Employees are now looking for workspaces that offer inclusivity for a diverse workforce that empowers and enriches their experience at these places. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is the buzzword for companies, as 56% of employees are looking for enhanced trust in companies and better work opportunities.
With DEI, there is an added sense of belonging, encouraging a deep connection between the company and its employees. Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are one of the best ways to ensure that the work culture in the office space remains positive and empowers employees to perform better.
Employees for empowerment lead ERGs as they successfully integrate DEI as one of their principal motives. ERGs can cultivate a culture of inclusivity that creates a welcoming environment that encourages new and creative people to join the company during recruitment.
But how do you make these ERGs effective? Let us look at a few of the best ERG practices to help companies create safe spaces for employees with the successful implementation of DEI.
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7 Best Practices for Employee Resource Groups
Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) foster inclusivity, diversity, and employee engagement. Here are seven best practices to ensure the effectiveness of ERGs:
1. Defining the Purpose and Goals of ERGs
It is essential to look at the goals you want your ERGs to attain to create clarity and better functioning. One of the ERG best practices is to have a concise understanding of how you want it to function and what you want it to focus on.
Have a clear mission statement that enables you to trace the inclusivity initiatives the company would invest in. Some popular activities ERGs handle include creating a diverse forum for employees, establishing connections between employees with better communication, and increasing cultural sensitivity among employees.
One of the best ERG practices is to ensure that these activities align with the needs of every member and are within the company’s objectives.
2. Structuring ERGs for Success
To ensure smooth operation, create a comprehensive guideline for the structure, goals, and objectives of ERGs. The best Employee Resource Group practices include clearly distinguishing roles and dividing them based on your vision.
A leadership framework is one of the most popular practices. It organizes several activities that can help employees take charge and hone new skills. A solid governance structure can facilitate smooth operations and support the ERG, which benefits employees.
A good structure includes members in positions like Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer. Allocate every role carefully so employees make the most out of their roles. Studies show that 67% of ERGs have two leads who look at three hours of group management activities per week.
3. Leadership and Executive Sponsorship
Employees in effective ERGs report an 83% higher inclusion score and this can be brought about by leadership and executive sponsorship. An executive sponsor is a senior leader who bridges the company and the employee. This is among the Employee Resource Group best practices because it highlights an influential workspace figure.
Such figures can educate employees about the importance of ERGs, increasing participation by enhancing employee engagement. As the middleman, they convince the managers of the importance of having an ERG and thus play an important role as both mentors and advocates.
4. Creating an Inclusive Environment
Some of the strongest Employee Resource Group examples, like Google’s Women Techmakers Spotlight or Airbnb’s Black@, show how crucial it is to create inclusive spaces for different gender identities, sexual orientations, races, cultures, and backgrounds.
According to a study, an inclusive and diverse team is 35% more likely to outperform competitors. ERGs are the driving force of this diversity because the backbone of their principles is DEI.
Inclusivity driven by ERGs is one of the best ERG practices that encourages participation from all to diversify the workforce by including not only people from different backgrounds, races, castes, and genders but also getting participation from allies.
5. Communication and Feedback
Even with proper structuring and operations, ERG practices can go awry if there are any unnoticed gaps. Good communication and regular feedback systems are needed to fill these gaps and allow employees to voice their concerns.
Get internal and external feedback to understand how the ERG is tackling diversity issues in and outside the company. 85% of employees take more initiative when they receive feedback, and this can help keep ERGs updated on new changes, and they can upgrade DEI strategies accordingly.
Employee feedback can help ERGs remain accountable for the company’s operations and improve their work toward creating inclusive products and services.
6. Professional Development and Mentorship
There are many benefits of Employee Resource Groups, and empowering employees by upskilling is perhaps the most important one. Employees can hone their leadership, organizational, management, and other skills, which can help them advance in their careers.
By 2025, more than 70% of companies will offer upskilling training to their employees, and every company must look at ways to educate its workers. ERG practices support such career growth by giving employees training and development opportunities.
Mentorship programs, such as skill-acquiring workshops and leadership training, help employees focus on career growth, which can increase retention rates considerably.
>7. Measuring and Reporting ERG Impact
You can only realize the power of Employee Resource Groups by calculating how well ERGs are doing. You can calculate this by regularly checking important metrics like the participation levels of the ERGs. Surveys should be taken to see how many employees engage in ERG practices and whether the graph is going up or down.
Consider how the ERGs affect the company’s ROI when the participation graph is set. ERGs increase turnover because they increase employee participation, bringing more profits to the company.
Such metrics and evaluation strategies can help you decide how to modify your ERG structure to increase profits and make it more useful for the company.
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Overcoming Challenges
We understand the importance of employee resource groups, but it is just as essential to examine their challenges and modify your efforts accordingly. ERGs often lack adequate support from the administration and sometimes fall into the trap of weak structuring.
This can discourage employees from participating, and the scope for ERG practices to thrive becomes pretty low. This affects the sense of belonging that employees feel, and according to a study, 51% of employees quit jobs based on this.
To make ERGs effective, consider creating a buzz about them in the office with workshops and effective marketing. Get adequate employees to participate, as this helps you build a strong ERG with proper structuring and planning.
Conclusion
Create an ERG with a strong governance structure and implement frequent surveys and feedback systems that help your company reflect on the changes it can make to improve the ERGs’ functioning.
These were some of the best ERG practices that help employees and companies create workspaces to achieve a better tomorrow. Consider the pros and cons of Employee Resource Groups and get a working understanding of how ERGs work.
Getting a clear idea about such things can help companies use ERGs to benefit employees by creating inclusive spaces and empowering them to work toward improving the company and their careers. Invest your time in an effective ERG today to make a positive brand image that attracts new and creative minds.
To create an adequate ERG, collaborate with Mentoring Complete to educate your employees about different aspects of DEI and how an ERG includes it in its principles.
Connect with us to participate in such practices and increase benefits for your company and its workers.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What are the 4 C’s of Employee Resource Groups?
The 4C model of Employee Resource Groups is one of ERG’s best practices for enabling companies to support the DEI ideology in their workspaces.
The 4Cs include Career, Community, Culture, and Commerce. They aim to create spaces with a strong workforce and enhanced internal employee relationships and collaboration. These pillars make different aspects of an employee’s workplace experience more satisfactory for career advancement and overall company success.
2. How do you increase participation in Employee Resource Groups?
Create programs that raise workers’ awareness of the importance of Employee Resource Groups. Host meetings where you can discuss the different aspects of the ERGs and how they can benefit the employees, which can create enthusiasm about these initiatives.
Remember that the more the employees know, the more they are willing to participate.
3. How do you structure an employee resource group?
Consider having clear-cut roles for each employee and letting the structure be known to all employees for less confusion. A simple structure that does not overcomplicate things and keeps it simple for everyone so every new employee can grasp it immediately.