Finding The Best Support For Your ERGs

Finding the Right ERG Leaders

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) need great leaders to bring the group’s mission to life. ERG leaders act as the connector between the executive sponsor and the group members to ensure clear communication from the top to the bottom. According to a Mercer study, respondents report an average of 1.4 full-time equivalent employees dedicated to the management, coaching, and coordination of their ERGs. So who is right for this job and how are they selected?

There are two main ways to go about finding an ERG leader. The first way is employee self-nomination. Typically, by the time you are selecting your leader, you already have a few employees committed to the ERG. An employee might actively vocalize interest in this position, or you may ask a fellow employee if they are ready to take on a leadership role. It would help if you encouraged interested applicants to complete an outline describing their vision for the ERG along with basic information.

Another standard method for selecting an ERG leader is for senior leadership to nominate team members or to review outlines/proposals. Senior leadership is typically the executive sponsor as they support the mission of the ERG. Executives must view ERG leadership as a pipeline to help and encourage junior employees to grow and provide opportunities for employee development and avenues for connectivity. Since the ERG leader works closely with the executive sponsor, it can be helpful to allow the executive sponsor to select the best fit for the role.

The Best Support for ERGs

Once your ERG is established, it’s time to start planning and attending events and seeing a change. ERG events can range from community service to career development and guest speakers. Mentoring programs can be extremely beneficial to your ERG as mentoring programs boost the representation of Black, Hispanic, and Asian-American employees by 9% to 24%. Similarly, a study by Heidrick & Struggles found that 30% of women found mentoring programs to be significant in their career advancement.

It’s vital to supercharge ERGs with a resource that offers a variety of group sessions that support their respective populations from a non-biased point of view. TaskHuman is a fantastic resource for ERGs. Finding an event that can cater to a wide range of employees can be difficult. With time and location conflicts, accommodating all members can feel nearly impossible. As a virtual platform, ERG members can join a group session scheduled by your ERG from anywhere.

TaskHuman has a wide variety of group coaching sessions that can be offered to your ERG. Whether your focus is parenting, diversity, religion, disabilities, etc., topics range from serious sessions to team bonding and connectivity. TaskHuman will work with your group to find a program suited for your desired needs. Along with group coaching sessions, members can access personalized 1:1 coaching on over 1000 different topics ranging from work to personal life.