Nearly 30% of the US population has some type of disability, which makes offering a disability employee resource group more important than ever.

The dictionary defines a disability as:

noun (plural disabilities) 

1. A physical or mental condition that limits a person’s movements, senses, or activities.

2. A disadvantage or handicap, especially one imposed or recognized by the law.

If someone has what the dictionary refers to as a disability, it will inevitably impact their ability to work, too.

That’s why having a disability employee resource group can make such a huge difference to your employees’ productivity and your company culture.

It shows your team that you really do support everyone and you’re committed to helping them overcome workplace barriers—whatever they may be and whatever may be causing them.

It’s also a strong way to show current and future employees that you’re committed to creating a diverse, welcoming work environment where people’s differences are celebrated, rather than used as a way to create divides.

What are the benefits of a disability employee resource group?

There are lots of benefits to supporting your disabled employees with an ERG. Here are some of them:

Highlight needed accommodations

For a business to be truly inclusive, it has to consider everyone’s needs.

Yet so many seem to think they’re disabled-friendly without an elevator for employees to use. They’re not just for wheelchair users. If you’re on a high floor, if your employees have a lung condition like asthma, or even if they’re just tired, an elevator is a lifeline that can save them wasting energy that will chip away at their ability to do their jobs.

And make no mistake—it does have an impact.

I’ve had to traipse upstairs to an office before because the elevator was out. As an unfit asthmatic, I needed my inhaler at the top because the old building had incredibly steep stairs. I couldn’t start working right away, or even get up to make a hot drink because I literally couldn’t breathe.

That could’ve easily been avoided if the company had been willing to make accommodations like remote working. Or even just working from a cafe around the corner.

Having a disability employee resource group ensures needs like these get both a face and a voice. With dedicated advocates, issues are more likely to get addressed sooner rather than later. Which in turn saves everyone time and energy and reduces any impacts to productivity.

Gather feedback on your current practices

It’s not just that, though. It’s things like insisting employees stay at their desks all day without considering the benefits of walking meetings or taking a five-minute break. 

The longer we stay sitting at a desk, the worse it is for our mood, physical health, and productivity. That’s true whether we’re disabled or not.

The members of your disability employee resource group can offer feedback on plans to make your business more accessible to existing and future disabled employees. This could come in the form of:

• Remote and/or hybrid working policies
• Flexible working hours
• Meeting buffers
• Meeting length caps
• Providing meeting agendas in advance

There are so, so many more things you could do. And the thing is, making your business more accessible for folks who have disabilities doesn’t have a downside. Everyone becomes disabled eventually, whether that’s through chronic illness, injury, or age.

What works for disabled people will also work for, and likely benefit, those who don’t have a disability.

For example, working parents can benefit from flexible working hours. This also opens your talent pool up to even more potential candidates.

Beyond that, you get to benefit from the extra skills people have when they’ve got children or a long-term health condition. With your disability employee resource group to support them, everyone on your team will be set up to thrive from day one.

Get their insights on new products, updates and innovations

Sometimes a product simply isn’t as inclusive as you think.

As an example, if to close the trunk on a car you have to reach the top of it and slam it down, how is that suitable for shorter drivers? Or for wheelchair users (many of whom can and do still drive)? How about for people who don’t have the strength in their arms/hands?

Little things like this affect how usable your product is. They’re things that your team may not consider if your designers are all from the same backgrounds.

Including a wider variety of people helps avoid these pitfalls. And you get a wider customer base as a result, meaning you make more money.

Connect colleagues

Working with a disability can be tough and isolating. A disability employee resource group enables colleagues with similar conditions to find each other, listen, and offer support.

For new employees who may feel intimidated or not want to ask their boss about what accommodations they can access, they can also speak to fellow ERG members to find out what support is available to them. 

What do you need to know when setting up your disability employee resource group?

Here are some important things you should consider when setting up your disability employee resource group:

Create a knowledge base

Alongside information like group etiquette and contacts, your disability employee resource group should also include documentation around:

• Employee group contacts, like the group leader
• Who to contact at work if they have a suggestion/request/need help
• Union representation
• Internal support that’s available, like therapy
• External support like organizations offering advice on different conditions

The more information you include in your disability employee resource group, the more members will know about where and how to get support. This will save them time, energy, and stress that would otherwise impact their workload and mental health.

Consider the language you use

What some disabled people find offensive, others don’t. For instance, some people dislike the term “people with disabilities”, while others prefer it. There’s no right or wrong answer here, so long as you listen to your employees and follow their lead.

You could create a guide to include in your HR/onboarding documentation and/or in your disability employee resource group to explain the type of language you use to talk about disabilities.

This can be a useful reference for people to ensure they don’t step on toes or unintentionally upset colleagues. It also removes the need to ask awkward questions because the answers are already there.

Remember not everyone will want to disclose their health issues

Some people, particularly those with invisible illnesses or who are neurodiverse, may not want to share their health conditions with the organization they work for.

They may not want to share this information with their colleagues either, for fear of discrimination.

And it’s a valid concern. According to the Business Disability Forum:

• 40% of people with disabilities have felt “put down” or patronized at work
• 38% of people with disabilities have been harassed, bullied, or discriminated against at work

Those are numbers from 2023. In the 2020s, society should be doing far better than this. Your disability employee resource group can help drive the change.

Conclusion 

Employee resource groups of all kinds can benefit your organization not just by making it more inclusive, but more profitable, too.

By supporting employees with disabilities you improve the wellbeing and productivity of all employees, simply by taking steps to make their lives easier. A disability employee resource group sets everyone up for success.

Want to make your employee groups even better?

Workrowd helps you organize your employee groups so that they’re simple to use and employees want to be a part of them.

You can keep all your initiatives in one place so that employees never miss out on the next great opportunity to grow their career or network.

Plus, with automated feedback surveys and real-time analytics, you never have to wonder whether your ERGs are adding value. Get in touch today to find out more.

An employee resource group for women is one of the most common ERGs companies create. 

But why?

And how should you go about setting up—and supporting—yours? If you’re considering starting an employee resource group for women in your organization, you’ve come to the right place.

Why you need an employee resource group for women

The potential benefits of an employee resource group for women aren’t just about attracting more female candidates to work for your organization. It can also increase the number of female leaders in your business, which helps you innovate—and therefore make more money.

Women’s experiences at work are different from men’s, from navigating women’s health to gender discrimination. Providing support through initiatives like ERGs and mentoring helps female employees navigate these common challenges.

It can also offer you key insights into how your female employees feel.

For example, King Games, the company behind the Candy Crush Saga games, conducted a survey and found that non-male employees often lacked confidence to grow their careers and felt out of place.

Supporting these employees resulted in a 6% increase in female hires in a year.

How to start and support your employee resource group for women

Now that we’ve discussed why an employee resource group for women is important, let’s look at the key elements you need to set up and manage yours:

Find the right leaders

The right leader for any ERG is important. You want your women’s group leaders to be able to connect with other female employees and explain the benefits of joining.

You need someone who can create a respectful, safe space where women can talk about the problems that they face.

For example, they may wish to discuss women’s health, menopause, or pregnancy. They should be able to do this openly and honestly, without judgement.

A leader who can establish rules and norms will play an essential role in the tone of your employee resource group for women.

Compensate them accordingly

Make sure you thank group leaders for their additional time and energy in some way.

Running a community is no easy task. It requires a certain type of person, and you need to keep them motivated to run their group. Offering them incentives will keep them active and engaged in all aspects of their job.

This could be by augmenting their pay, adjusting their workloads to ensure they have the bandwidth to manage an ERG (without burning out), connecting them to development opportunities, or other ways to recognize their achievements.

Establish the basics

Make it clear where your employee resource group for women stands on including trans women, non-binary people, male allies, etc.

What you decide will affect who joins, the activities you do, and how people—internally and externally—perceive your business.

Identify your executive sponsor

Executive sponsors validate your employee resource group for women. They can also help mentor group leaders by teaching them the tenets of leadership if they don’t know them already.

On top of that, they can help with getting buy-in from senior executives, for example to get ERGs involved in business innovation and keep you ahead of your competition.

Let’s not forget that businesses that are more diverse and have more female leaders are more innovative, more eco-friendly, and make more money.

Generate interest

There’s no point in creating an employee resource group for women if no one wants to join. 

Make sure there’s enough interest from employees to join your ERG and make it worthwhile, especially for those team members taking time from their days to run it.

Share the knowledge

Put everything leaders, sponsors, and members need to know about your employee resource group for women in one place. That way, if anyone needs to find past or present information, they know exactly where to look. It becomes a faster process for everyone.

Activity ideas for your employee resource group for women

When organizing events, keep in mind that different times will work for different people. Don’t always organize something in the evening, for example; consider lunchtimes or mornings, too.

Also, don’t orient everything around drinking. You don’t know who does or doesn’t drink, or for what reason. You don’t want to pave the way for awkward conversations about why someone doesn’t.

When I didn’t drink, I got asked why I had soda every time I went out. It got repetitive and frankly didn’t make me feel welcome; it made me feel judged. I have several teetotal friends who still experience this.

Also consider ways to engage your remote team members just as much as your office-based employees.

When remote employees are left out, it’s often because companies don’t consider creative ways to support them and try to fit old models into new ways of working.

Volunteering

The most powerful way to support a community is often not with money, but with time.

Listening to people; helping them do something they couldn’t do on their own; keeping them company so that they don’t feel alone. It doesn’t cost anything but time, but it can make a huge difference to someone’s day.

You could arrange for members of your employee resource group for women to volunteer at a women’s shelter. Or if your team is remote, either enable them to organize their own volunteering opportunities or work with an organization that can help you find opportunities in your team members’ locations.

Book club

When people love a book just like you did, it can form the basis for a strong friendship. 

I’ve had many friendships start from a mutual love of a book or TV show. It shows that you’re interested in similar things and share similar values.

The type of books your employee resource group for women recommends also help set the tone. Will they be focused on professional growth, popular reads, or spreading the word about lesser-known titles? Different types of people read different things and will be attracted to different types of book clubs.

Lunch and learns

Empowering members of your employee resource group for women with the chance to learn about new skills and topics is important. It can boost both engagement and productivity, while expanding your team’s abilities. Plus, scheduling things during their lunch hour means it won’t conflict with any personal commitments outside of work.

Everyone needs to eat lunch, so why not have it do double-duty? Members can catch up with each other, get some solid nutrition to power them through their afternoons, and learn something new to help them either in or outside of work (or both).

Topics could include new skills relevant to your industry, time management, wellness and mental health; the options are endless!

Mentoring

Mentoring for women in the workplace can lead to huge opportunities for growth and development, helping them navigate the challenges that being female in the workplace creates.

An employee resource group for women is the perfect place for team members to find mentors, as it will naturally attract people at different stages of their careers.

Conclusion 

Having an employee resource group for women shows that you understand the unique challenges women in the workplace face and want to help them navigate that terrain.

It comes with benefits beyond just socialization and belonging; it helps you grow your business, too.

Make groups smarter with Workrowd

It’s not easy to set up or run employee resource groups. Not if you want to do it right. 

Workrowd can help you get more from your employee groups through tools to collect feedback, share initiatives, connect employees, and more. Get in touch today to find out how we can team up to better support your employee resource group for women, along with your entire team.

Employee resource groups are an important part of making your team members happy and growing your business. But to ensure that both your business and your employees get the most from them, you need the right ERG leadership.

The right leaders will create an interesting, engaging community that leads to networking and growth opportunities for your employees, and a boost to your business.

The wrong ERG leadership will result in a non-existent community that’s inactive and unengaging. And nobody wants to be a part of that.

With that in mind, here are our top ERG leadership tips:

Pick active leaders

Back in the day, I was active in a lot of online forums. The ones that survived all had one thing in common: the leadership team was active and clearly cared about the site and its community. They kept things up to date, communicated any changes or issues, and spent time engaging with members, too.

The forums still needed active members as well, but there was a trickle-down effect. If the leaders stopped caring, so, too, did the members.

To run your employee resource groups, you need people who are interested, engaged, and good at rallying the troops.

If the group is for a particular subset of employees, ideally you want ERG leadership to be from a similar background. That way they can understand and empathize with the challenges the employees in that ERG face.

Choose someone who wants to do it

An important part of leadership is the enthusiasm to actually do it. If someone doesn’t want to take on an ERG leadership role, but they feel pressured into doing it, they likely won’t put the required effort in. As a result, your group will fall flat.

Someone who gets forced into ERG leadership, instead of doing it voluntarily, will feel resentful and stressed. It will lead to them either quiet quitting or leaving your organization completely. Which puts you in an even worse position than you were before pressuring them to lead the group.

Change leadership periodically

Changing ERG leadership periodically helps keep things fresh and fair. It can attract new members who may prefer different ways of doing things or initiatives instigated by new leaders that previous ones wouldn’t have done.

Rotation also stops leaders from burning out. That ensures they stay engaged with their day job, which should still be their main priority.

Get members to vote on and nominate new ERG leadership as well. This helps members stay engaged. They can also nominate people who may not otherwise put themselves forward but would be great at the job. Don’t forget how important it is that they actually want to lead, though!

Create a knowledge base

If you’re going to change ERG leadership periodically—or just want to make everyone’s lives easier—a knowledge base ensures anything someone within a group might need to know is easy to find.

It’s useful for new members or existing ones wanting to refresh their memory. It also reduces the stress for new leaders taking over. They don’t have to waste time finding information on organizing events, budgets, other important team members, etc.

Connect your groups

Employee resource groups shouldn’t operate in silos. They’re all individual communities but they should interact and share tips and advice. This advice can ensure that new ERG leadership stepping up doesn’t fall into the same challenges or traps. It provides crucial networking opportunities for people, too.

Get executives involved

Your executive sponsor not only legitimizes an ERG, but can also help with things like getting budget sign-off, planning/organizing events, recruiting new members, and getting groups involved in business decisions like new tools.

A women’s group, for example, can help you identify gendered language in product descriptions. Or accessibility features aimed more at men. (Car manufacturers, I’m looking at you. I am short. Cars are getting bigger. Make it so that I can close the trunk without practicing ballet stretches, please.)

It’s becoming increasingly obvious when certain people aren’t included in decision-making, like in the above car example. Sure, in some cars you can now open or close a car trunk with a swipe of your foot. But only if you’re tall enough. It’s not an accessibility feature if it isolates more than half the population.

That’s one of the reasons why employee resource groups are so powerful. It’s also why getting your senior leaders onboard is so crucial.

When they’re involved with ERGs and encourage employees to join, it has a ripple effect throughout your organization. It lifts everyone up and shows the power in their individual and collective voices and experiences.

Give them a budget

Your ERGs aren’t just casual social groups. They should be a core part of your business. So, like any other part of your business, they need a budget.

How much will depend on several factors, including:

• How many ERGs you have
• What they want to do (it can help to ask them to put together a plan)
• How many members they have
• What their objectives are
• Your business finances

ERGs can then use this budget for training, meetups, tools—whatever will benefit their members the most.

The right ERG leadership will be able to manage this budget and decide what to spend it on in a way that’s most beneficial to the group and your business.

Conclusion 

Leadership in any area is crucial, and your employee resource groups are no exception. Get the right ERG leadership in place and you’ll have engaging communities your employees want to be a part of.

Organize your employee groups with Workrowd

Need help organizing your employee groups to make your leaders’ lives easier? Workrowd is here to help. Our tools save ERG leadership time on tedious admin work so that they’ve got more time to spend on community building. Get in touch today to book your free demo and find out more.

So you understand why employee resource groups are important, but if your organization doesn’t yet have them, how do you start? Here are our top employee resource group best practices for those looking to launch their first ERGs:

Don’t treat them as a nice-to-have employee benefit

While employee benefits are nice to have, your ERGs aren’t one of those things.

It’s easier than ever for employee resource groups to get dismissed as simply nice-to-have DEI initiatives. This is especially true when you’re just starting them for the first time.

That’s why it’s important for you to ensure everyone, regardless of how long they’ve worked for you, knows they’re a core part of your business.

Including your ERGs in key decisions can help with reinforcing this and is one of the most effective employee resource group best practices. For example, if you’re a SaaS business working on a new tool, preview it with members of your disability ERG to get feedback. That will ensure you create something accessible for everyone.

Too often, accessibility is seen as optional, or added on simply because it makes able-bodied people’s lives easier.

But disability comes for us all one day.

Making it a core part of your business has no downside, and having an ERG for people with disabilities helps you get things right the first time.

Establish a formal process

A formal process ensures that if someone wants to set up an ERG, they know exactly what to do. It saves everyone a lot of time and confusion, and is one of the most fundamental employee resource group best practices.

It also helps make sure every group is paired with an active executive sponsor. This will help legitimize the group to employees and show that you’re serious about them being a valued part of your business.

Moreover, give them a decent budget that allows them to actually do things. This could include in-person meetups, online hangouts, speakers, etc. Their executive sponsor can help them acquire and manage this budget.

Hold them accountable

As well as a formal setup process, you also want to ensure they have goals so that they don’t fall into the trap of just being a social group.

Get them to set yearly goals, track their progress, and hold them accountable to achieving them. As with anything else, what gets measured gets managed, making this another one of the core employee resource group best practices.

Acknowledge leaders’ time

It takes time and energy to run a community; it’s an extra responsibility alongside someone’s job that could easily spiral into another part-time role.

You therefore want to acknowledge the time and energy ERG leaders spend organizing your groups. Adjust their workloads accordingly to ensure they have the capacity to actively support their ERG (and protect them from burnout).

You also want to connect them with development opportunities—like leadership training, for example—or other ways to thank them them like increasing their pay. Ensuring your group leaders feel appreciated is another important effort on the list of employee resource group best practices.

Publicize groups early and often

You’re never talking about things as often as you think. Whether it’s mentioning ERGs in job postings or internal communications, regularly reminding employees that those supports are there ensures the people whom the groups can benefit can find them and join them if they choose to.

Mentioning your groups publicly can also be a way to distinguish yourself from competitors and show what your company values are, too. It’s one of the employee resource group best practices that can really boost your employer brand.

Likewise internally, regularly plug them in as many places as you can. For instance:

• Relevant Slack channels
• Onboarding materials
• All-hands meetings
• During events like Pride Month, Disability Pride Month, etc.
• Internal emails
• Intranet

To make it less repetitive, you can showcase the groups’ accomplishments. This further reinforces the fact that you don’t just see them as social groups.

Track engagement as well as enrollment

It doesn’t matter how many people are in a group if nobody has posted since 2019. You need active participants for them to make a difference.

So, when it comes to your metrics, be sure to look at how many people are engaging and how often. This will help you show where the demand and interest are. It’s one of the employee resource group best practices that is often overlooked, but which is very important.

Know when to decline applications

As hard as it may be, you don’t want to accept every application to start a new ERG. Sometimes, there isn’t enough interest, it has too much overlap with an existing group, or you already have too many.

If you have too many, it can lead to employees experiencing decision fatigue. They may either not join any at all or join lots and be less active in them because there are simply too many.

Give them the tools to succeed

ERGs are beneficial for employees whether they work remotely, in the office, or hybrid. So it’s important to find ways to make ERGs accessible to everyone within your organization.

Knowledge bases can also be useful, so new members and leaders don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time they want to plan an event or other initiative.

Depending on the size of your organization, hiring a coordinator or manager to support all of the groups is one of the employee resource group best practices you may want to consider.

Organize your ERGs with Workrowd

Another tool that will make ERG leaders’ and members’ lives better is Workrowd. You can keep everything employees need to know about your ERGs in one place, from what groups are available to upcoming events. So they never need to go fishing to look for what they want to know.

Get them working together 

Any good YouTuber will tell you that part of their secret to success is cross-collaboration. You’ll often find YouTuber A features YouTuber B on a video, then the following week, it’s the other way around.

Sometimes they have similar types of videos, sometimes they don’t. But this cross-promotion is key to any channel’s long-term success.

Your ERGs are the same. After all, they have similar goals: they want to support your business and employees. And sometimes cross-collaboration is the perfect way to do it.

For example, if you’re working on a new product or service, you could get members from each group to test it and provide feedback.

Or you could get them to collaborate on organizing a particular type of event.

There are so many things that you could do. Don’t forget to ask them for suggestions, too!

Conclusion

If they’re not already, ERGs should be a core part of your business. They can help you make better, more informed decisions as well as being a way to attract and retain talent.

Organize your ERGs with Workrowd

If you’re not sure where to start, don’t worry—that’s why we’re here! Workrowd can help you implement all of these employee resource group best practices and more.

From organizing all your employee initiatives in one place to maximize visibility, to tracking their performance so you’re always getting the best value for money and the best results, it’s all at your fingertips. Your employees will want to take part in ERGs and other programs and events more, and you’ll get more out of them as a result. Get in touch today to book your free demo.

All too often, employee resource groups get dismissed as nice-to-haves or solely DEI initiatives. But there’s so much more to why employee resource groups are important for organizations today.

Luckily, while some may question their impact, other companies fully recognize the value of these communities. In fact, 61% of employers even report that they plan to boost their ERGs’ budgets. Would businesses really put that much effort and money into ERGs if they were just a nice-to-have?

ERGs are so significant to businesses’ health that 90% of Fortune 500 companies have them. What’s more, 83% of staff who find their company’s ERGs “effective” or “very effective” report a positive inclusion score.

Employee resource groups can help inform and optimize your business decisions to be better, more inclusive, and more efficient. Which of course helps you become more profitable and expand faster. And every business wants that, right?

So let’s dig deeper into why employee resource groups are important, now more than ever.

Who ERGs benefit

While thriving ERGs benefit the whole organization, we most commonly see groups focused on the following communities:

• Women
• LGBTQIA+
• Disabilities
• Veterans
• Race and/or culture-based
  • Black
  • Latine
  • Pan-Asian
• Age-based
  • Multigenerational
  • Young professionals
• Parents
• Interfaith

Why employee resource groups are important

Employee resource groups really are pivotal to the health of businesses in the modern world. Let’s look at the benefits to understand why employee resource groups are important:

Make work about more than just work

All too often, it can feel like life is all about work and…nothing else. This can eat away at employees’ wellbeing, which then affects their ability to work.

78% of employees who feel like they belong at work rate their wellbeing positively. In fact, it’s the biggest driver of workplace engagement—91% of employees who feel they belong at work are also engaged.

Given how crucial employee engagement is, this alone is a compelling reason why employee resource groups are important.

Improve retention rates

When people feel like they belong, they’re less likely to want or need to leave. Retaining your star players is therefore also high on the list of why employee resource groups are important.

For example, Dell’s Women in Action ERG helped the company to boost retention rates among its female employees.

Attract more candidates

More than 3/4 of candidates now look for diversity when considering employers. So being loud and proud about your ERGs will help you attract more top candidates.

ERGs show what your business values, something that’s increasingly important among Millennial and Gen Z workers. 89% of employees now want to work for a company that shares their values. What’s more, 39% of Gen Z-ers and 34% of Millennials have declined roles that don’t align with their values.

Sharing details of your ERGs on social media, or even in job descriptions, helps you communicate your values to potential candidates. It then means that people who apply for roles are more qualified, weeding out those who would be the wrong fit for your business because their values don’t align.

Putting your values front and center is another reason why employee resource groups are important.

Elevate your onboarding

Starting a new job can be an intimidating time. ERGs are a great way to help new hires settle in.

You could set up a mentoring program, have a place where they can ask questions, or even organize an ERG specifically for newer employees. They can talk about their experiences and offer each other moral support to make those early days a little easier.

Become more innovative

Innovation is key to standing out in the modern world. It’s also a top reason why employee resource groups are important.

Prioritizing diversity in your business can help you generate new product ideas you may not have thought of otherwise.

For example, Procter & Gamble’s Hispanic and African Ancestry ERGs helped with product creation such as the Pantene Gold series.

And according to BCG, companies that have more diverse leadership generate 19% higher revenues than those with below-average leadership diversity.

Build psychological safety

Psychological safety is vital to a culture of innovation, productivity, and wellbeing. It enables your employees to experiment and try new things without worrying about the consequences to their careers.

As a result, they’ll take more risks, leading to greater innovation and more profits for your business.

In fact, research found that 2/3 of staff feel ERGs contribute to this feeling of psychological safety. Yet another reason why employee resource groups are important.

Boost trust in leadership and colleagues

Trust is another key element to psychological safety. 36% say that ERGs help employees trust leaders more and 31% feel they help them trust their coworkers more. This empowers everyone to achieve more in less time and makes for a more welcoming work environment.

Strengthen company culture

Your company culture is vital to your business success. 26% feel that ERGs helped them connect more to the company culture.

Moreover, 66% of employees believe ERGs help contribute to a strong community feeling, something which gets everyone in your business heading in the same direction, as opposed to working against each other. The more employees work against each other, the harder it is to achieve business goals and the slower everything—and everyone—moves.

Increasing collaboration and boosting company culture make two more points on the list of why employee resource groups are important.

Welcome underrepresented talent

Helping underrepresented talent feel welcomed and appreciated is more important than ever. Having access to ERGs where they can connect with others who share similar experiences and backgrounds shows them you see them, value them, and want to continue supporting them.

Increase revenue

When workplaces are racially diverse, they experience 11.1% higher revenue growth. Over time, that can quickly add up to a huge difference, adding yet another reason why employee resource groups are important.

Conclusion 

ERGs are no longer a nice-to-have employee benefit. The bigger your business, the more important it is to show candidates and team members that you’re serious about treating your employees like real people. Beyond that, it shows that you value what their individual experiences can bring to your business.

Organize your ERGs with Workrowd

If you want to benefit from all of these reasons why employee resource groups are important, Workrowd can help. With tools to help market, manage, and measure your ERGs, and all your other employee initiatives in one central hub, you maximize both engagement and your ROI. Get in touch today to book your free demo.

Recruiting and hiring underrepresented talent is one of the simplest ways to expand your internal knowledge, innovation, and creativity.

If everyone in your organization thinks alike, they’re far more likely to fall into the trap of groupthink. This can slam the breaks on innovation quicker than you can say “1984.”

Underrepresented talent can help you solve problems you didn’t know you had by spotting oversights in your products or services. For example, using lots of emojis on social media posts makes them clunky for someone using a screen reader to listen to, as the screen reader will describe every emoji. Many people who don’t know someone who’s partially sighted are unaware of this seemingly small thing.

How we see the world is influenced by our experiences. Which is why supporting underrepresented talent matters now more than ever. It future proofs your business from every angle.

It’s also going to be a key differentiator for attracting and retaining talent. Gen Z is the most racially diverse generation in the US—48% identify as non-white.

Meanwhile, people with disabilities are the most likely demographic to be unemployed. 7.2% of people in the US with a disability are unemployed.

So how do you support underrepresented talent pools like these in the current work climate?

Rethink your hiring practices

There are very small things you can do to even the playing field when it comes to hiring underrepresented talent. Or even attracting it in the first place.

For example, providing interview questions in advance. This allows candidates to prepare their thoughts so that you get the best-quality responses from them. 

Someone being able to think on their feet isn’t a reflection of their intelligence or abilities. It’s a skill in and of itself but not one that’s necessary for most roles.

Other simple strategies you can adopt include making sure your in-person venue is on the ground floor or includes a working elevator. Or removing candidates’ names, ages, and other demographic data from their resumes when reviewing them to avoid unconscious biases creeping in.

Have a formal mentorship program

You may hope that mentorship and knowledge transfer will happen organically without the need for a formal program. I’m here to tell you, as an introvert, it won’t.

Or, if it does, it will only benefit the loudest people in the room—not necessarily the most capable.

A formal mentorship program takes the burden off of employees asking someone to mentor them. You can use tools to connect employees to mentors, or host mentoring events for people to network.

The more you do to remove the barriers to entry, the more likely your mentorship program—and therefore your knowledge transfer and succession planning—is to be successful.

Members of Gen Z have vital technological knowledge and they’re changing the rules of work. 

But current employees and managers need to meet them halfway. They need to learn how Gen Z thinks while helping Gen Z navigate corporate politics and the world of work. Mentoring and employee groups are two of the most powerful ways to do this.

Start—and encourage—employee groups

Employee groups are key to fostering a sense of networking and belonging at work. They enable someone to feel like part of the gang, not an outsider who doesn’t fit in with their colleagues. 

And fitting in at work is key to people’s happiness and productivity. If they’re on the outside, regularly feeling left out by their teammates, they won’t be as invested in what they’re doing, so they’ll be less likely to put effort in. Then they’ll wind up quiet quitting or just leaving.

You could create groups for underrepresented talent to connect, Gen Z-ers, or even groups for common hobbies like writing or gym-going.

You don’t want to overwhelm employees with options. Then the groups may become too quiet or saturated, but you do want to give them some choices. Shared interests can be crucial foundations for getting to know colleagues and working with them better in the short- and long-term.

Using Workrowd, you can organize your employee groups and keep everything in one place. It’s the perfect tool to support knowledge-sharing, mentoring, and networking initiatives.

Collect feedback

You don’t know what you don’t know. Which is why it’s important to ask employees what they want and need from you.

Sending employee surveys is a crucial way to find out how employees, and in particular your underrepresented talent, really feel about work and what you could do better.

Workrowd can help you automate your feedback surveys, so then you’ve got more time to act on the results. Want to find out more? Book your free demo today.

Don’t assume an “open-door policy” is the answer to everything

Just because you say you have an “open-door policy” that doesn’t mean employees will use it. This is especially true for underrepresented talent.

Some employees may feel too shy or intimidated, or afraid of repercussions if they say something controversial or personal.

Employees need a safe space to ask questions and hold leadership accountable. An employee listening platform where employees can post anonymously, or a regular automated survey, helps you collect this vital feedback to help you, and your leaders, improve.

Educate your workforce

There is nothing more powerful than education. If someone has never experienced something themselves, they have no idea what it’s like.

Educational programs, or even employees sharing their own challenges or experiences, helps the rest of your employees understand the struggles faced by people with different backgrounds to them. And therefore empathize more with them and other groups of underrepresented talent.

Conclusion 

Supporting underrepresented talent doesn’t require huge changes. It simply requires listening, maintaining an open culture between leadership and employees, and helping your underrepresented talent connect—to each other and your business.

Workrowd can help you keep the dialogue open between your employees and leaders through automated surveys. It can also help you manage your employee groups and other programs to keep your underrepresented talent engaged and connected. Get in touch today to find out more.

Back in 1987, just 2% of the workforce was older adults. That number is now 7%. The silver worker has become a major player in today’s workplaces.

Workers 55 and older are projected to make up more than 25% of the workforce by 2031. And according to the Pew Research Center, the average silver worker now works longer hours and gets paid more than ever. 

Around 11 million older workers are now employed in the US. Over 42% of these are in management, professional, and related occupations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Which shows how their knowledge and experience remains relevant to the workforce.

Some of this increase is because we’re living longer. Some is because we’re in a cost of living crisis where extra money can go a long way (or not). And retirement age in many countries continues to increase. 

In the 1990s the average age of retirement was 60. It’s 66 today, and 41% of US workers expect to continue working in some way beyond 65.

So what can you do to support your silver worker population? Here are some tips:

Provide training to help them adjust to the evolving technical landscape

The world is changing faster than ever. Offering your silver worker cohort support through different training initiatives shows that you still value their contributions. And you want to help them adjust to what’s new. 

It also shows that you’re not going to write them off because they’re over a certain age.

Training could come in the form of books, webinars, coaching, mentoring, audiobooks—the list is almost endless.

Offer them opportunities to mentor

Your older employees have plenty of experiences and skills that they can share with your younger recruits. That’s true whether they’re new to your business or have been there a while. The average Boomer employee stays in a role for 8 years. So why not give these silver worker team members the chance to mentor?

In addition to benefitting your younger employees, mentoring helps your older employees grow their leadership skills. It also provides more purpose at work, which can help with employee engagement.

Help them connect in an ERG

You can create an ERG for just about any population or demographic, so why not start a silver worker group?

It allows people to discuss what’s on their minds, share memories, ask questions, and talk to people who understand where they’re coming from.

Workrowd can help you get more from your employee groups. You can keep everything in one place, so it’s easier for team members to find whatever they need, and enables them to connect with their colleagues. Book your free demo today to find out more.

Ensure you don’t have an ageism problem

It’s a sad fact that ageism still exists. I’ve spoken to many people over a certain age who won’t apply for new roles—and instead stay in jobs that make them unhappy—because they believe when they’re over the age of 50 (sometimes even 40!) that no one will want to hire them anymore. Even if they have decades of experience in their industry.

Given that the average age of CEOs in the FTSE100 is 55, this is pretty mind-boggling. But ageism does still exist. It’s why celebrities who age naturally get told they look “old” and precisely why most celebrities opt not to. It could ruin their careers.

There are subtle signs this is changing (mostly outside of Hollywood) with Boomers now being the fastest-growing demographic in the workplace. But it still requires people to keep their attitudes in check.

To show that you value the wisdom that comes with age, you could create a silver worker showcase on your organization’s social media. 

Or if they’re comfortable, consider helping them grow their own personal brands.

The more you can show that employees of a certain age are still valued parts of your workforce, the more likely you are to attract the silver worker demographic to your business and retain the ones who already work for you.

Update your pension plan

Census data found that almost half of adults aged between 55 and 66 have no personal retirement savings. The global average pension is also considerably below the 65-80% of earnings experts recommend to maintain someone’s living standards when they retire.

Saving for retirement is often one of those things that people put off because they think they can worry about it at a later date. Then a later date hits and they’re left with very little. If you don’t already have a 401(k) option for your employees, consider creating one with auto-enrollment. Similarly, if you do already have one, make sure it’s effective and up-to-date.

In the event auto-enrollment isn’t an option, periodically remind employees that they can opt in if they want to. Or consider having a company policy of auto-enrollment, especially for employees approaching silver worker status.

Provide flexible working options

Over a third of companies offer part-time, flexible, or phased retirement options, according to Mercer. 

For the silver worker who finds full-time work too much but isn’t yet ready to give it up entirely, this can be a really beneficial option for both the employee and your business. They get to stay in the workforce longer, giving them a sense of purpose and keeping them mentally agile. And you get the benefits of their years of experience in the workforce.

Conclusion 

Your silver workers are treasure troves of knowledge and experience. Their presence in the workplace is going to continue to grow, too, as people live longer, retirement ages go up, and the cost of living crisis continues. 

Providing support for your silver workers ensures that you retain all their great experience while balancing it with their changing needs.

If you’d like to really help your silver worker demographic, why not connect them in an ERG? Workrowd makes it simple for you to set up and manage your employee groups. Plus, you’ll get real-time analytics you can segment to see what really matters to a silver worker within your organization. Get in touch to find out more.

Employee resource groups (ERGs) can lead to an increase in employee engagement of up to 15%. With stakes that high, it can help to have some employee resource group guidelines to set you up for success.

ERGs can also boost the visibility of underrepresented talent. Even more so when you consider the positive impact on employees’ networking opportunities, career growth, and job satisfaction.

But how do you equip your ERGs to thrive and drive real impact across your business? Here are some employee resource group guidelines to empower your ERGs to reach their full potential:

Pick the right leaders

Leaders aren’t just people managers, and the ones who run your ERGs don’t have to be. 

But they do have to be great listeners and able to tap into what the group wants and needs. This goes for your groups’ executive sponsors, too.

Successful groups live and die by their leadership as members will follow the example set by the people in charge. 

I’ve seen many groups falter and decline because previously enthusiastic leaders have lost interest. Or the wrong people have been put in charge.

The worst is when the role goes to someone because no one else wants it. Especially when it’s clear they’re not going to be the right person for it. This then risks causing existing members to become detached or disinterested. If the leader or sponsor doesn’t care or put the time in, why should they?

Enthusiasm for a cause is contagious, and your ERGs are no exception. When it comes to employee resource group guidelines, picking the right leaders is an important place to start.

Use the right tools

The right tools is the second pillar of our employee resource group guidelines. When you use a tool that makes it easy for people to join and stay engaged with your groups, you can maximize their success without the stress.

With all your groups’ important information and announcements in one place, plus automated feedback collection and real-time analytics, every ERG will have what they need to be at their best.

Check out our tip at the end for details on how to run your ERGs more effectively! 

Know their purpose

Why do you want to create ERGs? For whom do you want to create them?

Is it to boost talent attraction and retention? 

More than half of companies say ERGs have a positive impact on their recruiting efforts, so it’s a solid goal. 

A further 75% say that they’ve helped them with retention.

Plus, there’s the 15% boost in employee engagement we mentioned above.

Whatever your goals are with ERGs, view their creation, management, and budget through that lens. This will help you make more effective decisions about how they work and influence what you get out of them. This is key when it comes to employee resource group guidelines.

Tie them into organizational goals

How can you tie your ERGs into the company’s goals? 

For instance, if your goal is to increase diversity among new hires, would setting up ERGs for underrepresented talent, and including them in employer branding materials, help you show that you’re serious about your commitment and there’s a community waiting for them to join?

Considering how the groups can play other roles in helping you achieve business goals in the long- and short-term is core to employee resource group guidelines.

Support them financially

If an ERG wants to go on a trip or hold an event, can you support that financially? Giving them a budget shows that you see their value and want to support their continued growth and development.

Events and trips are great ways for members to interact in person. They can learn new things, visit new places, or just get a change of scenery. If you want to follow best practices for employee resource group guidelines, you have to put your money where your mouth is.

Create rules around fairness and inclusivity

You know when you request to join a Facebook group, a popup asks you to agree to the group rules? Things like no spam, be polite to everyone, etc.? You want something like that for your ERGs, too. Some employee resource group guidelines for within your groups, essentially.

ERGs should be safe spaces for everyone where they can be treated with fairness and respect. Having those rules in place acts as a reminder and a safety net. 

It’s not to say you think the worst of anyone by having them just in case. But you protect yourself, group leaders, and vulnerable members from being bullied if sensitive topics get raised. 

Employees should be able to have difficult conversations with each other and disagree amicably without the conversation becoming rude or offensive.

Talk about them!

If employees don’t know that your ERGs exist, they’re not going to join them. Let alone use them.

Introducing your ERGs should be a part of onboarding for any new employee. As should encouraging them to join any groups they feel are relevant.

But it shouldn’t be a case of sharing about them once during onboarding them forgetting about them. Employees learn a lot in their first few weeks on a job and may not have the bandwidth to join right away. That doesn’t mean they won’t want to join later, though! Keeping that door open is central to employee resource group guidelines.

Encourage their use

It helps when leaders encourage employees to join ERGs, reminding them that they’re there during company meetings, sending updates via email, and sharing their successes.

It’s also important to encourage ERG leaders to talk about them and invite people who might be interested in them to take part. Not in a pushy sales way that risks putting people off, but in a way that shares why it’s a welcoming, inclusive place.

Leaders also need to actively start and respond to discussions, as this will encourage others to take part. If leaders don’t participate, employees won’t see the point either, no matter how many other employee resource group guidelines you follow.

Conclusion

ERGs can be hugely beneficial for companies of any size. For larger or remote teams they’re especially effective at connecting employees who may not otherwise have the opportunity to meet. 

They also have huge potential to create networking and career growth opportunities for employees at all levels when run by the right people and supported by a company’s leaders. Following these employee resource group guidelines can help you make the most of yours.

Make managing your ERGs a breeze

The benefits of ERGs might be tempting, but the challenges of running them might be intimidating, too. 

Workrowd can help you organize and track your employee groups so that you and your employees get more out of them. 

Ready to learn more? Visit us online or write us at hello@workrowd.com to schedule some time to chat.

Women in the workplace still face barriers, despite 56% of women taking part in the US job market. Globally, 59% of women in the workplace face non-inclusive behavior. This can come in the form of being rejected for flexible work opportunities, intentionally sexist interactions, or more subtle discrimination.

Roughly two-thirds of women in the workplace are looking for new opportunities. This presents a challenge to employers. They must find ways to retain female employees so they can continue to benefit from their knowledge and diverse viewpoints.

So, without further ado, let’s explore some ways to empower women in the workplace:

Pay equity

Do the women in your organization get paid the same amount for the same job as their male colleagues? Is it time for a pay bump?

UK retailer Next risks closing stores—and potentially going bankrupt—because the UK courts have ruled that it didn’t pay women in the workplace as much as male workers.

It now has to pay back almost $40 million to 3,540 past and present female workers.

Its reasoning for paying less to female workers, who predominantly work on the shop floor, is that warehouse workers had to work undesirable hours and lift heavy items. Yet retail workers are on their feet all day, dealing with all kinds of customers. And also sometimes have to lift heavy items.

The Tribunal did say that Next’s behavior wasn’t a case of “direct discrimination.” Instead, it was about cost-cutting. However, it still didn’t think this was a justifiable excuse.

Times have changed. Excuses like Next’s just don’t cut it anymore. Putting profit above all else isn’t good enough. Businesses that do that will lose employees and customers.

Make sure your employees are paid equally for similar jobs so you don’t end up like Next.

Mentoring

Mentoring can be an effective way to connect women in the workplace. It can give them a leg up, particularly in more male-dominated industries. It can also equip them with more support to help them navigate challenges. 

Moral support from someone who’s been there before is beneficial for people of any age. It can help with employee engagement and retention, even increasing the number of people who finish training programs.

However, 71% of executives choose to mentor people who are of the same race or gender. Which presents a problem when men hold 72% of C-suite positions. So it’s crucial that you build a leadership team that reflects the type of workplace you want to develop. Diverse workplaces take work to build and maintain—they don’t happen by accident.

(And let’s not forget that gender quotas do not mean the people you hire are less competent. Quotas merely weed out the incompetent.)

Employee resource groups

ERGs are a really good way to connect people with colleagues who share similar backgrounds and experiences. So, creating groups for women in the workplace can make a big difference for your female employees.

ERGs can be a place for them to share concerns, learn about how your benefits work for women and families, and just talk about life in a safe environment.

Plus, with access to the right tools, like Workrowd’s employee group management suite, you can ensure your ERGs drive real value for women in the workplace.

Flexible working

So many women can’t return to work because they can’t find a role that fits around childcare.  This is despite 8% more women than men having bachelor’s degrees by the age of 29.

Childcare is expensive, especially in some countries. And sometimes, even if a mother wants to return to work, it isn’t financially viable. Childcare would cost more than they earn in a month. But having a flexible working arrangement could make it all doable.

There’s no downside to offering flexible working. Whether that’s altering someone’s hours, offering a job share, or allowing employees to work remotely. 

Surely what matters at the end of the day is how well they perform in their role, rather than where they perform their role from?

Open communication

How do you know if you’re providing women in the workplace with what they need if you don’t ask them?

Needs change over time, which means if you’re not in regular contact with employees, it’s possible that something might’ve changed but they don’t feel comfortable raising it. If they don’t feel comfortable raising it, they’re more likely to leave if another opportunity comes along.

So make sure that managers regularly check in with their employees, send feedback surveys, organize events where they can meet colleagues, pay attention to what people say in ERGs, and maybe even organize focus groups to ensure you’re getting the full picture.

The more avenues you have for open communication, the more likely you are to find the information you need to empower women in the workplace.

Leaders also need to model this behavior. If they don’t encourage open communication, and create a psychologically safe workplace, no one will feel comfortable discussing their issues for fear of reprisals.

Conclusion 

Empowering women in the workplace is simple: pay them what they’re worth, help them connect, and keep communication open.

The more you do those things, the more it creates a positive cycle for women in the workplace and your business. 

Women get the support they need, financially and socially. Meanwhile your business gets the extra skills that come from having a more diverse workforce.

Support women in the workplace

Support the women in your workplace with Workrowd. You can manage and measure ERGs; collect employee feedback; and create a more engaged, empowered workforce. Get in touch today by visiting us online or emailing us directly at hello@workrowd.com to book your free demo.

The most culturally diverse companies perform 36% better than the least diverse companies, according to McKinsey research. But diverse teams can only reach their peak if cultural competence is a priority.

Cultural diversity at work leads to teams making better decisions 87% of the time. That’s a huge difference in a company’s decision-making abilities. Plus, it has the potential for ripple effects throughout the business and into the outside world.

Culturally diverse companies also have better collaboration, innovation, and operations. All things that are key to getting ahead of your competitors, whatever industry you’re in.

So let’s take a deeper look at cultural competence: what it is, what the benefits are, and how you can improve cultural competence in your business.

What is cultural competence?

Cultural competence refers to a person or business’s ability to understand different cultures and their needs.

Key elements include empathy and understanding for people of different backgrounds and experiences.

Why does cultural competence matter for the global workforce?

Here are just some of the benefits of cultural competence for businesses:

Recruitment 

Diversity is more important than ever to jobseekers. 76% now see it as important when picking an employer. 32% wouldn’t apply at all to a company that lacks diversity.

A lack of diversity within a business can make employees worry that they won’t be heard. 

The less diverse a company is, the more likely it is to fall into the trap of groupthink. This makes it harder for employees to speak up, even if companies put diversity statements on their job applications. (Which, let’s face it, many just do because it’s a legal requirement in some countries).

If your organization lacks cultural competence, you won’t be able to attract the underrepresented talent your business needs to thrive.

Employee satisfaction

When employees are satisfied with their employer’s DEI efforts, they’re happier at work. 

And when they’re happier at work, they can perform better and earn more money for your business.

Higher employee satisfaction, of course, also improves your retention rates. If employees are happy, why would they want to leave?

Despite this, 57% of employees feel their organizations could do more to increase diversity and cultural competence.

Innovation

One of the best ways to solve a challenging problem is to see it from a new point of view. 

New hires offer a great way to get a fresh perspective on your business. But don’t underestimate the power of diversity within your existing team, either.

The way someone from the UK approaches a problem will be different from how someone from the US approaches the same challenge.

Every aspect of someone’s background can impact how they solve a particular problem. And that’s a good thing.

The more diverse perspectives you have, the more they can combine to make your business more innovative and forward-thinking, helping to future proof it in the age of AI.

How to improve cultural competence in your business

So, what can you do to improve cultural competence in the workplace?

Training 

Training is one of the best ways to introduce new initiatives and educate employees. It can help them develop new ways of working and looking at the world. Which can go a long way towards helping them develop cultural competence.

It could be through a formal workshop, or it could come from things like written content, books, webinars, or podcasts.

The more options you offer for training, the more learning styles you can appeal to. This helps both with retention and attraction and shows that you really are committed to your DEI efforts.

Employee listening

The results of employee feedback surveys can be difficult to swallow. But they’re a vital way for you to spot problems before they become gaping chasms that seem monumental to fix.

Sending automated feedback surveys asking employees what they feel you could be doing better allows for an open dialogue about how your business operates and how you can create a strong company culture with high cultural competence.

If you’d like help sending your feedback surveys, why not get in touch? We can help you automate your employee feedback surveys and analyze the results so that you can collect more data and have more time to take action that supports your employees.

Get feedback

Employee listening is a crucial part of your feedback strategy. But so is managers actively asking for and collecting it from their employees. It’s important to not get complacent with things like diversity initiatives, as that’s when bias can creep back in.

If you really want to create a business with strong cultural competence, be sure to train your managers and employees on how to give and receive feedback. 

Too often, there’s an assumption that people know how to do this. Giving feedback is all about clearly communicating positives and negatives. It’s not as easy to do effectively as it sounds.

Embody it

Understanding what cultural competence means is one thing. For it to truly happen in the workplace though, everyone within the business needs to live it. 

This starts with managers setting an example, being aware of the differences between employees, and supporting their varying needs.

It’s also about taking action when employees provide feedback. You can’t just nod along and say you know there’s a problem but it’s too challenging to fix. This puts employees at risk of becoming disengaged because they feel like their problems don’t matter.

Conclusion

Cultural competence impacts every area of your business, from profits to recruitment and retention. It leads to better decision-making in almost every situation. And, it helps you attract better quality candidates who can further support your initiatives.

To make it work, you need to listen to employees and act on what they want and need from you. 

You also need to ensure that all managers are trained in cultural competence—and don’t take it for granted. 

Employees will be able to see when managers don’t have cultural competence, and when they’re not open to feedback. Ensuring everyone within a business knows how to give and receive feedback puts everyone on even footing. It helps create a workplace where everyone feels included, regardless of their background.

Ready to boost cultural competence in your organization? Workrowd has the tools you need. From automated feedback surveys to ERG management tools to real-time analytics dashboards, everything you need is just a click away.

Want to learn more? Visit us online or reach out directly at hello@workrowd.com.