Are you forgetting these leaders?

When people talk about upskilling, they usually think of managers - and with good reason! They’re natural connectors and drive large impact across the org. But there’s one type of leader that’s often left out of the equation: ERG Leaders.?

They have ‘Leader’ right there in the title, but because they’re volunteer positions, they’re generally not included in upskilling plans.?

That’s a big mistake.?

At their best, ERGs support every aspect of the company: hiring, retention, leadership, culture, clients, and product. To get there though, you need to be sure ERGs are set-up for success. Like with any team at your org, this takes work.

This is something I’ve been thinking about a lot, and that has come up in our last few ERG roundtables. As we head towards year end and you start to consider 2023 plans, you may want to consider how you’re equipping ERG Leaders with the skills they need to manage and run ERGs. After running our Kunik ERG Leadership Academy and talking with ERG leads from a range of companies, here are a few of our insights on the topic:

1. Culture First:
2. Tie the ERG work to the values & virtues of the company - do this continually to drive understanding and make it stick?
3. Think outside the individual ERGs - how can we improve the EX of the maximum number of employees?
4. Where to start:
5. ERG Leaders step into their roles with different skills and experiences, but few are ever intentionally, specifically equipped with the skills they need to manage & run ERGs?
6. Training programs should focus on both ERG specific skills (charters, engagement, budget, succession planning, etc) and fundamental leadership skills (empathy, active listening, facilitation, trauma informed leadership, etc)
7. Understand the goals:?
8. What are the goals of the ERG program? How and where does this tie to the business? Is there a global reach? What makes your program unique??
9. Tip: When we build an ERG Leadership Academy for a partner, we tailor each session to the needs & goals of that company, including where they are on the journey?
10. Exec Buy-in & support?
11. Thriving ERG programs have support top to bottom across the org - this is critical?
12. How are your senior leaders engaging with the ERG programs? Who is signing up to be an Executive Sponsor??
13. Tip: we highly encourage Exec Sponsors to join into a few specific sessions throughout our ERG Leadership Academy - it makes a big difference?
14. Capacity & Priorities?
15. The not so secret truth is that ERG Leaders rarely (never) have the bandwidth to execute everything. How can you free up capacity??
16. Build a strong inter-ERG network. Cross-ERG events maximize reach, provide intersectional support, and divide workloads?
17. Tip: ERG leaders are meant to build culture, inclusion, and diversity - not be event planners. Low hanging fruit: outsource programming to free up capacity?
18. Continued learning
19. How are you developing the next round of leaders? Are the offsites or mini trainings that can be done throughout the year?
20. Can you invite ERG leaders into discussion they might not otherwise be involved in with Senior Leaders? This creates an opportunity to learn more & rewards their work through access?

The big take-away though? Maximum impact. A well executed ERG Leadership academy has a 3x impact:?

• Better run ERGs
• Develop your talent pipeline?
• Invest in your volunteers - reward & recognition?

Have you done any training for your ERG Leaders? What did that look like and what was the impact?