Building and Sustaining ERGs/BRGs
Successful ERGs and BRGs need clear goals, strategic alignment, and sustained support. Without structure and funding, they risk becoming social groups rather than business assets. This lesson covers key steps for launching and managing ERGs/BRGs, from defining purpose and securing leadership support to funding and measuring impact, ensuring they drive both inclusion and business success.
Getting started with ERGs/BRGs
Defining ERGs/BRG must start with defining purpose and objectives. Despite the substantial growth of ERGs/BRGs over the last 10 years, ERGs often operate independently within corporations, lacking a unified strategy or structure. The purpose and strategic planning for ERGs has varied within many organizations as they strive to maintain their employee-led nature but fail to implement essential infrastructure for true autonomy. Many ERGs/BRGs have launched strong but lacked strategy and focus on company goals. Unfortunately, many have become little more than groups organizing networking events such as picnics and lunches for their membership. In other cases, lack of funding and alignment to overall corporate strategy and DEI goals have led to ERGs/BRGs disbanding or experiencing a lack of engagement from members of their communities. Thus, it is essential that DEI, HR and Business leaders work together to understand purpose, alignment and how they will create and sustain ERGs/BRGs.
Steps for Consideration when Creating ERGs/BRGs
- Evaluation of Data
- The Business Case for ERGs/BRGs
- Executive Sponsorship
- ERG/BRG Leadership
- Funding your ERGs
- Measuring Impact
First things first. All things in business start with understanding the value proposition. Just as companies define commercialization or innovation strategy, so too should leaders define up front the business case supporting the creation of ERGs/BRGs. Considerations to inform your ERG/BRG business case include:
Evaluate your employee engagement data.
Companies should lean in and understand feedback from employees given through annual engagement surveys. Use the data from surveys and listening sessions to identify the opportunities. In the absence of this data, conduct surveys with employees and include survey questions about what types of ERGs would be of interest to employees, what effective ERG leadership looks like, potential events could be hosted and what outcomes/goals the groups should have.
Describe and articulate the value proposition/business case of your organization’s ERGs.
The success and sustainability of ERGs/BRGs will depend on the alignment to your organization’s strategy and goals. The business case should articulate not just the alignment to functional DEI goals, but how the ERGs/BRGs support business, employee engagement and even brand reputation strategies. When defining the business case, leaders should include:
Definition mission and the goals for your ERGs
How ERGs align corporate strategy and business goals
External data showing the benefit of ERGs
Internal data showing support for the ERG from your colleagues (including the potential number of participants)
Support from at least one other executive (your executive sponsor)
Executive Sponsorship
Executive sponsors are critical to the formation and operation of ERGs. Executive sponsors ensure alignment to corporate goals, provide counsel on initiatives, serve as champions for the ERG/BRG projects and initiatives, and demonstrate commitment to belonging and inclusion within an organization.
Executives who function as sponsors for an ERG/BRG must be all-in and have regular engagement with the ERG/BRGs they sponsor. If executive sponsors only participate in special cultural or ERG corporate leadership events, this representation can be perceived by employees as tokenism or as an empty gestures or assignments. Commitment should be shown throughout the entire employee experience. Executive sponsors are advisors, evangelists and advocates for the life of the ERG/BRG, not just for events.
Defining ERG/BRG leadership
This step is foundational and ensures there is alignment to the corporate goals and the objectives desired by the organization. Leadership roles within ERGs/BRGs are pivotal for driving initiatives and fostering a sense of belonging among members. These roles should be filled by individuals who are passionate about the ERG’s mission and possess the skills to effectively manage the group’s dynamics and projects.
ERG/BRG leaders need organizational support, including resources, training, and executive sponsorship, to lead effectively and drive change. Oftentimes, ERG/BRG leaders are asked to serve as Chairs and/or Vice Chairs of ERGs/BRGs, but are rarely compensated or empowered with the capacity to lead. It’s essential that HR/DEI leaders endow Chairs/Vice Chairs with the ability to drive strategy and make decisions and that executive sponsors serve as mentors to counsel these leaders on organizational leadership.
Funding for ERGs/BRGs
According to a 2023 report from a DE&I consulting group, The Rise Journey, State of the ERG, one of the biggest discrepancies between organizations of different sizes was how groups were funded. Larger organizations were more likely to fund ERGs, but overall, around one in five (21%) ERGs were operating with zero budget. Another 17% had a budget of $5,000–$10,000. For ERGs/BRGs to thrive and meet organizational goals but also have impact within their communities, leaders need to allocate budgets for ERG operations. These costs of operations can include hosting events, consultants or speakers, community initiatives and developing and designing professional development or mentoring programs.
Once the ERG/BRG is established, ERG/BRG leaders must be on point to determine budgets that support their initiatives. This is where the executive sponsor also plays a critical role. The sponsor can and should provide insights into securing budgets and approvals, help level-set on dollars available and serve as the champion for their ERG/BRG to secure funding. However, before ERGs/BRGs can engage in that process, leaders must should begin with the end in mind and ensure that they have allocated funds in their overall budgets for ERGs/BRGs.
Measuring Impact of ERGs/BRGs
Too often, organizations do not have specific goals and metrics defined for their ERGs/BRGs. Success often is measured by the number of meetings on calendars and special events held. Certainly, attendance at and the number of ERG/BRG events can be metrics defined to measure impact, but companies need to establish metrics that are mapped to defined goals.
When ERG/BRG, business and HR leaders do the lift of goal setting and establishing metrics before launch, they can then accurately measure and report on progress. Regularly measuring and tracking progress can greatly influence how employees perceive and value ERGs. Metrics can include: membership and participation numbers, satisfaction, and retention rates. Additionally, when analyzing engagement survey data, along with these metrics, organizations can identify specific areas where ERGs can make the most impact and tailor strategies to address these opportunities directly.
The Correlation between ERGs/BRGs and Company Performance
ERGs/BRGs, implemented and aligned to Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) goals, impact the culture of the organization, promoting a sense of belonging and creating safe spaces for conversations and addressing challenges. As organizations evolve their ERGs to BRGs and leverage their BRGs for customer service, innovation and product development, they also reap the rewards financially.
According to a study conducted by McKinsey & Company, organizations with representative workforces are more likely to outperform their competitors. The study found:
Organizations are
33%
more likely
to outperform their competitors if they have representative workforces
30%
female executives
are more likely to outperform those where female representation ranges from 10% to 30%.
Higher representation leads to higher outperformance
The greater the diversity, the stronger the likelihood of business success.