Why Are Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) Important?

Employee resource groups (ERGs) have grown more and more popular as workplace diversity and inclusion programs have become commonplace. These identity-based groups can help bring people together, foster a sense of community, increase engagement, boost creativity, and much more. This makes them indispensable in the modern workplace.

Today, let’s talk about ERGs—what they are, why they’re important, and how you can start one in your workplace.

What Are Employee Resource Groups?

Employee resource groups are employee-led, voluntary groups that focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) and bring employees of similar demographics and interests together. They form around a commonality, such as veterans, women in STEM, or LGBTQ+ employees.

These groups allow like-minded employees to connect, support each other, collaborate, and work out issues relevant to the group. A women’s group, for example, may help women build friendships, network, and deal with problems faced by women in the workplace.

Ultimately, ERGs are valuable resources that help bring workplaces together, support employees who may be more prone to exclusion, and create a positive and healthy workplace.

ERG Trends

With ERGs becoming more and more popular, there are certain trends emerging. Having knowledge of these trends can help you make your ERG(s) more effective. So let’s have a look at three key trends.

As ERGs become more and more common, they’ve started to become more organized. They now have their own forms of governance, strategies, missions, and goals. Organizations need to keep up with the trends and make sure their ERGs are well organized.

Ineffective ERGs can make employees feel excluded—in fact, 41% of employees in ineffective ERGs report still feeling excluded within their company. If employees can’t find inclusion and belonging in ERGs, it can make them isolated and disconnected from their workplace.

Support from management and clear communication are key. Running and operating an ERG can be a lot of work, so management support is essential. And clear communication makes everything go smoother, as with most things in business.

Types of ERGs

It’s important to note that there are numerous types of employee resource groups. Here is a list of some of the most common characteristics ERGs are formed around:

  • Gender/sexual orientation.
  • Religion.
  • Age/parental status.
  • Shared interests.
  • Disabilities.
  • Mental health.
  • Nationality.
  • Ethnicity.
  • Socioeconomic status.

These are just some of the most popular ones, and ERGs can form around nearly any common characteristic or interest.

Why Are Employee Resource Groups Important?

We’ve talked a lot about the what but not much about the why. There are many benefits of employee resource groups, so let’s go through some of them one by one.

They Foster a Sense of Belonging

Employee resource groups can be a space for employees to connect, form bonds, and get support from those around them. This can prevent a toxic work environment, keep employees engaged, and benefit their mental health.

They Drive Innovation and Creativity

ERGs also serve as a place where employees can share different ideas and perspectives, resulting in bolstered innovation and creativity in the workplace. When employees feel a sense of psychological safety, they’re more likely to voice new ideas and get creative with work processes.

They Help Build Employee Confidence

Having a group to support you, discuss ideas, and provide a sense of belonging can increase an employee’s confidence—just like wellbeing initiatives. When employees are supported by their colleagues, they’re more likely to feel confident when speaking up, making decisions, and advocating for themselves.

They Increase Engagement and Retention

Lastly, by helping employees build confidence, belonging, and group synergy, ERGs can also help employees feel more engaged, boosting retention and overall job satisfaction.

How to Start an Employee Resource Group

With the what and why covered, now it’s time to talk about how. Starting an ERG can be difficult, so you need to know the steps and employee resource groups best practices. Here is our step-by-step guide on starting an ERG:

Assess and Plan

Gauge interest and need, define purpose and goals, and secure executive sponsorship. Find out who’s interested, what their needs are, what you want the ERG to accomplish, and get leadership on board to support the process.

Form the Core Team

The core team is made up of the employees who will take charge and run the ERG for the most part. You want to recruit passionate leaders—people who will go above and beyond to make the ERG a success. You also need to establish roles and responsibilities. An ERG is a lot of work, so dividing up the work and delegating responsibilities is absolutely essential to the success of an ERG. Ensure you’ve chosen a president, recruitment manager, and any other roles you deem necessary.

Develop Structure

With a core team in place, now you need to develop a structure. How will it be governed? How will new members be accepted? What guidelines will there be for activities and communications? These are all key questions you need to answer.

Secure Resources

After developing a structure, the next step is securing resources. Figure out the necessary budget and support needed, then work with HR to allocate those resources. This step is challenging for many, which is why getting support from management early on is essential. That makes this step much easier since they’re already on board with the endeavor.

Launch and Promote

Now that the planning and preparation is complete, it’s time to launch and promote. Host a kickoff event to get things started and implement a communication strategy to attract new members. An ERG needs to grow and show people why they should join, so you have to make an active effort to promote your group. It doesn’t have to be flashy or expensive, but you need to encourage people to join.

Execute and Evaluate

Lastly, begin planned activities and initiatives and start making the most of your newly formed ERG. Be watchful and make sure things are going smoothly and as planned. On top of that, you need to evaluate. Regularly assess progress and impact, make adjustments as needed, and report results to leadership. This is key to the long-term success of your ERG, as well as getting continued support from management.

Employee Resource Group Examples

Even with a clear guide, it can still be difficult to see exactly how an ERG functions and is successful. Here are some employee resource groups examples you can get inspiration from.

King Games

King Games, the creators of Candy Crush, noticed through surveys that many non-males felt excluded in their male-dominated workplace/industry. To deal with this, they created a non-male mentorship program called Kicking Glass. The end result of the program was an increase in gender diversity in hiring and promotions.

Women@Microsoft

Another successful ERG is Microsoft’s Women@Microsoft. This ERG focuses on decreasing the gender gap in tech and STEM by providing scholarships to women and nonbinary students. With this program, Microsoft has increased their percentage of women employees and made a noticeable impact on the gender gap in their industry.

Activities for Employee Resource Groups

Setting up an ERG can be a challenge, but so can finding activities for an ERG. Team building activities are a great way to help like-minded members bond. Here are some potential activities for your ERG:

Bond on the Go

Our Bonding Buses are a great option for ERGs. They help employees build bonds, work on creativity, teamwork, communication, and more—all of which can help an ERG grow and develop. We also have numerous options, such as a mystery bus, charity bus, and music bus. This gives you flexibility so you can choose the one that best suits your ERG and its needs.

Volunteer Together

Another good option for ERGs is charity activities. Your ERG can make an impact in your community, further your goals, and build bonds all at the same time. These activities are beneficial and fun, making them perfectly suited for ERGs.

A cheerful group of seven team members celebrates their successful Charity Bike Build. Two decorated bikes stand in front of them, with the group raising their arms in victory. The atmosphere in the room is lively and filled with camaraderie.

Build Leadership Skills

Last but not least, Leadership Stories is another popular choice for ERGs. This event focuses on developing leadership skills, which can help the members of your ERG build confidence and communication skills.

This event also helps better teamwork as a whole since employees learn more about themselves and each other, helping them better understand and fit into their roles in the group.

Build and Strengthen Your ERGs with TeamBonding

Employee resource groups are becoming a more important part of business every year, and they aren’t going away. Businesses who want to be successful in the highly competitive modern marketplace need to utilize ERGs and take advantage of their benefits.

If you’re ready to reap the benefits of employee resource groups at your company, TeamBonding can help. Our events can help your ERGs grow closer together, build relationships, and gain valuable skills. Start the change you know is needed in your workplace by forming an ERG and getting in touch with us today!

Camille VanBuskirk

Team Contributor

Subscribe

Sign up for tips on crafting the perfect team.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Categories

Podcast

around the world podcast logo

Get ideas, inspiration and best practices from across the globe.

apple podcast logo spotify podcast logo amazon podcast logo youtube podcast logo

Be a Guest Blogger

Do you have any useful tips, tricks, guides, or valuable insights about company culture?

Learn more  

Drop your email for expert employee engagement tips.

Less drama? Greater productivity and job satisfaction? TeamBonding is here to help you build a stronger and happier team. Subscribe to get one-of-kind insights and news from our team building gurus and start boosting employee engagement today.

More great content based on your likes.

How to Foster Continuous Learning at Work

We all learn something new every day. Whether it’s a small tidbit like how to use a feature on the copier or a big insight about ourselves, engaging in continuous learning is an important part of growing as a person and a professional.

Read More  

Stay Social: Best Virtual Happy Hour Practices

Have you been struggling to think of a fun, engaging team building activity for your remote or hybrid team? Something that’s social and interactive that gets participants talking and making personal connections? Well, over the past three years, we’ve been using all our team building resources to expand our virtual + remote team building program category for teams that may not be going back to work in the office full time.

Read More  

10 End-of-Year Virtual Celebration Ideas for Work

Break out the noisemakers, because your remote team is about to close the book on 2024! And with 2025 looming ahead, you may be toying with yearend celebration ideas to ring in a new chapter. But with everyone living across multiple cities or even time zones, party planning may seem complicated, or even impossible.

Read More  

10 Year-end Company Party Ideas to Kick Off 2025

Have you ever thought of throwing a work New Year’s Eve party at the office? There seem to be two camps for how most of us celebrate New Year’s Eve. The first? Those who fall asleep on the couch before the ball drops. And the other? Folks who want to bring in the new year with a bang.

Read More  

Questions? Need a quote?

Complete this form to get started or call 877-472-2725.

Loading Icon

Create Your Free Account

Get exclusive access to new programs from the TeamBonding Lab, save your favorite ideas, and track your upcoming events.
Already have an account? Login

Please wait...

Sign-in

Don't yet have an account?
Create a Free Account

Forgot Your Password? Password Reset