Employee Resource Groups | Diversity Best Practices

Employee Resource Groups

posted Mar 6th, 2018 at 1:20pm

Employee Resource Groups are a critical piece of an organization’s diversity and inclusion strategy. Here at Diversity Best Practices it is important to us to ensure that ERG leaders have the resources they need to support their ERG and to drive change at their organizations. To help you navigate the plethora of resources we have on our website, we have pulled out the most relevant and up to date resources and shared them here.

We have rebranded our NALC ERG leadership events to EmERGe. Learn more here.

Jump directly to each section by clicking on the headings below.

We also created this handy video overview if you want to start there.

What is an ERG and why are they important?

The first employee resource groups were actually “Workplace Affinity Groups,” created in response to racial strife of the 1960s. Joseph Wilson, the celebrated former Xerox CEO, developed the concept following race riots in Rochester, NY in 1964. Wilson and his black employees designed and launched the National Black Employees Caucus in 1970 to address racial tension and the issue of workplace discrimination.

The traditional definition of an ERG is an “employer-recognized group of employees who share the concerns of a common race, gender, national origin or sexual orientation--characteristics protected in some instances by law and in many organizations as matter of company policy.” Although we use employee resource groups and/or ERGs to refer to these groups on this page, we should point out that organizations use many different names for them including business resource groups, employee networks and team member networks, just to name a few.

In the past 10 to 15 years, employee resource groups began to prove that they were also business assets by demonstrating their value in recruitment and retention, marketing, brand enhancement, training, and employee development. Top management of some companies began to view their ERGs as instrumental to the success of their businesses. This opinion is proliferating as corporations become more global and populations and workforces more diverse.

 

Awards, Recognition and ERG Events/Virtual Events

 

 

The ERG Leadership Handbook, Heritage Month Resource Hubs, Dimensions of Diversity Facts & Figures and Diversity Holidays

 

Solutions for Metrics, Measurement and Leadership Development

 

 

Videos from past ERG Leadership Events and Web Seminars

Below are the recordings from two recent web seminars that you might find of interest

 

Research Reports, Insight Papers, Hot Topics and other essential reading

Recent articles, research reports and other thought leadership from Diversity Best Practices and our partners

Research Report: Inclusive Employee Resource Groups

Engaging Hourly Employees in Employee Resource Groups

Research Report: Innovative Platforms to Leverage and Incorporate into ERGs

Research Report: Next Practice ERG/BRG Impact During COVID-19

How FINRA and Its Employee Resource Groups are Stepping Up to Support Employees During the COVID-19 Crisis

ERG Spotlight: GSK's Reverse Diverse Mentoring Program

Research Report: Interfaith ERGs

How UL's Women's Network Expanded Its Impact

 

Want More on Employee Resource Groups?

 

Contact Us

Need to speak with a DBP advisor for more specific solutions? Email Donnice Peterson at donnice.peterson@diversitybestpractices.com and we can help you find the solutions you need for your organization.

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