ERG Council: Strengthening Your ERG by Clarifying Your Purpose

Description

If your ERG has decided its mission without member input, or even fails to have a mission at all, you lose the opportunity to clearly communicate why your ERG exists and what members can expect from it. You may have potential members attend a few happy hours and leave the group because it isn't doing the advocacy work they wanted to see in your organization. Conversely, you may overwhelm your members by asking them to review the employee handbook for gendered language when all they wanted to do was grab coffee together.

ERGs can take a number of forms and hold multiple purposes at once. Your ERG may provide social connections, professional development opportunities, mentorship, internal/external advocacy, or all of the above. No matter what it is, your purpose and mission should be clear and articulated in a way that is easy to understand for members and your general company community. This will help your group stay focused and help guide future decisions when developing goals and metrics.

Participants will be introduced to exercises that will help them form or clarify the type of ERG they are and create or refine their mission and vision statement for their ERG.