The Evolution of ERGs From Shared Interest to Business Impact, by Geoffrey O. Williams
As we get closer to the ERG Blueprint Conference 2026, we hear from conference speaker Geoffrey O. Williams, Head of Culture & Sustainability at Howlett Brown.
Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are not just social clubs but strategic business partners that drive culture and equity, underscoring their role in organisational success.
Over the years, I have often discussed with my peers and at conferences the evolution of ERGs: From Shared Interest to Business Impact.
Originally born out of a need for community and safe spaces, ERGs have evolved into barometers for a company’s health. At their best, ERGs ensure that diverse voices aren't just heard but are influential in shaping the business. At its worst, it’s a group of people who have access to the early warning signs that something is amiss with your company culture and are pushing for change but might be going unheard.
However, moving from 'community space' to 'strategic partner' involves overcoming structural hurdles, encouraging leaders to see this as a manageable journey.
1. The Gap Between Effort and Impact
After 25 years at the intersection of brand, culture, and equity, the data is clear: ERGs struggle to "move the needle" because they are often treated as peripheral to the business strategy rather than central to it. Good intentions fail when they aren't backed by authority. If an ERG’s mission isn't tied to the organisation’s KPIs, it remains a "nice-to-have" activity, leaving leaders frustrated by a lack of measurable progress despite their genuine passion.
2. The Hidden Cost of the Volunteer Model
We must stop categorising ERG leadership as "just a hobby." When organisations rely solely on volunteers juggling 40-hour workweeks, they are essentially asking their most marginalised employees to pay a "diversity tax."
- The Reality: burnout is inevitable without dedicated recognition in performance reviews and management and leadership conversations.
- Scaling Impact: true scaling could look like compensation, executive sponsorship with skin in the game, and formalising ERG work into job descriptions. You cannot scale impact on "extra" time.
3. Data Could Be Your Key to Change
When you don't have a budget for data analysts, you must build a strategic evidence base. This can be done by leveraging qualitative storytelling, linking ERG membership to retention or engagement, and running small-scale pilots to demonstrate impact. You have to be resourceful. ERGs can build a strategic case by:
- Qualitative Storytelling: speak to your members and tell their stories, the good and bad, and present that back to the business.
- Correlating Data: linking ERG membership to higher retention rates, engagement scores, and talent attraction.
- Small-Scale Pilots: running a targeted initiative (like a mentoring circle) and measuring the specific outcome for that small group to prove the concept.
4. To fix a broken ERG, you need a 'brave space' built on trust.
Honest conversations with the Executive Sponsor, ERG Leads, and HR foster transparency, collective problem-solving, and ownership. It requires the Executive Sponsor, the ERG Leads, and a neutral HR partner to be in the room. Honest conversations should take place around:
- Psychological safety. If people fear that honesty will stall their careers, you’ll only get "corporate speak."
- Moving from blame - "you didn't give us a budget"- to accountability - "we lack the resources to meet cultural needs to support the business; how do we realign?"
5. The Anatomy of an Honest Conversation to fix a broken ERG
Develop political judgment by identifying your stakeholders and framing ERG needs in business language, enabling strategic navigation and influence.
Political judgment is the art of knowing when to "agitate" and when to "navigate." For new leaders, this is built through:
- Stakeholder mapping: identifying who holds the power and what they care about.
- Strategic alignment: framing ERG needs in the language of the business, e.g., "this isn't just about a holiday celebration; it's about inclusive marketing to a £2B demographic".
6. Intersectionality as an Operational Strategy
Intersectionality is more than a buzzword; it’s a lens. Operationally, it means ERGs stop working in silos.
The Shift: Instead of a Women’s ERG and a Black ERG working separately, they co-diagnose barriers. For example, "how does our parental leave policy specifically impact Black mothers?" This changes the response from a one-size-fits-all fix to a nuanced, effective strategy.
7. Advice for the New ERG Chair
If you’ve inherited a stagnant network:
- Listen First: conduct a "listening tour" to understand why people disengaged.
- The Quick Win: don't try to boil the ocean. Pick one visible, achievable project to rebuild momentum.
- Redefine the "Why": remind the group of their collective power to influence the culture they live in every day.
8. Global Barriers vs Local Culture
While structural barriers (lack of funding, invisible labour) are consistent worldwide, cultural context dictates the "how." In some regions, the focus may be on neurodiversity or caregiving, while in others, it is strictly on gender or ethnicity. A global organisation cannot impose a ‘headquarters’ version of equity; the ERG must be empowered to solve the problems that are actually present in their specific local office.
This work is about building community, but the most important action throughout is the art of listening to each other. To achieve the business goals, but also achieve psychological safety for all your employees, and this can be driven via your ERGs.
Be In the Room Where the Future of ERGs Is Being Shaped
The ERG landscape is changing fast. Expectations are higher, scrutiny is sharper, and the margin for impact without strategy is shrinking.
If you lead, sponsor, support, or influence ERGs, this is not a conversation you can afford to observe from the sidelines.
Join us at the ERG Blueprint Conference this April, where the people shaping the next chapter of ERGs will share what works, challenge outdated models, and raise the bar for impact.
Get in the room with ERG leaders, executive sponsors, culture strategists, and practitioners who are serious about moving ERGs from passion projects to strategic powerhouses.