5 Habits Every ERG Should Develop To Succeed
Every Employee Resource Group (ERG) should create habits that sustain and grow a productive group. Over the many years of developing ERGs, I have learned some basics that every ERG should institute, at a minimum, that will guarantee visibility, growth, and success.
HABIT #1 — SURVEY MEMBERS
This may seem an obvious activity, but a survey is not a one-time activity. If you are a new ERG, the initial survey should capture ideas and recommendations from members, helping the ERG build a framework for events, content, and education.
For more matured ERGs an on-going survey serves to validate current activities and content but also can help re-engage members (and obtain new members if open to all employees) by asking about new ideas and activities not previously considered.
Also, by surveying the membership (annually at a minimum), an ERG can track consistent questions (demographics, ratings of activities, etc.) that can serve as benchmark performance and reference for analyzing the group’s dynamics.
See the Surveys resources in the Best Practices section of our site for more about surveys.
HABIT #2 — CREATE & CURATE CONTENT
This could be in the form of articles, online booklets, webinars, online or in-person training and discussion forums, virtually anything that provides information. The key is to become consistent with offering content, regardless of the format.
A best practice is to provide access to as many employees as possible, therefore hosting in-person events is high-engagement and well worth the effort, that should not be the only channel to provide information and interaction. Online channels (articles, chatrooms, blogs, booklets, recorded webinars, etc.) should be part of your content plan.
Curating content (sourcing content from other resources such as LGBTQ news forums, LGBTQ organizations, etc.) is another easy way to build your library of resources. There are many free resources to refer employees to online, including external news and articles (providing appropriate credit) that will build your library of information overnight!
BEST PRACTICE TIP: For those organizations that have internet firewalls that prevent viewing of external links, include a bit.ly URL or a QR Code with all your external referenced materials so that employees can easily access the information from their smartphones.
HABIT #3 — FOCUS ON EDUCATION
The key to any successful ERG is education. As a “resource” group, you should always have education top-of-mind. This is especially true for LGBTQA ERGs as our community is always educating members on proper references, history, engagement protocols for coming out, etc.
For any ERG, allies seek out educational resources to help them understand and feel more comfortable participating in the ERG, either as members or leaders. Education should be a tool for engaging and inviting participation. Sharing personal experiences and hosting guest speakers can help supplement your education programs.
See the ERG Starter Kit on our ERG Resources page for a list of great online resources for both education and content curation.
HABIT #4 — COMMIT TO ACTION
Another obvious one, but facilitating volunteer and sponsorship activities is crucial to keep members engaged and motivated. An ERG should have a calendar of events posted for all employees to access for volunteer opportunities.
Each ERG should commit to a reasonable set of activities throughout the year, depending on their location and membership size. For a San Francisco ERG, the opportunities for engagement are numerous and frequent so committing to a minimum of 1–2 quarterly volunteer events should be easy to do. But for more rural locations, 1–2 events every six months may be more feasible.
Also ensure to size your events appropriately. You can host volunteer events with as little as two members or as 200 or more! This will provide for more activities, so don’t limit yourself to high-volume of participants, but instead focus on the quality of the events and the organizations.
HABIT #5 — ENGAGE LEADERSHIP
All of the above is not possible without engaged and motivated leadership. As many of you already know, participating in an ERG is typically a volunteer activity, above and beyond your day job. This commitment should be recognized by senior management in the company and highlighted as part of an employees performance review (check with your HR policy for details and direction.)
Leaders at all levels of an ERG should be continually recognized for the work they do and should be active participants in the ERG on a regular basis. Facilitating and documenting leadership meetings on a consistent basis (monthly at a minimum) will build accountability and excitement. This will also ensure that you can account for “breaks” in the leadership when an employee may need to step away from their ERG duties to focus on their day job.
