Prioritizing ERGs in companies and benefits: A Q&A with Sona Khosla

Recently, we caught up with Sona Khosla, chief impact officer at Benevity, a corporate purpose software platform, to discuss their new State of Workplace DEI study. They believe that Employee Resource Groups could be the key to support an equitable and inclusive culture in any company.

How do businesses benefit when they prioritize ERGs among their DEI initiatives?

It’s a well-documented fact that ERGs support companies in creating an equitable and inclusive culture. But more recent research is highlighting that they can do even more–for workers and businesses alike.

Benevity’s recent State of Workplace DEI study found that the majority of ERG members (78%) said one of their top reasons for joining an ERG was to connect with colleagues with similar lived experiences, emphasizing the power of these communities in creating an authentic sense of belonging. More than half of ERG members either joined to learn from colleagues with different lived experiences or become better allies to diverse colleagues.

The data also revealed some less predictable benefits reported by employees. For example, ERGs are seen by more than 90% of respondents to support employee wellbeing at work and as a way to help unify the workplace. And perhaps most surprisingly, 91% of employees said that ERGs have a greater impact on inclusivity than traditional DEI and unconscious bias training, which is where a lot of DEI budgets are invested.

Turning to what business leaders think of ERGs, Benevity’s recent report highlighted the fact that corporate social responsibility (CSR) leaders are big believers in the power of ERGs, too. Ninety-five percent of CSR leaders said that ERGs help new employees feel a sense of belonging, 93% said that they are effective at building empathy and allyship, and 90% said they offer opportunities for growth, learning and skills development, and wellbeing. With these findings, it is important to note having a unified culture aids in improving productivity, attraction, and retention of employees. The overwhelmingly positive sentiment of business leaders outside of traditional DEI roles represents a great opportunity for championship, investment, and further support for ERGs from other parts of the business, ensuring a more successful program and outcomes.

Taking a step back from what the data says about the value of ERGs, it’s also become clear that employees want their companies to continue to invest in DEI. In fact, 66% of respondents believe their company should commit more time and resources to DEI initiatives than they currently do. And there are tangible consequences for inaction, with over three-quarters of employees (78%) stating they would not consider working for a company that fails to commit significant resources to prioritizing DEI initiatives.

As the importance of wellbeing and connection at work rises, employees are willing to make career moves to find purpose at work. In fact, 44% of U.S. Gen Z and Millennial employees report they have previously resigned from a job because the values of that company did not align with their own. It’s clear that employees are looking for more than just a paycheck.

Why are ERGs essential to company culture, especially in this time of economic stress?

The current economic downturn has companies facing tough decisions surrounding layoffs and cutbacks, especially in the area of DEI. And yet, 62% of employees want their employers to dedicate more effort than usual to DEI over the next 12 months. While this economic uncertainty weighs on employers and employees alike, it’s clear that the appetite for pullbacks in DEI and ERGs is incredibly low amongst employees. And for good reason.

For the past three years, employees have called upon their companies to move beyond making statements supporting racial and social justice and to back up those claims with concrete investment and action. As a result, many companies invested in this area, hiring DEI leaders and managers, setting goals and targets, recruiting more diverse talent, and investing in training, learning, and ERGs. All of this momentum has made DEI more top-of-mind than ever and employees have started to reap the benefits of engaging in these activities which are shown to improve their sense of belonging and wellbeing. It doesn’t do much for companies if when the going gets tough, they pull back on these very same investments after proclaiming that they are committed to racial equity and justice only a few years earlier.

Ultimately, it comes down to trust. Data from the State of Workplace DEI revealed that more than 90% of respondents agree companies with strong DEI commitments are more trustworthy to customers and employees. A similarly overwhelming majority of employees (87%) agree they would feel more loyal to a company with a proven track record of prioritizing DEI.

Benefits are not one-size-fits-all; how should companies focus on providing equitable opportunities to all employees?

When asked who at their organization cares about DEI the most, many employees responded with “myself” (46%) over either HR (19%) or C-suite/senior leadership (13%). This tells us that while many companies have DEI programs in place, organizations may need to give them more attention to be truly effective.

Start by engaging with ERGs to understand the barriers and opportunities that exist for individuals within these minority groups. All employees have different lived experiences and face unique challenges, meaning the support and benefits they need will vary.

A survey, for example, that’s sent to an entire organization shouldn’t be used to make sweeping decisions when it comes to diverse populations. These underrepresented groups, who often don’t make up the majority of the population, will get lost in the shuffle thus having little impact on strategy and program design. And though ERGs shouldn’t be writing company policies, their needs must be considered as part of all core employee experiences and benefits. One way to implement this is having ERG leaders who represent these groups form part of a council or group that the company can identify, engage with, and seek consultation from to ensure that the groups they represent are part of a company’s decision-making process.

ERGs are an important part of ensuring a company is providing equitable opportunities to all employees, but they’re not the whole solution. Similar engagement and thinking about an organization’s DEI, social impact, and culture strategies will help create a coherent experience for employees and leave them feeling like they are an organization that not only cares about them but makes a tangible difference in the workplace and the communities they belong to.

Why do you think most employees agree that ERGs have a more significant impact than traditional DEI and unconscious bias training?

When it comes to traditional DEI and unconscious bias training, it’s not that people don’t want the training. Employees agree (92%) that companies have a responsibility to help all employees become aware of their biases. However, traditional unconscious bias training often involves self-lead online learning or a one-time, one-hour presentation. And the efficacy of the training is proven to be short-lived. Ninety-one percent of employees agree that ERGs have a more significant impact on inclusivity than traditional DEI and unconscious bias training. That’s because ERGs highlight real lived experiences from real people within your company, rather than hypothetical scenarios and theory or history lessons without present-day context. And ERGs often leverage the power of storytelling and sharing, which are proven to have a longer efficacy rate than traditional training.

Providing a space for people to converse honestly with colleagues not only gives them a community and a sense of belonging at work, it also creates more empathy and understanding which can unify the company culture overall. These ongoing conversations and initiatives within ERGs are more emotive and have a bigger impact on people that don’t go away once the trainers go away or the learning platform is closed. ERGs have the power to create community as a part of an employee’s everyday experience with a company, which is likely to have a bigger cumulative effect on them than simply hosting a one-time training event.

What are some of the best practices for companies to support the implementation of ERGs?

Companies need to scale their ERGs because of the demand, interest, and power these groups hold. With 70% of employees reporting they have worked for a company offering ERGs at some point in their career and of those employees, 62% have actually participated, there’s strong interest from employees to see increased investment in these employee groups.

In order to support the implementation of ERGs and meet this demand, companies must leverage fit-for-purpose technology, which allows companies to show their employees they are committed to fostering grassroots communities by creating an online destination where people can discover these groups. It also allows ERG leaders to easily create communities, recruit new members, and organize and promote content and events within a hybrid working context, making it accessible to all employees regardless of their location. This technology also provides engagement and membership reports so ERG leaders and HR teams can better understand the interest, growth, and membership of these communities.

It’s critical to have executive buy-in and sponsors for each of the ERGs so that members’ voices can be heard, carried, and championed beyond the ERG to the rest of the company. Having an executive sponsor who actively attends events and promotes engagement helps amplify ERGs to non-members to increase participation from across the company.

Finally, ERGs must have clear roles and responsibilities at the onset of implementation because it’s important for ERGs to feel like they can be successful since this is voluntary work. This should also be included in employees’ performance reviews as the contribution they are making to the business and culture is not an extracurricular activity. We find many ERG leaders go on to be promoted because of the skills they develop leading ERGs.

Related: How companies can incorporate and prioritize DE&I year round

Were there any other findings from the data report that stood out to you?

The most stand-out finding from Benevity’s recent State of Workplace DEI report was that 90% of employees have personally benefited from DEI initiatives at work. This is the kind of data that proves that when you make your culture more inclusive for some, you make it more inclusive for all. When you offer flexible working, it not only supports parents and caregivers, it supports people of color and people with varying preferences in their working styles.

DEI is not the zero-sum game that it’s purported to be and it’s worth investing in because it benefits almost every single employee in a company. What other employee program can have that level of impact, excluding pay and benefits? This is a profound testament to the value of DEI work and why it matters as much as it does to employees.