What's an ERG?

In a world full of division, employee resource groups (ERGs) strive to bring people together.

Also known as affinity groups (e.g. Dog lovers, K-pop fans), networking groups (e.g. San Francisco State University alums), and/or identity-based groups (e.g. Latinx or LGBTQ+ folks), ERGs are voluntary, employee-organized associations that organize events, socially convene, and celebrate people and issues of common interest.

ERGs exist for lots of overlapping reasons:

• Attracting members of a particular community to your company, either as customers, clients, or job candidates
• Providing opportunities to engage members of / allies of said communities
• Strengthening a company’s expertise on culturally-specific issues
• Signal-boosting relevant events, holidays, and causes
• Networking with community members from different companies
• Finding your new work bestie
• Learning about each other
• Trust falls, group hugs, and snacks (okay, let's just stick w/ #3)

What's the business case?

And for you data-driven folks, here’s the business case for ERGs:

• ERGs increase employee engagement, social cohesion, and retention (those are three different studies, BTW).
• ERGs provide opportunities to voice opinions, leading to 4.6x likelihood for employees to feel empowered and perform their best at work.
• ERGs foster and grow diverse teams, which make decisions up to 87% more efficiently than their more homogenous peers.
• ERGs attract diverse talent, as 67% of job seekers (72% of women, 89% of Black people, 80% of Asian people, and 70% of Latinx folks) cite diversity in the workforce as a crucial factor in considering job offers.
• ERGs increase diversity visibility, in a time when diverse companies have a 22% lower turnover rate compared to less inclusive peers.