ERGs: Building Community with Virtual and In-person Events
Every Employee Resource Group I’ve worked with has focussed on community building as one of their primary purposes. But creating a sense of community in a modern workplace is not easy. This blog explores how to create a community virtually and IRL (in real life).
What does community building mean in this context?
Community building is about creating a supportive, inclusive and engaging environment where employees can connect based on shared identities, experiences or interests. It involves fostering a sense of belonging and connection among members and providing a space for personal and professional development.
Oftentimes, HR departments or leaders within a company try, on their own, to develop a sense of community in their organization. But, unfortunately, without employees throughout the company participating in community building, it often rings hollow. To successfully build community, efforts from the ground up go much further than top-down messaging. Because of this, ERGs (Employee Resource Groups) play an important role in community building in the workplace.
Why is community building so important for ERGs?
When ERGs build community in their company, they can offer a warm, welcoming space for those often left on the sidelines at work, making sure everyone feels seen and heard. It’s about creating a home within the company where members can genuinely connect, share their stories and support one another. This connection boosts morale, encourages folks to stick around and fosters a workplace that embraces everyone’s unique contributions. Through ERGs, employees can find their voice and grow professionally. Ultimately, this helps shape a work environment that’s truly inclusive.
How do you build community in a virtual setting?
Building community happens differently in a virtual setting compared to an in-person setting. Why is that the case?
In places I’ve worked, the real opportunities to build meaningful relationships with coworkers lie in the moments outside of formal day-to-day work — bumping into people in the hallway, having a quick chat over breakfast or grabbing a coffee after work. These opportunities allow us to connect beyond the confines of meetings and daily tasks. However, remote work presents a specific challenge: the absence of these spontaneous interactions. Without the chance encounters and informal conversations, we need to find intentional ways to foster connections and help people get to know each other outside organically.
This blog offers separate advice for virtual community building and in-person community building. Because virtual community building can be more difficult, let’s start with that.
Virtual Community Building
My Treasure Showcase
A virtual gathering where participants share and discuss personal items that hold significant meaning to them. Through this exchange, members connect on a deeper level, exploring the stories and memories that shape their identities.
How to Implement: Use a platform like Zoom or Microsoft Teams to host the event. Ask members to submit a photo of their treasured item beforehand to create a presentation. During the event, each member explains their item’s significance, encouraging questions and discussions.
Organizational Tips: Schedule it during a time that accommodates different time zones. Keep the meeting to a manageable length, 45 minutes to an hour, to maintain engagement, with each person presenting for about five minutes.
Virtual Cooking Night
An online event where participants join from their kitchens via video call to cook a meal together, following the same recipe in real time.
How to Implement: Choose a recipe that’s accessible to all members considering dietary restrictions and availability of ingredients. Create a shared document with the recipe for everyone to check out in advance. During the cooking night, cook together live on a video meeting in real-time. Encourage discussion and sharing during cooking.
Organizational Tips: After finishing cooking, invite participants to discuss the recipe and the experience of cooking it.
Interactive Trivia Night
An engaging online event where participants compete in real-time, answering a range of questions to test their knowledge and learn new things.
How to Implement: Nominate a volunteer to be the Quiz Maker. The Quizk Maker uses an online platform like Quizizz to create their trivia quiz (or just a slide deck with the questions — and answers at the end). Select categories that reflect the ERG’s interests or mission. The Quiz Maker presents the questions and participants write down their answers. At the end, the correct answers are shown and participants count their scores.
Organizational Tips: This activity is less about winning and more about learning and bonding. You can offer a prize for the winner or just consider the event a success if everyone participates and has a fun time.
Film Night
A virtual gathering where participants watch a selected movie together online and then engage in a thoughtful discussion about its themes and relevance to the ERG.
How to Implement: Select a film that aligns with the ERG’s mission. Use Teleparty or a similar app to watch simultaneously. Host a discussion afterward on a video call to talk about the themes and their relevance to the ERG’s goals.
Organizational Tips: Provide a list of discussion questions before the movie night to guide the conversation and ensure a deeper, more meaningful discussion. Some suggested films: Hidden Figures, Pride, CODA, Milk, Crip Camp, Becoming, Rustin, On the Basis of Sex, The Imitation Game
In-Person Community Building
Perspectives Book Club
A group that meets regularly to discuss a book they have read, sharing insights, interpretations and perspectives to enrich their reading experience.
How to Implement: Select a book that resonates with the ERG’s focus. Schedule regular meetings, perhaps during lunch, to discuss chapters or the entire book. Encourage different members to lead the discussion each session.
Organizational Tips: Create a shared space (physical or digital) for members to suggest and vote on future books. This encourages participation and investment in the book club. Write a recap of the discussion that can be shared online to engage future participants.
Mission-Driven Volunteer Day
A focused event where individuals come together to participate in a volunteer activity that supports and advances the mission of a nonprofit or community organization.
How to Implement: Partner with a local organization that aligns with the ERG’s values. Plan a day of service that can accommodate all interested members. Make sure the activity is accessible and provides a meaningful contribution to the community.
Organizational Tips: Take photos and share the experience on your organization’s internal social media platforms to inspire others and showcase your ERG’s impact.
Attend a Cultural Festival
An event to attend a cultural festival together and delve into global traditions, arts and cuisine to broaden your understanding of the world.
How to Implement: Research local cultural festivals and plan a group outing. Prepare some background information on the festival to share with members beforehand, enhancing the learning experience.
Organizational Tips: Arrange for a group meeting point and WhatsApp group (or other chat group) to keep in touch during the event.
Skill-Sharing Workshop
A basic workshop presented by a member of the ERG that offers a collaborative learning environment to exchange knowledge and expertise.
How to Implement: Survey members to discover hidden talents and interests. Schedule workshops led by members, for members. These can range from a technical skill to a crafting skill. Keep the barrier to participate low so everyone can join.
Organizational Tips: Create a workshop calendar and promote upcoming sessions through your ERG’s communication channels. Suggestions for topics: knitting or crocheting, photography, creative writing, painting, dance, collaging.
Final Thoughts
Building a community in the workplace has some specific challenges that you won’t find when building a community in your personal life. The dynamics of new employees arriving and old employees departing the company can disrupt the continuity of relationships This makes it hard to establish a strong, enduring sense of community. And the varying schedules and commitments of your colleagues often mean that finding common free time for everyone is a puzzle. On top of all this, the inherent stresses and pressures of professional environments can make fostering a genuine, supportive community at work a difficult task. It requires intentional effort to bridge the gaps and create a cohesive, supportive environment.
This is also a reminder: Community building in ERGs is about more than just gathering; it’s about creating meaningful connections and growing together. Each event you organize is a stepping stone towards fostering a stronger, more connected community. These events, beyond their immediate enjoyment and learning, are about creating opportunities for individuals to develop deeper relationships through finding joy in our similarities and learning from differences.
If you want to learn more about Employee Resource Groups, check out these blog posts:
Starting your Employee Resource Group: A Guide for Employees
Understanding Employee Resource Group: A Guide for Organizations
Recognizing and rewarding the work of Employee Resource Groups
Q&A: Common Questions on Employee Resource Groups
If you want to dive deeper into the subject of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the workplace, I can recommend you check out my book: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: How to Succeed at an Impossible Job. It is a detailed look into the step-by-step process of developing a strategy, creating meaningful initiatives, tracking your progress and avoiding burnout!
