Building a Strong Foundation: How to Create and Manage an Employee Resource Group.

In today's corporate workplace, diversity, equity, and inclusion are not just buzzwords; it's a critical mission for organisations aiming to engage employees, thrive and succeed in a rapidly changing world. One starting point in achieving this is by establishing and effectively managing Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). These voluntary, employee-led groups can play a pivotal role in creating a more inclusive workplace where every individual's voices are heard and valued.

We have 8 ERGs, or diversity networks, at Beazley. Each network has been started from the ground up, and is run for employees, by employees, with senior sponsorship to help amplify their voice and connect their activities to the business strategy.

Based on our experience running our race & ethnicity network at Beazley, we wanted to share our hints and tips on how to create and manage an ERG within your organisation.

Step 1: Define Your Purpose and Objectives

Before getting into the logistics, it's crucial to have a clear understanding of why you want to create an ERG and what goals you aim to achieve within your company. You must take the time to define your purpose and objectives.

Examples:

• Are you focusing on promoting cultural diversity, gender diversity or supporting LGBTQ+

employees?

• What are the objectives you want to achieve within the first year?

It‘s also imperative that the ERG goals align with your organisation's broader diversity, equity

and inclusion strategy.

Develop a formal charter that serves as a guiding document for your ERG. This charter should outline the group's mission, objectives, leadership structure, and membership requirements. Be sure to include details about how the ERG will operate, including meeting schedules, decision-making processes, and financial management (if applicable). If creating a formal charter is not possible, there needs to be a centralised location where there are notes that people can pick up and see how things need to be completed within the organisation. Whilst having this structure can be helpful, we’d also suggest being flexible – successful ERGs need to acknowledge that the people involved in running them do so off the ‘side of their desk’ in addition to a full-time role, and there may be times when being flexible as to how the group works will be important.

Step 2: Gain C-Suite Support

For your ERG to thrive, it's essential to secure the support of senior leadership, most especially someone from the C-suite within your organisation. Their endorsement not only provides credibility to the group but also helps in accessing resources and advocating for change at a higher level. To take this a step further, it would even be better if one of your C-Suite executives is a sponsor to assist you in different ways, such as processes, putting together an initial team, charter, etc. Once you have gained that support, you should be regularly sharing updates and progress with your C-Suite executive and other key stakeholders. Demonstrate how the ERG contributes to the organisation's diversity and inclusion goals and the positive impact it has on the workplace culture.

Our executive sponsor at Beazley is a passionate and vocal advocate and helps us secure the budget where necessary, and considers the impact on our ERG in meetings we might not be a part of.

Step 3: Assemble Your Core Team

An ERG needs a dedicated group of employees (who volunteer their time outside of their day-to-day role) who are passionate about the cause and willing to take on leadership roles. Assembling such a team will drive the ERG's mission and objectives forward within the organisation. We’d suggest that the team should consist of a minimum of four people to ensure that there is some sort of coverage, as you do not want to overburden one person where they could “burn out” from handling all of the work. The larger the core team, the easier it is to share the initial heavy lift of starting and implementing the ERG’s purpose and objectives. Your core team should be meeting at least once a month to discuss upcoming events/plans or any ideas about how to push forward the ERG’s objectives. We have found it works best to have two people considered the Chairs of the ERG to ensure that they can be the voice of the ERG to C-suite executives if a need or issue arises.

Step 4: Consider your media strategy

Effective communication is key to attracting members to your ERG. Think about who will handle all of your internal and external communications to ensure consistency in your ERG branding. Utilizing internal communication channels such as emails, Teams, Yammer, the company intranet and company-wide meetings to promote the group.

Step 5: Membership

We’d suggest ensuring your ERG membership is open to all employees who share an interest in the group's mission, regardless of their background or identity. Creating a safe and welcoming environment for all employees, regardless of their background or identity, will encourage open dialogue and constructive feedback.

Step 6: Plan and Host Events

Organise regular seminars and social events to engage members and address the ERG's goals and objectives. Consider collaborating with other ERGs groups within your organisation to maximise impact. We have run successful events in collaboration with our women's ERG on financial literacy, for example, or with our wellbeing network to highlight the importance of positive mental health for people who are ethnic minorities.

Step 7: Leverage Resources

Seek support and resources from your HR department or other relevant departments in your organisation. Try to secure funding for ERG activities and initiatives if needed. Having access to resources can significantly enhance the group's ability to achieve its goals – your C-suite sponsor here might be able to help!

Step 8: Evaluate and Measure Impact

Set key performance indicators to measure the success and impact of the ERG – this could be how many people are attending webinars, or are reading your articles. Regularly assess progress to ensure that you are obtaining the opinions of your members. You can utilise those progress reports to make adjustments to your strategy as needed. Demonstrating the value your ERG brings to the organisation can help secure ongoing support.

Step 9: Sustain and Grow

To ensure long-term success, continually engage with members and executive leadership to ensure you are addressing their needs and adapting to changing circumstances. We are so proud of what our ERG has been able to achieve. We have fostered an inclusive environment, ensured safe spaces for emotional conversations, helped tap into external talent pools, provided invaluable feedback on our company’s strategy and helped in developing our members' careers! By using our steps as a guide to creating your employee resource group, we hope it will be a powerful way to promote diversity, equity and inclusion within your organisation.