Once casual and mainly social, employee resource groups are now powerful tools that can help you connect—and succeed.

Find a Group Just For You
Some 40 years ago, African-American and female employees sought safe havens within their companies where they could connect, chat and feel, well, accepted and understood. And so employee resource groups (ERGs) were born. Support, yes—power to change things, not so much. But ERGs—a.k.a. affinity networks, business resource groups (BRGs), employee network groups (ENGs) and more—have come a long way. within the last ten to 15 years they’ve become a fixture of corporate america, says Jennifer Brown, founder and ceo of an eponymous corporate consulting firm in New York City. Latinos, Asian Americans and other racial and ethnic groups have joined the party; LGBT networks have also emerged. “It’s during the past five years or so that things have really gotten interesting,” observes Brown, a diversity and inclusion specialist. Consider telecom giant Verizon, where in addition to networks for female, Asian-Pacific and Hispanic employees, you’ll now find ERGs for LGBT workers, Jewish employees, IT executives, disabled staffers, native americans and veterans. Health insurer Aetna has groups for working moms, caregivers, teleworkers and baby boomers. And Colgate-Palmolive sponsors a Diversity council among its multiple ERGs. “Diversity includes more than the obvious traits like nationality, culture, race and gender,” notes Colgate-Palmolive CEO Ian Cook. “Our diversity also encompasses life experiences, religion, sexual orientation and family situations, just to name a few.” Chances are there are resource groups related to your interests where you work.

Socialize Strategically
Black history month film screenings, working-mom brown-bag lunches, mexican food in the company cafeteria on Cinco de Mayo. These social and cultural ERG initiatives enhance the employee experience. And they go further: “Being part of Accenture’s Chicago Metro Women’s Interest group has allowed me to meet phenomenal women who remind me of the importance of passion for the causes we care about,” says Katie Baker, senior manager at the management consulting and tech services company. Today’s ERGs increasingly impact business operations as well. Most often funded by diversity/HR departments, a majority of ERGs have significant budgets, many upwards of $30,000 a year. “Management has started looking more closely at ERGs as an investment,” says Brown. “In more advanced companies, ERGs have business plans and commit to strategic objectives that align with company goals.” At Verizon, ERGs have contributed to sales of its FIOS  product by assisting with development of diverse channel lineups, says Magda Yrizarry, VP of workplace culture, diversity and compliance.

Access Top Execs
Early ERGs were informal bands of colleagues with little corporate oversight or accountability, says Brown. “But the game has changed.” Generally, in addition to co-chairs and subcommittee members from various areas of the company, an executive sponsor serves as a direct link to the C-suite and corporate funding, says Audra M. Bohannon, vice president of diversity and inclusion at Global Novations, a Boston consulting and development firm. While this means activities are more closely scrutinized, it also provides members with real access to top brass.

Receive Special Training
though budget cuts may mean you haven’t been getting the broad training that could push your career along, opportunities for development often exist through ergs, says Carol Evans, president of Working Mother Media and CEO of Diversity Best Practices. “If you want to gain website or social networking skills, you can volunteer to work in these areas for an ERG,” she explains. you can also take on tasks you may not be perceived as being ready for on a paid basis. “Members of the women’s Leadership network have asked me as co-chair to feed into their performance assessments because they’ve taken on positions outside the scope of their work that they’re proud of and want to see on their record,” says Tammy Shea, vice president of corporate affairs and communications at Discovery. Brown says that’s a valid talking point when discussing the time you invest in an ERG with your manager. “Your case is ‘Look, I’m getting a lot of professional growth in here. I’m increasing my networks. I’m increasing my level of influence so I can get my job done. i’m making myself a success story and you don’t have to lift a finger,’” she explains with a laugh.

Impact Many
Generation D, a group of young professionals at Discovery, is looking at best practices for innovation and how physical spaces can be transformed to support it. At many companies, veterans’ groups are advocating for increased mental health resources that are valuable whether you suffer from postcombat stress or postpartum depression. Disabled workers are pushing initiatives to make workspaces more ergonomic and have also added their voices to the call for flexible work arrangements like telecommuting, reinforcing efforts of parents’ and other groups, says Brown. “A lot of flex arrangements were built for working mothers, and then companies found that during 9/11, Katrina and other disasters, these setups allowed things to function in emergencies,” adds Evans.

Gain Visibility
Involvement in ERGs is a way for employees at any level to prove themselves as a speaker, an organizer, a great detail person, says Evans. “Talent and leadership skills get recognized,” she adds. “Suddenly the employee is in the spotlight.” That was the case for Sherrilyn Johnson, Global Toothbrush Division sourcing manager at Colgate. “My role as a co-founder of the Colgate Parents network [a subcommittee of the Women’s Network] provided me with great exposure through executing internal events, networking with other parents and engaging with senior management,” she says. Shea, Women’s Leadership co-chair and mom of two, recently led a panel at Discovery that gathered top women to address a global audience of 350 women about work-life balance, health and wellness, networking opportunities and career journeys, gaining great visibility with executives. “You triple or quadruple your network of influence through planning that event, lining up senior-level speakers, making opening remarks and becoming associated with a successful outcome,” notes Brown.

Have an Industry-Wide Effect
ERGs also have the clout to be game changers within a business sector. Last June, the Black Employee Network of Interpublic Group (IPG), a global consortium of advertising agencies and marketing services companies, commemorated black music month with an evening showcasing how black artists and corporate brands merge to achieve brand awareness, market growth and strong relationships with consumers. For the well-attended event, says EVP and organizer Cheryl Overton, IPG agencies created a video to showcase campaigns that marry black artists with big brands. included were Beyoncé and L’Oréal as well as Jennifer Hudson and WeightWatchers.

See Networking Pay Off
The women’s network at one of Brown’s clients, tech company Cisco, helped build a virtual and in-person event about technology, workforce and economic trends for a guest list of female prospects and clients, CEOs, CIOs and other technology buyers. The firm went on to develop a relationship with this market that resulted in several million dollars in sales. “When they tracked what started the conversations and the deals, they found it all started at that event,” says Brown. And the women who worked on it gained real performance success and high visibility—quantifiable results that can lead to promotions. Monica Felton, business operations support senior analyst at Verizon, found great value in joining Verizon’s first ERG founded by african-american employees, cite (consortium of information telecommunications executives). “It gave me the chance to join a mentoring circle led by my area president,” she says. “I received coaching that helped me land a management position.” Taking an active role in an ERG can mean twice the work at times, says Brown, but the payoffs can be well worth it.