Article written by: Victoria Hortman
If you’re not leveraging Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) in your business, you’re missing out on the potential your diverse employees can bring to the table.
ERGs support employees with upskilling and leadership opportunities, assist leadership in optimizing long-term strategy, and can be the central pillar of your DEI strategy.
Here are the top four reasons why your organization should leverage ERGs.
Train Tomorrow’s Leaders
Joseph Wilson started the first Employee Resource Group in 1970.
As the founder and CEO of Xerox, he aimed to support his Black Employees who faced discrimination in the workplace. Building on that, today’s ERGs today have evolved into one of the best ways to train young talent and create tomorrow’s leaders.
Why? Because ERGs provide employees with access to learning and development opportunities, leadership coaching, and ownership of special projects.
ERGs also create visibility between employees and senior leaders. And visibility is crucial for career advancement.
By offering access to employees through an ERG, you’ll continually develop diverse talent to lead your organization into the future.
Develop Products for A Diverse Audience
Our world is moving fast. The companies of the future that will stand head and shoulders above their competitors are those who continually innovate their product offerings.
Today, ERGs have become vital for gaining deeper insights into the ever-evolving global consumer.
According to the Society for Human Resource Management, 70% of organizations rely on ERGs to create better products and gather authentic feedback to spark new ideas, leading to greater innovation down the road.
Continual innovation is the only way a company can grow. And you can leverage ERGs to offer fresh perspectives and unique insights that ensure that the products your company is creating are inclusive.
Increase Inclusion in Your Workplace
Inclusion should be a central strategy for your company.
An inclusive workforce fosters a sense of belonging and creates high-trust relationships. High-trust relationships allow employees to feel psychologically safe and accepted. This is where ERGs can shine brightest.
Resource groups provide a safe and inclusive environment for employees. Employees have an opportunity to connect with others who share similar backgrounds and band as one voice to advocate for organizational changes.
This sense of community will reverberate throughout your organization.
Recruit and Retain Top Diverse Talent
When diverse talent considers job opportunities, they look for a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture in the workplace.
One of the best ways to showcase your DEI efforts during the recruitment process is by highlighting that you have employee resource groups.
Celebrating DEI will make it easier to attract diverse talent, and inclusive culture will make it more likely for your top talent to stick around.
ERGs are the key
ERGs are one of the most effective ways to include your diverse teammates in your DEI efforts. If you leverage them well, you will unlock your employee’s greatest potential.
Bio
Victoria Hortman is the Global People Operations Manager at Mogul, a talent acquisition platform that works to help employers foster diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Mogul is proud to be the founder of International ERG Day. We created International ERG Day (November 17) to celebrate and amplify the voices of ERGs across industries.
