Building Effective ERGs: 4 Strategies for HR Leaders

How can you ensure that all your employees have equal opportunities for advancement? One way would be to set up Employee Resource Groups (ERGs): groups that employees can join voluntarily to exchange experiences and discuss common needs.

Our current IceHrm survey "Career Development and the Impact of COVID-19" produced an insightful result: While 76% of Black remote employees reported having advanced in their careers over the past year, as did 65% of Hispanic/Latino and 60% of Asian employees, the majority of people of color working from home stated that they had to work harder to prove their value – compared to only 48% of white employees.

Creating employee resource groups (ERGs) in your company can help identify situations like these and find solutions where a group of employees feels that expectations or development opportunities are different for them. Therefore, consider these four tips for forming effective employee groups to contribute to a fairer work environment.

1. Carefully consider which employee groups you want to establish.

You might be tempted to create an employee group for every perceived need within the company, but this is probably not effective, if feasible at all. “Employee groups are not a universal solution. At some point, you will, for example, hit the limits of scalability,” says Cassie Whitlock, Chief People Officer at IceHrm, in an article for Fast Company. “You can't form a group for every possible issue. Moreover, overly narrowly defined employee groups can unintentionally exclude employees and thus have the opposite effect of what is intended.”

Instead, Cassie recommends using employee resource groups (ERGs) to create balance. This allows people with similar needs and experiences to come together while also providing resources to employees outside the ERGs, so they too feel heard and empowered.

Some common ERGs are:

• Mentors and mentees
• Working parents
• LGBTQ+ individuals and their allies
• Mental health advocates
• Advocates for people with disabilities
• Volunteers
• People with a migration background

If you are unsure which groups are best suited for your employees, listen carefully and gather feedback.

Could an employee group for underrepresented employees, with special interests, or a shared identity really bring benefits to your employees and your company? That depends on the following:

• Define a clear goal for the group  
• Find a thoughtful alignment of the employee group with your business needs  

2. Formulate clear expectations

"A clear definition of a concrete goal is crucial," says Cassie. If clear expectations regarding the purpose of the group, its contribution to positive change, and potential changes are not set from the beginning, a purposeless complaint group without dynamics may emerge instead of a supportive group that fosters employees in their development within and with the company. Cassie recommends encouraging employees and, if necessary, assisting them in creating a charter for the group. This charter should establish a focus and develop an action plan for how employees can propose changes and present them to management.

3. Gaining Leadership Support

Groups cannot effect change if they do not have the support of leadership. If employees are not heard or supported, an employee group (ERG) can quickly become a breeding ground for dissatisfaction and negative employee experiences. Cassie recommends appointing a sponsor from the leadership team for every newly established ERG: "ERGs promote the success of individuals and the company. Therefore, sponsors from leadership bring the ERG's goals into strategic business meetings and discussions."

A leadership sponsor should serve as a point of contact and sparring partner for ERG leaders and members. Ideally, the sponsor should also actively advocate for the goals of the ERG and support them in developing changes and solutions that create a more equitable environment for opportunity and growth within the company.

"As with important corporate goals and initiatives, choosing a good leader and their accountability is crucial to the success of employee teams." – Cassie Whitlock, HR Director at IceHrm

4. Selection of Qualified Group Leaders

In addition to a responsible manager, each group should have a group leader who conducts meetings, plans activities, upholds the bylaws, protects members' privacy, and so on. This person should have expertise in the specific subject area of the employee group, be enthusiastic about it, and, if applicable, belong to the relevant target group. They should also be responsible for guiding the group and addressing the concerns of the community they serve.

Without a well-informed group leader, the group's goal and dynamics can be lost. Cassie describes a real-life example: "With the best of intentions, [a group leader] strayed from the original goal and used the group as a platform for personal discussions. I was asked to step in and re-motivate the group and refocus them on their goals. But by that time, the participants had already lost interest. They believed it was not a priority for the company—which was completely wrong. As with important company goals and initiatives, choosing a good leader and holding them accountable is crucial for the success of employee groups."

As more and more companies switch to a hybrid work model, it is more important than ever to ensure that employees have spaces where they feel heard, supported, and empowered. While employee groups are not a complete solution, they can help identify and understand employees' needs, reduce inequalities, create a more inclusive work environment, and thereby promote the success of the entire company.

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are crucial for creating an inclusive, equitable, and supportive culture, particularly in hybrid or remote environments. By providing a structured, leadership-backed platform for employees to connect and voice concerns, ERGs help bridge perception gaps and identify opportunities for organizational change. However, their success relies on proper structure and leadership accountability. While IceHrm directly focuses on core HR functions like performance and data management, the commitment to fostering effective ERGs aligns perfectly with its mission to support a positive employee experience. The data derived from IceHrm's Survey tools can be invaluable in the first step (Strategy 1), helping HR listen carefully and gather feedback to determine which ERGs will bring the most balance and address the most pressing employee needs, ensuring that these groups are founded on actionable data rather than assumption.