Trends in Employee Resource Groups for Development

We need to stop lumping ERGs and affinity groups together. ERGs should drive #businessresults with clear metrics, while affinity groups create community spaces without the same ROI pressure. Both matter for engagement, but they're different animals that need different yardsticks. In today's politically charged environment, ERGs with demonstrated business impact are defensible. Those that can't quantify their value? They're likely to be first on the chopping block when budget cuts come. Why these groups are engagement powerhouses: ⚡Authentic belonging translates to retention. When employees find their community at work through these groups, they're significantly more likely to stick around. This matters even more in remote/hybrid environments where connection doesn't happen organically. ⚡ERGs give employees a voice in organizational decisions that old-school suggestion boxes never could. When people feel heard, their effort skyrockets. ⚡ Affinity groups create #psychologicalsafety that enables innovation. People take creative risks when they feel accepted for who they are. ⚡Career development happens naturally in these spaces. Mentorship, visibility to leadership, and skill-building opportunities emerge that formal programs sometimes fail to deliver. ⚡They're talent magnets. Prospective employees increasingly research your ERGs before accepting offers. No ERGs often means no deal for top talent. For ERGs, track hard business outcomes: retention numbers, promotion rates, innovation outcomes, and revenue impact. Your CFO needs to see these numbers. For affinity groups, focus on community strength metrics: psychological safety scores, sense of belonging, network expansion, and burnout indicators compared to non-members. These "softer" metrics still matter – they're your early warning system for cultural health issues and a weakening employer brand. Counting event attendance and tracking snack consumption won't save either type of group when budgets tighten. If you can't quantify your ERG's value in terms the CFO understands, you're not just wasting resources—you're eroding employee trust when the inevitable budget cuts show up on the agenda. #EmployeeEngagement #ERGs #WorkplaceCulture #Belonging

Did you know that 2025 could be the most important year yet for Employee Resource Groups? Let me tell you why. * Workplace dynamics are shifting fast. *Hybrid and remote work have made connection harder to sustain. *Gen Z is stepping into the workforce with higher expectations for inclusion and transparency. * Social issues continue to spill into the workplace, and employees want safe spaces to talk about them. * Companies are under pressure to prove their culture is more than words on a website. In this climate, ERGs are no longer “nice to have.” They are essential for trust, belonging, and cultural resilience. If you lead a company, here are 5 ways to make your ERGs relevant and impactful in 2025: 1. Position them as strategic partners, not side committees 2. Give them a voice in decisions that affect their communities 3. Equip leaders with training on facilitation, advocacy, and data storytelling 4. Measure their impact beyond event attendance — track engagement, retention, and sentiment shifts 5. Integrate ERG insights into company-wide culture strategy ERGs are one of the most direct ways to understand and serve the real needs of your people. When they are resourced and heard, they can help your organization adapt faster, build trust deeper, and stay relevant in a rapidly changing world.

One fascinating ERG trend Armen and I are tracking right now: AI and ERGs. Some unexpected partnerships we're seeing: It's probably not surprising that a ton of organizations bought AI tools to boost productivity and efficiency this year. But, the struggle is always about adoption: how do organizations get people to actually use these tools? This is where we're seeing ERGs come in. ERGs are led by innovative, resourceful and time-strapped volunteer employees at companies. So, it's not surprising that they could be incredibly valuable "early adopters" of this technology inside of an organization. We're seeing IT teams partner with ERGs (and vice-versa) to test and utilize AI tools that the rest of the organization may be slower to adopt into their day-to-day workflows. From idea generation to synthesizing insights to note-taking to data analysis, ERGs have tons of reasons to rely on these tools. Not to mention, it puts them ahead of the curve and gives ERG Leaders a reason to learn an invaluable skill at a time when professional development is a key part of *why* ERG Leaders take on this additional role. So, if you're an ambitious ERG Leader looking to make the most of your bandwidth and build cross-functional relationships, maybe go see if someone on your IT team has an AI tool they're looking for more people to use. Are you using AI in your ERG? What are some of the ways you wish you could use it? Tell us how in the comments, or message me directly. #artificialintelligence #AI #employeeresourcegroups #ERGs