The value of employee research groups

Diversity has moved beyond just a theoretical concept to a belief that reflects in the organisational culture in the present business landscape. However, instead of jumping onto the bandwagon without a comprehensive understanding of the pros and cons of several practices and approaches in this area, we need to be cognizant of what these perceived solutions truly are and whether they actually speak to the core of Inclusion or actually transform invisible barriers into visible ones.

Employee Resource Group (ERG) has been one such practice which was quickly picked up by organisations and replicated across. In terms of defining these groups, they are essentially voluntary employee networks which are created within organisations, based on some shared characteristics or attributes such as gender, region, ethnicity and so on. The idea of the groups is to provide support, guidance and enhance career development. They are created with the belief that these will help foster a diverse and inclusive culture. Typically these groups are employee-led and have their own leaders within the network.

Some of the results that organisations are looking to achieve through ERGs are:

• Being perceived as inclusive and equal-opportunity employer brand.
• Reducing the isolation among employees by enabling them to bond with other employees with similarities and hence improving retention as well as engagement.
• Providing opportunities for development, to high potential employees that belong to the minority segments within the organisation.
• Impacting business through innovative thinking since ERGs cut across functional and departmental lines.
• Impacting business growth by reaching out to a diverse customer as well as vendor base that they can form connections with given their background

In terms of the degree to which organisations have successfully managed to achieve these results, one would have to explore the ERGs for those specific companies. However, at a broad level, a large number of organisations believe that they have a significant and positive impact on business. One such report sponsored by Cisco has shared some instances of successful application of ERGs in various organisations. The end results have benefited the employees who are part of these ERGs and have shown business results for the organisations.

The author is Simran Oberoi, independent HR consultant and research & content lead, Interweave Consulting.
Re-printed with permission. Link: https://www.linkedin.com/ pulse/article/20140827053042-23076946-ever-questioned-the-value-of-employee-resource-groups-are-yielding