Employee resource groups (ERGs): types, examples and how to start one

What is an employee resource group?

An employee resource group (ERG) is a voluntary, employee-led group built around a shared identity, background or life experience, such as being a veteran, a working parent or a Black professional. The company backs it with a budget, an executive sponsor and time during the workday. ERG groups run events and mentoring, give members a line to leadership, and are open to colleagues who want to support them, often called allies.

Employee resource group benefits

• For members: a network beyond their own team, mentors who have walked a similar path, and a place to raise issues together.
• For allies: a way to learn from colleagues' experience first-hand, without having to ask one person to explain it.
• For the company: honest input on policies, benefits and products from the people they affect, before decisions are final.
• For recruiting: candidates can meet real employees who share part of their story, and new hires find their people faster.

ERG vs affinity group vs business resource group

Many companies use the three names for the same thing. When they mean different things, it looks like this.

12 types of employee resource groups, with examples

Common groups, a typical name for each, and what members usually work on.

1. Black employees (Black Professionals Network). Career growth, mentoring and Black History Month in February.
2. Hispanic and Latino employees (Latino Leadership Network). Networking, bilingual talent and Hispanic Heritage Month, September 15 to October 15.
3. Asian and Pacific Islander employees (AAPI Network). Visibility in leadership and AAPI Heritage Month in May.
4. Native American and Indigenous employees (Indigenous Peoples Network). Education on Native nations today and Native American Heritage Month in November.
5. Women (Women's Leadership Network). Sponsorship, pay transparency and Women's History Month in March.
6. LGBTQ+ employees (Pride Network). Inclusive benefits, safe-to-be-out culture and Pride Month in June.
7. Disability and neurodiversity (Accessibility and Neurodiversity Network). Accommodations, accessible tools and events everyone can attend.
8. Veterans and military families (Veterans Network). Translating military experience into civilian roles, and support for spouses.
9. Parents and caregivers (Working Parents and Caregivers). Leave policies, flexible schedules and swapping practical advice.
10. Early-career professionals (Emerging Professionals Network). Learning how the company works, finding mentors and building visibility.
11. Global and multicultural employees (Global Connections Network). Colleagues who moved countries or work across cultures and languages.
12. Mental health and wellbeing (Wellbeing Network). Reducing stigma, peer support and pointing people to the benefits they already have.

Start with the group people are asking for, not the full list. One active group with a sponsor beats five that met once. Our employee engagement calendar lists the heritage months and awareness days through the year.

Do ERGs have to be open to everyone?

Open to all is the safe default. A group can center an identity, but any employee who wants to take part should be able to join, attend and lead.

The EEOC issued that technical assistance in March 2025, applying Title VII. It doesn't say ERGs are unlawful. It flags groups that limit who can join. Five habits follow from it:

• Write "open to all employees" into the charter and on every sign-up form.
• Never ask people to state their identity to join, attend or lead.
• Open every event, mentoring circle and leadership role to any interested employee.
• Spend company money only on activities any employee can join.
• Have HR or employment counsel review the charter before launch.

This is a summary, not legal advice. Guidance can change, so check the EEOC page and your own counsel before you launch or rewrite a charter.

How to start an employee resource group in 6 steps

From a few interested colleagues to a launched group, in about two months.

1. 1Check interest and the rules. Find five to ten colleagues who want the group, and ask HR whether there is an ERG policy, a budget process or a group with a similar focus already.
2. 2Write the purpose and three goals. One sentence on why the group exists, then three goals for the first year that you could check off, such as "run a mentoring circle for 12 people".
3. 3Find an executive sponsor. A senior leader who believes in the purpose and has influence. They meet the leads every quarter, clear blockers and speak for the group's budget.
4. 4Set up roles and terms. Co-chairs, an events lead, a communications lead and a budget lead, each for one or two years. Agree the hours with each lead's manager before they start.
5. 5Build the budget ask. Price the first year's events line by line and tie each one to a goal. The budget section below shows how.
6. 6Launch open to all, then review at six months. Announce the group company-wide, run a kickoff event, open a chat channel and put a review on the calendar to check the goals.

ERG charter template

These are the ERG guidelines your group will point back to: who can join, who leads, what the sponsor does and how you'll know it worked. Fill in the brackets and have the sponsor sign it.

Group name

[Name] employee resource group

Purpose

We bring together employees who share [identity or experience] and their allies, to [one sentence on why].

Goals this year

1. [Goal you can count]. 2. [Goal you can count]. 3. [Goal you can count].

Membership

Open to every employee, including allies. Nobody is asked to share their identity to join, attend or lead.

Leadership

Two co-chairs, an events lead, a communications lead and a budget lead. Terms of [1 or 2] years, chosen by [election or application] each [month].

Executive sponsor

[Name, title]. Meets the co-chairs every quarter, removes blockers, presents the budget request and attends at least [number] events a year.

Time

Leads spend up to [hours] a month on group work during working hours, agreed with their managers and noted in their reviews.

Budget request

[$ amount] for the year: [main events and costs]. Spend is reported to the sponsor each quarter.

Meetings

Leads meet [every two weeks]. Members meet [monthly]. At least one event a quarter is open to the whole company.

Communication

Chat channel [name], a monthly note to members and a calendar shared with HR.

Success measures

1. Members as a share of headcount. 2. Event attendance and repeat attendance. 3. [Goal-specific measure, such as mentoring pairs completed].

Review

Leads and sponsor review this charter every [6 or 12] months. Next review: [date].

Running a culture or social committee instead? Its charter is different: see our culture committee ideas.

24 employee resource group event ideas

Grouped by what each event is for, with the format that suits it best. Pick one or two per goal for the year.

Connection

6. New member coffee. A monthly 30-minute call for everyone who joined that month, hosted by a co-chair. Virtual.
7. Cross-ERG mixer. Two or more groups co-host a hosted trivia or game so members meet people outside their circle. Virtual.
8. Story-and-dish lunch. Members bring or order a dish tied to their background and share one sentence about it. In person.
9. Office chapter meetup. Members in each location meet once a quarter, with a video link for anyone remote. Hybrid.
10. Hands-on workshop. A craft or cooking kit shipped to each member, made together on a call. Virtual.

ERG budget: how to build the ask

Budgets vary too much between companies for an average to help. A request built line by line from your own plan is easier to approve than a number borrowed from elsewhere.

1. 1List the year's events. Name, month and goal for each, from the events list above.
2. 2Price each one. Speaker or host fees, food, kits, shipping and swag, using real quotes rather than guesses.
3. 3Add the running costs. Tools, printing, a small fund for welcome gifts or recognition.
4. 4Show the time. Hours a month for each lead. It's the cost most often left off, so put it on the page and get it agreed.
5. 5Tie every line to a goal. If a line doesn't serve one of the charter's three goals, cut it before your sponsor does.
6. 6Ask for a pool for co-hosted events. Events run with other ERGs reach more people for each dollar, so ask for a shared line.

How to measure an ERG

• Reach. Members as a share of headcount, counting allies, tracked each quarter.
• Attendance. People at each event, and how many came back for a second one.
• Goals met. The three charter goals, checked at each review.
• Belonging. A short pulse survey for members, with the same questions every time so you can see the trend.

Never report a result for a group smaller than 5 people, so the numbers mean something and no one person's answers stand out. For the questions themselves, our guide to an inclusive workplace has eight pulse statements you can reuse. KraftyLab Intelligence can send them: 20 ready-made survey templates, answers in the browser with no account, and AI summaries of the results.

Run an ERG event with a host

When the group's leads already give their time, a hosted event is one less thing to plan. Each of these runs about an hour, live on your video call.

• Allyship in the Workplace teaches how to support underrepresented colleagues and take action for inclusion, a good company-wide session for allies. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Foundations covers the core principles, with exercises on recognizing bias. Compare them on our DEI workshops page.
• For heritage months, a host runs trivia and games in small teams: Black History Trivia & Games, Women's History Trivia & Games, AAPI Heritage Trivia & Games, Pride Trivia & Games and Hispanic Heritage Games & Trivia. They make easy cross-ERG mixers. See the year on our heritage month events page.
• They run on Zoom by default, or Teams, Google Meet or Webex on request. Book about 2 weeks ahead. Teams split across time zones can run it as two sessions.

Briefing a hiring panel for the group's recruiting work? Our list of unconscious bias examples comes with a printable checklist.