By Ciara Gogan, Nov 5, 2025
Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are an invaluable resource, having impact in both measurable and immeasurable ways. They are known by a variety of names, ERGs, BRGs (Business Resource Groups), Affinity Groups, and others. While their functions may vary from place to place, whatever you call them, they are a powerful resource for your employees and company. They are often at the center of organizational culture, idea generation, and employees’ sense of belonging. And while they can be incredibly powerful, their impact is exponentially greater if they are well structured, managed, and set up to flourish.
Pride In Our Workplace (PIOW) is a network that supports organizations and professionals committed to fostering inclusive workplaces for LGBTQIA+ individuals and allies. Our sponsor organizations recently had the good fortune to participate in Dr. Tom Bourdon’s “Maximizing ERG Effectiveness” workshop — and there was so much fabulous content shared! Tom is the founder of Next Level Impact, a consulting and facilitation firm that empowers individuals, teams, employee resource groups, and organizations for long-term success and growth. I know I won’t be able to do his workshop justice in a simple blog but I’ll try. The strategies and information contained in this blog and Tom’s workshop are universal, they apply to all resource groups, not just the LGBTQIA+ community.
The Influence ERGs Can Have
If you’re reading this, you are likely already aware of some ways that ERGs can positively impact your organization. Whether it be:
- ensuring all voices are heard
- working with your marketing and talent acquisition teams to provide guidance on reaching the communities your ERGs represent
- leveraging your groups for insights as to the current struggles they are facing
- or providing community for each other during those times of struggle
your ERGs can and do influence at all levels of the organization. Tom shared the example of Procter & Gamble’s African Ancestry Leadership Network, who collaborated with the marketing and communications team to create the commercial called “The Talk”, as part of their My Black Is Beautiful initiative, an incredibly powerful move that sparked global conversations. Talk about having an impact!
You may not be ready to start a global movement, and that’s okay… but do your groups have:
✅ A clear purpose?
✅ A direction they want to move in?
✅ Ways to measure impact?
✅ The tools your ERG leaders need to partner effectively with executive sponsors?
And do your executive sponsors know their role, what’s needed from them, and just as importantly, what is not? That last part is a blog for another day…suffice it to say that the ERG leaders/co-chairs run the ERGs, and your executive sponsors are in an active, but supporting role. Not always an easy dynamic to navigate for either party!
A 5-Step Framework for ERG Impact
Back to purpose…as Tom says, purpose is powerful when it’s strategic. He shared with us a simple but very effective framework ERG leaders can use to craft their Impact Statement, which becomes a north star for the work you are doing. Here’s the premise, a five step process, that I’m summarizing below:
- Clarify Your Purpose (what is your “why?”)
Tom’s prompt for this is “Our ERG exists to _________ because _________.”
– Be specific, is it career growth, is it community support etc. why does this ERG exist. - Identify Impact That Matters (What opportunities will you address?)
– e.g. what are your current needs and pain points (for members and for the org.) - Maximize Impact With Limited Resources
– e.g. what assets do you already have internally (talent, speakers etc.)? What strategies can you deploy to drive meaningful change? - Boost Engagement and Leadership Buy-In
– e.g. how can you turn passive members into active champions? Tips – align ERG goals to organizational priorities, create meaning for members. - Measure and Share Impact
– This will help you prove value to the business and build engagement. Do it regularly, not just annually.
Your responses to all of the above items becomes your Impact Statement. Imagine if you had this clarity articulated? How much easier would it be to discuss the value proposition of your ERGs and secure buy-in, funding, and be able to measure your impact?
There was a lot more shared in the workshop; for example, each of the steps above had a prompt and additional questions to ponder. But I can’t give away all of Tom’s secret sauce. A full replay of the workshop is available to our sponsors (shameless plug for becoming a PIOW sponsor).
At PIOW’s recent ERG Summit we had two panels of seasoned ERG leaders discussing a range of topics from facing today’s challenges, speaking up, and programming on a budget. Video clips from those panels, and other insights are available at the link above.
You don’t have to have a large team or huge budget to make an impact. Tom suggests that if we tie emotional storytelling to efforts, it helps people understand the real life significance of our ERGs. Let me share an example. I was recently speaking on a panel for an LGBTQIA+ event and a woman came up to me, someone I had worked with several years before. At that organization I was instrumental in founding our ERG program, and was a co-chair of our LGBTQIA+ ERG. She shared with me that the ERG had just held their annual Pride event and had raised a substantial sum of money for a local organization that supports queer youth. She thanked me for starting that company on its ERG journey and honestly, it felt so amazing to know the impact that work I had done all those years ago was still having.
What we do matters
…long after we may have moved on. So keep going! You are making a difference, even if you can’t see it in the moment.
To Keep Your Momentum Going (or get it started) consider:
- Reviewing your ERG’s current mission statement
- Using Tom’s 5-step framework in your next ERG planning meeting
- Exploring PIOW sponsorship to access the full workshop replay
Author Ciara Gogan. Ciara is a member of the PIOW Board of Directors and DEI consultant
