Why do companies need business-focused ERGs?
Copyright by Stephan Klaschka 2010-2024
From my series on how to build a successful BRG.1
The answer is as simple as this: Because it makes good business sense!
But what makes this answer so simple? – Well, because it’s made up of a few simple aspects:
First of all, every company, unless it is classified as a non-profit, is in business for one reason: to make money by providing some sort of product or service to its customers.
Simply put, if a company fails to rack up profits it will go out of business. That's why focusing on the business benefits, the “bottom line”, the return on investment (ROI) makes not only sense but is key for successful business resource groups (BRGs) which takes an Employee Resource Group (ERG) tot he next level! It’s the bottom-line arguments, the financial benefits, that open the doors to executive support, buy-in, and funding.
Second, to take advantage of the diversity and capabilities of the human capital readily available.
Let’s look at companies, its workforce and its markets today: We live and work globally - everyone is connected. Our markets today are just as diverse and multi-faceted as our workforce should be. It takes all we know and who we are as diverse human beings (coming from different cultures and ethnicities, religious beliefs, physical characteristics, sexual orientation, and so on) to understand what our customers need and how we can give it to them.
Therefore, it makes sense not only to diversify the product portfolio to mitigate risk and seize opportunity but also to diversify the workforce for the same reasons. Not tapping into all of your workforce’s diversity and capabilities puts you at a disadvantage to companies who know how to maximize their human capital effectively.
So, the next question is how to get started - stay tuned for my next post: How to start building a business-focused ERG?
From my series on how to build a BRG (=Business Resource Group) group, i.e. a business-focused ERG (=Employee Resource Group) first published on OrgChanger.com.