Employee resource groups (ERGs) are an increasingly common feature of companies’ equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) programmes. According to the Great Place to Work Institute, ERGs are “voluntary, employee-led groups whose aim is to foster a diverse, inclusive workplace aligned with the organisations they serve”.
They have been around for more than half a century and it is believed that the first one was formed in 1970 by black workers at Xerox who wanted to discuss race-based tension in the workplace. Today they cover a wide range of issues and are made up of employees who share a characteristic such as gender, membership of the LGBTQI+ community, ethnicity, disability, religion, age group and so on.
Generally speaking, ERGs provide support for members’ personal and career development and offer a safe space where they can discuss matters of mutual interest. Senior management is usually involved in ERGs, with executives taking on the role of champions or sponsors of groups.
“When they started out, ERGs were very much linked to political movements and caucuses in the States,” says Prof Maeve Houlihan, associate dean and director of UCD Lochlann Quinn School of Business. “The idea behind them was that people with a shared identity need time and space behind closed doors to thrash out the agenda and issues that matter to them. In my own experience, invitations to join affinity groups can feel a bit tokenistic at times. But, as we have seen in the women’s movement, it’s very important to have dialogue and be able to have discussions and disagreements with each other in a safe space before going out on to a public platform.”
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Houlihan believes ERGs’ role can be underestimated. “They have been very important in creating psychological safety for dialogue, building confidence and working through an agenda out of sight,” she says. “The psychological safety of a closed door or Chatham House Rules space to talk, connect, to be oneself without having to represent or be an exception, to listen and explore shared experience and differences is very powerful for confidence building, agenda building and working out perspectives and strategy. It’s been important for most movements.”
She adds that it is just as important that there is an equal public space and voice for the groups.
From a practical point of view, ERGs have been credited with concrete advances in the workplace. These include improved working conditions for alienated workers making the physical work environment better through the installation of gender-neutral bathrooms and improving physical or visual accessibility for employees with disabilities.
Quite often these have been achieved simply by bringing the issues to the attention of senior management, something which may not have been possible in the absence of the formal communications channel offered by the groups.
According to Padraig Keane, vice-president biologics operations at Bristol Myers Squibb Cruiserath, resource groups offer the workforce proactive opportunities to support business priorities, foster employee engagement and shape a culture of inclusion. However, they are more than just that – and as the company’s culture and workplace has evolved over the years, these groups are now seen as the pulse of the organisation and often can alert it to the needs of driving continuous improvements. They have become a big part of the listening culture at the Cruiserath Biologics site, says Keane.
“Our People and Business Resource Groups (PBRGs) are a huge source of information about employee satisfaction and experience, the public and communities they represent,” he adds. “As a result, these groups are a great source of innovative thinking, feedback and getting a sense of the pulse of the organisation in an immediate way.”
The PBRGs are directed by the company’s senior leadership-sponsored inclusion and diversity strategy. For example, they operate and run the site’s transition-year programme. They have also engaged the site in programmes such as the Healthcare Businesswoman’s Association and the Irish Management Institute 30% Club, and support workplace engagement initiatives including the Pride Safe Zone Training and Mental Health First Response. The groups also run the partnership with the Dublin City University Access Programme and support both socially and neurodiverse students on internship programmes.
“Employee resource groups hold the potential to transform organisational culture through maximising processes and practices ranging from career development, community engagement and public relations to supplier diversity cultivation and marketplace reach,” says Bristol Myers Squibb culture, communications and change lead Keira Brogan.
“The key here is establishing a framework where objectives can be articulated, organised and implemented with more than one goal in mind. People create authentic change. This is exactly what our People and Business Resource Groups stand for and why they add value.”