The Importance of Change Communities at Work
Since the murder of George Floyd, global organizations have publicly increased their commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). But, a pledge is only a pledge until there's meaningful action resulting in change to our corporate environments. Some employees have trouble distinguishing between companies simply performing allyship vs. companies getting their hands dirty and implementing on-the-ground initiatives for sustainable change. With that in mind, many organizations are still trying to find the right ways to keep their tweeted promises.
We've noticed an unprecedented shift toward building and supporting workplace communities called Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) for that reason. What are ERGs? Well, they aren't new. They've existed since the 1960s when Black workers at Xerox organized to discuss racial inequity at work. What is new is the alignment we're seeing between employees and their ERG affiliation. I'd be surprised if you took a 60-second scroll through LinkedIn and didn't see a Womxn ERG leader headline or an AAPI ERG panel discussion. Clearly, these kinds of communities are resonating deeply for those who make up our workforces.
Employee resource group: An employee resource group (ERG) is a workplace community that is often a volunteer-based, self-directed group centered around a common interest or identity. They are also referred to as Affinity Groups or Diversity Groups.
We define a workplace community as a group of motivated people organized around a common interest moving in a strategic direction. ERGs are no exception– they aim to bring employees together, helping them feel connected and supported related to a cause or identity they care about. People are motivated (there are hundreds of ERG & DEI-related events happening at any given time). There's plenty of common interest (we see it in how employees are meticulously naming their ERG groups). Where ERGs, like so many workplace communities, fall short, is outlining a strategic direction: What are we working towards? What are we going to change?
At Cultivate, twice per year, we run the premier Community Accelerator for workplace communities that help leaders build thriving communities, create lasting impact, and drive positive change within their organizations. And it starts by simply defining clear and specific objectives for your respective group.
One of the models we use is the Typology of Workplace Communities:
Community of Practice | Built around the desire for common practice
project management community, six sigma community, cross-functional engineers group
Community of Interest | Built around a shared interest in investigating & discussing a specific topic
innovation brown bag group, cloud computing enthusiasts, design thinking meetup group
Change Community | Built around the desire to drive change in alignment with a common goal
climate action group, agile change champions, skunkworks group, disability advocates ERG
Support Community | Built around the need for support related to a shared background or experience
leadership development learning cohort, women in tech group, veterans ERG, new managers network
Social Community | Built around opportunities for fun and relationship-building between colleagues
running club, happy hour group, employee softball league, book club, toastmasters
These aren't tidy, single-use buckets where your group must fit into only one. The point is you may be focusing so much on being a Community of Practice. But, perhaps you're missing an opportunity to be a Change Community as well.
If we keep going with the ERG example, so many decide to (just) be a Community of Interest or a Support Community, and they miss out on making sure they’re also a Change Community.
Our point of view? Every workplace community has the potential to be a Change Community. Being a Change Community is the type of energy we need to hold our organizations accountable, for instance, when they say they are wholeheartedly committed to diversity, inclusion, and equity at work.
Many of the newly-founded ERGs are in their nascent stages, trying to establish a vision & purpose and gain traction amongst their peers. This is understandable, but even long-lived ERGs struggle with the same thing: what (and who) do we exist for?
So, how do we solve that?
And it’s difficult, especially since most ERG leads are voluntary-roles that are in addition to their full-time positions.
But bringing employees together to feel connected and feel supported is essentially the bare minimum. A friend of mine who runs an ERG for employees with disabilities told me, "Based on a lot of ERG events, you would think the only professions a disabled person could have are being an Olympic athlete or a motivational speaker." We're missing the mark, and because of that, DEI-related initiatives can start to feel more like a checkmark than a wholesome, meaningful experience for community members.
Suppose the only thing happening in your ERG is bringing people together to listen to motivational speakers. In that case, you're falling short of the impact you could have at the ground level in your organization. The most powerful workplace communities are doing more– they empower employees to do something they wouldn't be able to do alone. Powerful communities instigate action.
For example, a group of Black employees at a large consumer healthcare company harnessed their collective power to advocate for change to the company's skincare products that weren't suitable for darker skin tones. Their voices, tenacity, and hard work led to those (now quite commercially successful) changes.
Likewise, groups of employees at organizations like General Mills, Google, and Starbucks have advocated for more representation at executive levels inside their organizations, which led to establishing clear and visible goals and benchmarks for reaching diversity milestones.
As an ERG leader, the questions you should be asking yourself are: what is our ERG going to accomplish in the organization? What are we going to change?
Ultimately, Employee Resource Groups are just one example of workplace communities that we believe can instigate real change. Whether you’re leading an ERG, a Center of Excellence team, or a learning group of some kind– you’re probably trying to change something that has deep structural roots.
Changing our organizations for the better is hard and takes time. That is the nature of change after all; it's messy and unpredictable. So, we build guardrails where we can & we keep moving forward. Your guardrails are the clear strategic direction that allows your community to have an impact, moving in a forward direction toward your community’s collective vision for the future.
Share your ideas. Solve problems. Make a difference.
We’re building a community where your voice is heard, solutions are shared, and changemakers around the world can mobilize for change. If you are passionate about change, culture, and innovation, this is the place for you.
