Tag Archives: employee resource groups

Employee Resource Groups and the Issue with Middle Management

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Middle management often stand as roadblocks to employee engagement in ERGs

One of my core areas of expertise is starting and building effective employee resource groups (ERGs), frequently referred to as business resource groups. ERGs / BRGs are employee led networking groups within organizations organized around a common identity like race, gender, sexual orientation, veteran status or interests like health and environmental awareness.

My expertise includes designing and facilitating the National Diversity Council’s ERG Academy, and co-leading the Effective Communication for ERG Leaders training with communications expert Nina Surya Irani of UniqueSpeak.

Part of my presentation includes common inhibitors to effective ERGs, and the most frequent one that comes up is lack of buy in from middle management. Why is this so, how does it happen and how can this be addressed?

Why is this so? Most senior leaders in effective organizations truly understand the strategic importance of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) to organizational success. They understand the business case and the studies (like from McKinsey Consulting) that show they well managed diverse teams outperform homogenous teams. These senior leaders fully support ERGs as a critical part of DEI strategy execution.

ERGs are instrumental in employee attraction and retention.


At the same time, many employees value ERGs and want to get involved. ERGs provide a chance to network with peers in a totally safe and open environment and work on things like career development and reaching out to their communities outside of work.

How does this happen? There normally seems to be a pocket of managers in any organization who do not seem to get the DEI strategic message from their senior leaders. They are so laser focused on their own particular department’s goals or so siloed that do not see the larger corporate strategic picture and begrudge any employee spending even a single minute not working heads down on their department mission.

How can this be addressed? First and foremost, the senior leaders need to be diligent about assuring the the DEI commitment message gets cascaded through their direct report all the way down through all chains of management. Also, they should find ways to support and recognize managers who support the DEI strategy. Second, there can be some bottoms up communications where employees meet with their leadership and share from their perspective the strong business case for supporting DEI efforts and their own ERG involvement.

As ERGs continue to have a tremendous impact on the success of organizational DEI efforts, let’s work toward every manager and leader supporting this strategic initiative.

A new offering – Effective Communication for Employee Resource Group (ERG) Leaders

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Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), often called Business Resource Groups, are employee led groups supported by company leadership around groups with common identities. The most popular groups are women, race and culture-based groups, LGBTQA, Veterans and People with Disabilities. Over the past few years ERG efforts have expanded into groups like Mental Health and Wellness, Parents / Caregivers, Environment Awareness and more.

ERGs ideally serve both the needs of employees and the organization around DEIB (diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging) initiatives. And as such they organize activities around leadership development, recruiting, community outreach, workplace culture and more.

Over the past few years, ERG support services has become one of the core areas of my DEI consulting practice, and the demand continues to grow. It’s one thing to launch an ERG, but it’s another to launch and run it successfully. I find it so fulfilling to help several of my clients launch their ERGs with an effective strategy and process, recruit and train ERG leaders, and establish best practices for their support. I also assist existing ERGs in growing and becoming more impactful.

I’m excited to share that in 2024, I am collaborating with Nina Irani Surya of UniqueSpeak Consulting, a communications expert, to design and offer communications skills training specifically for ERG leaders.

Effective communications is critical for ERG leaders working within their groups and with HR and senior leaders

Why is this so critical? Communication is one of the most pivotal make-or-break tools for ERG leaders. Successful ERG leaders need well-honed communication skills within their group as well as out to their organization’s senior and human resources leaders. First, ERG leaders need to inspire their members, who all join as volunteers, to be engaged and assist in the work. They need to lead collaborative teams and build consensus. Second, they need to communicate the needs of their constituents up and out to senior and HR leaders in a way that builds trust and gains results.

Topics in this exciting and interactive four-hour workshop will include:
· A review of effective ERG inclusive leadership
· Building skills of persuasion and building trust in relationships
· Communicating with your ERG members and leading people to action
· Communicating to executives and HR Leadership
· Additional key communication leadership skills such as active listening and addressing micro-aggressions
· Scenarios discussions and/or role plays – situations with ERG members, senior leaders and HR.

This workshop can be offered in person or virtually, and is a great follow up to the National Diversity Council’s ERG Academy.

You can download a brochure with a detailed curriculum and facilitator bios from my speaking package page, or you email me at [email protected] or call me at 919-787-7315 to request the brochure.