How To Sponsor an Employee Resource Group

You’ve been asked to sponsor an Employee Resource Group (ERG) at your company – now what?

After the initial buzz of being chosen wears off, it’s time to start thinking about your role, responsibilities, and ERG best practices so you can make a positive impact.

ERGs drive organizational change and ensure employees feel included and respected, regardless of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.

They can be wonderful and inclusive spaces that can make a change internally in the company and externally within the community.

But for an ERG to be truly successful, it needs guidance from a trusted sponsor who can support and mentor the leader and members.

ERG sponsors also bridge the gap between the ERG members and the company’s senior leadership.

Here are five things you should do when sponsoring an Employee Resource Group.

1.   Define your role as a sponsor

When it comes to sponsoring an ERG, ambiguity is your worst enemy.

However, if your expectations of the role don’t match the ERG’s expectations, tensions can arise, and the relationship can break down.

A recent survey conducted by Great Place to Work illustrates this mismatch.

They found that 100% of executive ERG sponsors thought their company leadership encouraged ERG participation.

However, many ERG leaders disagreed, with 52% saying it didn’t.

Clearly define your role to prevent misaligned expectations.

2.   Learn about the ERG’s specific needs and help them set goals

Now that your role is clearly defined, it’s time to help the ERG brainstorm its mission and plan its goals.

This process might take place over weeks or even months.

Every ERG has specific needs based on its industry, workforce, and interpersonal relationships, and you need to determine these before setting short- and long-term goals.

However, common goals include encouraging senior leadership buy-in, securing funding, planning and organizing initiatives and events, and designing training programs.

Your role as an ERG sponsor is to help the group identify their strengths and parlay them into specific, measurable goals.

3.   Determine your sponsorship style

According to Elfi Martinez, a fellow ERG Strategist, ERG sponsors usually fall into five categories.

Which describes you best? Knowing this will also help you clearly define your role within the ERG.

A great ERG sponsor embodies these characteristics even if your strengths fall clearly into one or two categories.

• Strategists – If your strength is planning, goal setting, and mission statements, you’re likely a strategist.

  You’ll work with the ERG to help them articulate their goals and ensure they align with the company’s overall business goals.

• Evangelists – If you’re an evangelist, you can’t stop talking about the ERG and how much it can benefit the company.

  You promote, promote, and liaise with executives and upper management.

• Innovators - Innovators are about pushing ERGs to break the mould, disrupt the system, and overcome obstacles.

• Brokers – As the name suggests, brokers make deals and connections within the company and with outside organizations. They secure funding and make sure things happen!

• Mentors – Mentors are compassionate and non-judgmental sounding boards that provide sage wisdom and teach leadership skills.

No matter what sponsorship style you identify with most, remember that it’s always important to be a good listener, a non-judgmental sounding board, and a good source of support.

4.   Attend Meetings

Until now, we’ve been focusing on high-level concepts, but it’s crucial to remember the more practical side of things.

One of the most important things you can do when sponsoring an Employee Resource Group is to attend the meetings.

Attending the meetings you’re invited to might seem like an obvious point, but you’d be amazed at how many sponsors sign up, attend a few meetings, and are never seen in person again.

They ask for updates via email or Teams rather than spending time with the group and learning about its dynamics and progress.

Furthermore, all of this leads to mismatched expectations and relationship breakdown.

If I can give you just one practical advice: attend the meetings!

5.   Go to bat for the ERG with company leadership

Some of your key strengths as an ERG sponsor are your seniority, your network, and your experience.

Close relationships with senior executives mean you can advocate for the ERG’s needs and approach them with big asks.

In addition to seeking funding and support, you can spread the ERG’s ideals and initiatives to upper management and the executives, helping to make a change at even the highest levels of the company.

It’s far less intimidating for you to approach the CEO with new ideas than for an ERG leader to do the same.

This responsibility goes both ways – you also need to ensure that the ERG is aligned with the company ethos and business goals.

Interested in ERG Sponsor Coaching?

Being a great Employee Resource Group sponsor doesn’t happen overnight.

First, you need time to get familiar with the concept, the goals, and the people involved.

If this is your first time sponsoring an ERG, there can be a steep learning curve.

That’s where we can help. We coach senior leaders on how to sponsor employee resource groups.

You can find out more by booking a call.