Question: I want to start an employee resource group (ERG) at my workplace. How should I approach my superiors to get them on board? Can I ask for a budget? And can the ERG meet during official work hours?

We asked Lisia Malcolm, territory manager level II at Dentsply Sirona in Mississauga, Ont., to tackle this one. An ERG is an employee-led, voluntary group where employees with common interests or identities (such as gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation) can connect, share ideas and raise awareness through internal activities or events. These groups, which are sanctioned by an organization, can increase engagement, psychological safety and belonging among employees.

Ms. Malcolm was vice-chair, then chair, of her company’s Women’s ERG, the first ERG at Dentsply Sirona Canada:

To start an ERG, you need to make a business case stating what the benefits will be for your organization. Outline what events and activities you’d like to roll out during the year, the time requirement for those events and how much they would cost. A lot of it will be guesstimates, but you need to provide something to the management team so that they can make a decision. Sketch out your mission, your vision and the return it’s going to potentially bring to the organization.

You won’t be able to run an ERG effectively by yourself, so when putting the business plan together, think about the different roles that people would play on the team, what those roles would entail and the amount of time they would need to commit. If you’ve already spoken to people and they’re excited about taking on roles, that’s key, because it will limit the time to recruit people after you get approval. You can also mention this to management when you’re presenting your case.

I would recommend that you start off meeting with your ERG during lunch hours so that it’s not affecting the workday of employees. Over time, if you have a lot of engagement and you’re able to show the positive impact the ERG is having, you can probably request to meet in the morning or afternoon once a quarter.

During the time I was involved with the Women’s ERG, we ended up getting a corporate sponsor within the organization, and we were able to use part of their budget to facilitate our activities. Having the buy-in and support of a mentor or corporate sponsor can be crucial, because they are able to advocate for not only you as an individual, but also for the cause.

I’m a very passionate person, and when I set my heart to something, I will find ways to make it happen. That being said, there was an incident where I was so passionate that I became very engaged with the ERG on our internal social media and our GM at the time went to my boss and said, ‘If Lisia is so engaged in this, I don’t know if she will be able to focus on her job.’

That took me by surprise. I was quite disappointed and sad, but it opened my eyes to the reality that even though an ERG brings employees together and helps them feel valued and connected to the organization, at the end of the day, the primary focus [for management] is always the bottom line. So, ensuring that you’re doing your job with excellence is key before launching an ERG.

It’s also important to have your manager’s support. That way, if anyone was to say they think you are too engaged with the ERG, your manager could vouch for you and say you’re doing a great job and fulfilling all your job requirements.

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