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Common Ground Employee resource groups are a simple and effective way to support and strengthen your staff. By Gina Acevedo, Erica Scott and Julia Vang
ERGs allow employees to freely share their experiences, ideas, and feedback in a supportive environment, which helps them feel heard and valued.
change to organizational policies, practices, and strategies. In addition, ERGs are helpful with attracting talents to companies and retaining employees by helping keep them happy, engaged and committed to the organization.
any work, it’s important to get a pulse for how your employees are feeling. Get a baseline measurement of your employee experience and identify if there are gaps among groups of employees in your organization. 2 Gauge interest from your
How do you implement an ERG? What is an ERG?
Employees – ERGs provide
ERG stands for Employee Resource Group. ERGs are voluntary, employee-led groups focused on promoting a culture of inclusion and belonging within an organization and serve as a resource for employees and the company. Typically, ERGs are comprised of individuals who share a common interest, identity affiliation, shared lived-experience, and/or want to be allies for those in their workplaces.
a safe space for employees to connect and discuss issues unique to them. They allow employees to freely share their experiences, ideas, and feedback in a supportive environment, which helps them feel heard and valued. Also, ERGs are a valuable resource for employees’ personal and professional development. Employees can learn from each other, exchange knowledge, grow their professional network, and develop new skills that can help them progress in their careers. Organizations – ERGs can provide great insights and feedback on issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion that can inform and drive
Who can benefit from ERGs?
ERGs are beneficial for both employees and organizations: Contributors ________
All employees of CentraCare, Gina Acevedo is an administrative assistant, Erica Scott is a diversity specialist and Julia Vang is a DEI program manager.
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At CentraCare, there are seven employee resource groups: HOLA, Single Parent, African American, Veterans, Millennials, LGBTQ+, and Women’s– all of which were employee driven efforts. Employees took notice of the importance of bringing together groups of employees with common interests and forming pockets of communities to provide support within the organization. What started off as one ERG has now expanded to seven, and this number is expected to grow as the workforce changes over time. If your organization is interested in creating an employee resource group, here are some steps you can take to get started.
employees. Once you have
identified your gaps, share it with employees. Ask them how they feel about the idea of starting an ERG. Also, this is a great opportunity to identify employees who can serve as leaders for the group. 3 Involve your leadership team. Communicate your intent
to start an employee resource group with your leadership team. Getting support early in the process will help the group when you need to communicate requests and/or initiatives. 4 Develop an ERG business plan/charter. An ERG should
1 Gather data and complete
establish its mission and vision as a group. What’s the purpose of the group? Why is it important? What are the expectations and guidelines to follow as a group to ensure that your group is successful.
an internal audit of your organization. Before you begin
5 Invite others to join.