How can you encourage employees to join your company's ERG?

In creating an ERG strategy, many companies place an emphasis on support from the most senior leaders of the company - which I agree is incredibly important. Especially when considering funding and selecting Executive Sponsors for your ERG. However, one group that is often overlooked is middle management, the leaders who have the ability to support - or discourage - their direct reports being involved in ERGs. If middle management doesn't understand the value of ERGs and how they positively impact employees, they are less likely to provide a supportive environment for employees to actually participate in the ERGs and inclusion-related events.

Getting a share of mind in the busy corporate space isn't easy. In many cases, ERG's are limited to communicating to their membership, which can make it harder. Telling people the ERG is great won't attract people. You have to demonstrate it through meaningful activities. Don't forget - when you DO get the chance to talk about your ERG that being a productive member, or volunteer can bring experiences and learning that people just don't get in their day job. A smart leader will identify this when discussing personal development with a team member. How can you get experience in something that your job doesn't provide? Leadership in an ERG...

Two places every company should be putting their ERGs front and center: their careers page, and their new employee onboarding experience. A successful onboarding is a huge input to long-term employee success, and hybrid/remote environments are making this even harder. New employees are always eager to meet their new co-workers, and ERGs are an incredibly approachable way to participate in their company's culture.

There's a bit of "build it and they will come" but I recommend to seek out and partner with physical site and country leadership. I run an ERG which connects people. Our HR and business leaders understand that we can help their teams to thrive, and they include us in site events, virtual town halls and so on. We have 13 ERG's (yes, 13) and we work together a lot too. We do events in collaboration with other ERG's and this exposes new members to what we do. As Anisha mentions, employee onboarding is a great place to bring ERG's in. I really enjoy talking to new hires - but make that a conversation. What better opportunity to ask, especially early-in-career people what support they need, or what they can bring to the mix?

We’ve found hosting round tables and sending an annual end of the year survey asking what members would like to see more/less of has been super helpful. We also have a feature on our BRG management platform we use that asks members when they join a BRG, what they’re looking to get out of the membership which helps BRG leaders curate meaningful programming.

When ERGs collaborate on an effort, it increases their audience & reach across a company and makes resource allocation even more effective (i.e. time and money). An example from this month: many LGBTQ+ ERGs are recognizing National Coming Out Day, so one group partnered with their Mental Health ERG to discuss the psychological safety considerations of coming out to family, friends, and co-workers.

It's not a competition. ERG's should be free to join (and leave), and working together multiplies the benefits and exposure. Frankly, if you have a lot of ERG's, the workforce doesn't have the time or energy to be attending 10 events a month. By working together you can reduce the number and increase the quality and reach of events.

I am a people leader and lead an ERG. I'm sure many leaders don't think they have the time. I used my leadership experience to build out the ERG leadership team so we can share the load. Wherever possible, double-up on people. Have 2+ leaders, 2+ community leads etc, at each level. People get busy and distracted. We all have day jobs. Don't be afraid to step back when needed. ERG's for me is a secret ingredient in the personal development conversation. When I'm looking for volunteers, I'm looking for people that want to learn how to do these things, not for someone that already does it in their day job. Give people the chance to grow in a safe environment.

As a tenured leader, I found it a challenge working with very senior execs and their work styles. It's a work in progress. Leading an ERG with ~18,000 members helps gets me access to the most senior people in the company and that helps me learn how to make the most of those moments.