ERG Disasters

How to Avoid ERG Disasters

In today’s workplace, Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) have continued to emerge as a key strategy at various sized companies. ERGs foster inclusion while enhancing employee engagement and helping organizations improve retention numbers. However, when poorly established and supported, ERGs can become ineffective or counterproductive, leading to ERG and organizational disasters.

What do ERG disasters look like in an organization?

• ERG leaders feel tokenized and drop off from their ERG roles while also disengaging from their day jobs
• ERGs running programs without cultural sensitivity awareness leading to stereotypes, which could be a potential PR nightmare for the organization with legal implications.
• ERG leaders feel burnt out, resulting in high number of minority and underserved employee turnover.
• ERGs operating solely from the bottom up without strong advocates, leading to group frustration and no real impact.
• ERGs becoming exclusive groups, excluding allies and failing to get company-wide support or meaningful traction.
• ERGs operate redundantly due to a lack of collaboration, leading to employee confusion and low program participation.