Remote work, hybrid models, and increasing awareness of diversity and inclusion challenges have pushed organizations to reimagine their employee experience (EX) strategies. As companies grapple with these shifts, they're turning to research-backed practices like Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to cultivate a sense of belonging among their workers.
These dynamics have resulted in a more diverse workforce with varying needs and motivations. Remote employees often struggle to connect with their co-workers and the organization at large. Hybrid workers with distributed teams find it challenging to bond with colleagues in different locations. These factors can profoundly influence employee engagement, raising questions about organizational identity and belonging.
Perceptyx's 2024 Benchmark Data reveals a significant uptick in organizations measuring key DEI sentiments, which reflects a growing recognition of the importance of understanding and improving employee sentiment in this area. That work comes at a critical time, as the aforementioned changes at work have resulted in a “loneliness epidemic.” Our research found that over 4 in 10 workers experience loneliness in the workplace, and that loneliness manifests significant consequences for organizations: high turnover, lost productivity, lower team morale, and even disruption in employees’ personal lives.
In response to the loneliness epidemic and employees' desire for a greater sense of belonging, organizations are adapting their listening strategies to better understand employee sentiment, prompting a search for effective mechanisms to address these findings. One way that employees have historically tried to feel a sense of belonging at work is through Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), which are voluntary groups of employees that come together based on shared interests, identities, or life experiences.
ERGs have been studied extensively, and past research has shown that they’re not only a great way to foster an increased sense of diversity, belonging, and inclusion among employees, but can also benefit the business itself, through collaborating with workers from other departments they might not otherwise interact with, increasing cross-functional collaboration and expanding the employee network.
But what does the latest data reveal about ERGs? Are they as effective as they have always been? Do they produce increased feelings of belonging among employees? Are there specific kinds of ERGs that are more effective than others? Let’s take a detailed look at our findings.
Our recent benchmark research analyzed survey responses from more than 20 million employees across multiple industries, job types, and regions. One major theme that emerged was employees still — indeed, more than ever — desire a sense of belonging at work. Since 2023, multiple states have enacted anti-DEIB legislation, representing a pushback against recent efforts to create more equity in the workplace. This has resulted in a pullback of organizations implementing DEIB programs, including a reduced role for ERGs.
Our research suggests this pullback is a miscalculation. While overall belonging scores have improved steadily from 2021 to 2023, employees who belong to ERGs consistently reported significantly higher belonging scores than those not in ERGs. In fact, employees not in an ERG were 1.4x more likely to report feeling a lack of belonging within their organization.
That same benchmark trends study compiled more than 600,000 survey responses from employees who belonged to ERGs across 14 large companies, which further confirmed these findings. ERG participation predicted not only higher organizational belonging (e.g., "I feel a strong sense of belonging to my company") but also increased feelings of authenticity (e.g., "I can be my authentic self at work"). This underscores the importance of ERG membership in fostering both organizational belonging and personal authenticity in the workplace.
One initial interpretation of these findings might be that more ERGs are always better. But our findings also contradict that claim and suggest something different. While the data do show that ERG membership increases feelings of belonging throughout an organization, the effectiveness of said ERGs can vary considerably. When the analysis controlled for certain qualities of ERGs (e.g. their purpose, meeting frequency, how long they’ve been in effect, etc.), the impact on belonging was greatly diminished. This suggests that while ERGs can impact belonging, not all ERGs are created equal, and can vary considerably in their effectiveness based on certain qualities.
Those qualities matter. An ERG that meets once a month might differ substantially from an ERG that meets once a week. An employee who is of a non-minority status joining a minority-focused ERG might have a different experience than an employee of a minority status. While two ERGs at two different organizations might share the same focus, their effects might still differ based on a variety of factors, including — but not limited to — the organizational culture and climate, prior DEIB initiatives, meeting frequency, membership activities, and more.
Given these findings, how can organizations effectively leverage ERGs to boost belonging among employees? The following section outlines key strategies for maximizing ERG impact.
A 2022 McKinsey report detailed what separates good ERGs from bad ones, and many of the suggestions, which are consistent with our research, remain salient today.
1. Don’t just encourage ERG membership, encourage effective ERG membership.Our findings reveal that while ERG membership is generally important, the effectiveness of individual ERGs varies significantly. Therefore, organizations should focus on fostering high-quality ERGs rather than simply promoting membership. This aligns with McKinsey's report, which found that employees who considered their ERGs effective or very effective reported higher feelings of inclusion compared to those who viewed their ERGs as ineffective.
The story here is that you can’t act on what you don’t know. Many organizations collect data on who is part of an ERG in their HRIS systems, but they fail to go the extra step further to actually ask employees whether they perceive their ERGs as effective or not. In the spirit of a cohesive employee listening strategy, weave some questions for ERG members into an employee census survey or pulse, and be sure to ask about their experience and whether they feel they benefit.
This can take the form of either quantitative data on survey questions or qualitative data from comment analysis of open-ended questions, targeted interviews, or focus groups. Once this data is collected, organizations can better target individual ERGs or leaders to enhance their effectiveness based on employee feedback and ensure that the ERGs benefit employees to the maximum extent possible.
ERGs are one of many levers organizations can pull to activate their DEIB efforts, however, they’re rarely the only method. Organizations typically create a holistic DEIB strategy ranging from various employee programs and initiatives, events, listening events, and more that signal to employees what the focus of the organization is.
Too often, ERGs work independently of that strategy, being left to their own devices while the HR team develops an entirely separate strategy. To maximize the ERG impact, it is essential that leaders of said ERGs maintain a continued dialogue with HR leadership to align on overall goals.
If ERG membership activities conflict timewise with similar initiatives within the organization, that represents a missed opportunity. Too often, the messaging might also differ, with the organization losing the opportunity to have employees in underrepresented groups come to the table to offer their input on executing their DEIB strategy. ERGs and HR leadership should work in lockstep to ensure there is a consistent message being communicated to employees — in or outside of the ERG — that ultimately achieves the common outcome of fostering increased belonging and inclusion.
3. Find the right mix of autonomy and support for ERGs.A 2021 Forbes article similarly detailed the attributes that make for successful ERGs, and among them were seemingly contradictory statements: a) be sure to support ERGs through an active dialogue with community leaders to see what they need, while simultaneously, b) also ensuring that they feel autonomous and have the ability to execute their ERG objectives as they see fit. Though at first glance these might appear to be incongruent, the reality is often gray rather than black or white.
ERGs not supported by the organization, and thus left to their own devices, may lack the funding to do activities that would otherwise create opportunities for members to bond with each other, in addition to operating without a clear, aligned strategy. On the other hand, ERGs that are watched too closely can also lose their identity as an organic community, created by like-minded individuals who are passionate about a similar idea and coming together to share their ideas and experiences. The grassroots nature of the ERG is often what makes it feel special to employees — a psychologically safe place to exchange ideas and facilitate engagement among employees with similar experiences — distinct from the regular operations of the organization.
Striking the balance between hands-on support when needed and allowing ERGs the opportunity to flourish autonomously is critical. And doing so becomes much easier by following the first recommendation: having active dialogue and lots of opportunities for input from both the ERG leaders and their members.
Despite so much change in the world of work, one finding has remained remarkably consistent: ERGs are a phenomenal tool for organizations to support their DEIB strategies, and employees reap benefits by being members of one. At the same time, however, ERGs can vary dramatically in their characteristics, such as their purpose, their membership size, their frequency of meetings, the activities they engage in, and more. That means that not all ERGs are alike, with some being more effective than others.
The best things your organization can do to support ERGs are:
Employee resource groups aim to foster deeper connections among employees and strengthen their ties to the organization. Our research confirms that ERG members generally report higher belonging scores than non-members. However, we also found that the specific type of ERG can significantly impact the degree to which it influences feelings of belonging.
When backed by leading practices, ERGs are more than just a group activity — they're the glue that binds employees together. By following these practices, your organization can ensure that your ERG program can bolster employee engagement and take belonging from good to great.
Want to learn more about how to measure the effectiveness of your ERGs, and their impact on your employee experience? Schedule a meeting with a member of our team.