quickly which is a key component to ensuring a positive work environment.
• Gaining expert insight on policies: Along with alerting leadership to issues that may arise in the workplace, ERGs can also have input on policies around diversity. Members of the ERG will have firsthand knowledge of any policies that may not be up to date when it comes to diversity and inclusion, so they are a great resource for management when updating their policies.
• Improving retention and reducing turnover : Employee resource groups are a great way to engage employees. The members might be able to make friends with other employees which is always a good thing when thinking about keeping workers happy. When a company can improve the work life of their employees, they’re less likely to have a high turnover rate which can help save your budget from unnecessary costs.

Related Article: 7 Effective Skills to Help You Become a Better Leader

Best practices for creating Employee Resource Groups

Keep in mind the following when creating an employee resource group :

1. Create a plan with HR
   In order to get the best results when trying to implement employee resource groups, you must start by making a plan with human resources. You need to establish a process for developing an ERG so that when employees come to you with an idea for one, you know exactly what is needed for them to do so.
2. Provide financial support
   To show that the company supports the employee resource group, try to set aside some of your budget to help with events or incentives created by the ERG. This way, they feel supported by management, which is a great way to contribute to a positive work environment.
3. Assist with documentation
   Make sure that any ERG is able to document things such as membership and the impact they have on the workplace. Documents can then be kept by human resources so they can be referenced when things change in the group or as membership grows.
4. Offer executive sponsorship
   Since one of the main goals of ERGs is to advocate for the group’s common interests in the workplace, try to make sure groups have a representative that can be in charge of communication with management. You want to show that you are open to any changes that might need to happen, so by having people in the ERG who can approach executives, you legitimize the efforts of the group.
5. Advertise events
   Allow the employee resources groups to advertise their events within the office. Not everyone in the workplace will be affiliated with a group but might be interested in attending events. By being able to advertise their events, the ERG will feel supported in their work.
6. Make details easily accessible
   Make it easy for new employees to know about the groups and what they do. If people are interested in joining a group, make sure they know exactly how to do so and who to contact. That way, your backing of the ERGs is clear from the very beginning. Related Article: 10 Recruiting Strategies for Hiring Great Employees