Hey Champs 🏆️ 

Last week, we talked about a common fear among ERG leaders: the impact of allowing non-identifying people, or allies, into your space. It’s a topic that brings up concerns about the potential damage and lack of psychological safety that can accompany it. Last week, we made it clear that legally, you can’t keep people out of ERGs. Trying to do so opens you up to significant legal liability, so it’s crucial to make the needed changes before it becomes an issue.

But here’s another important consideration when it comes to allies. Some ERGs pour a lot of resources into ally programming. They spend money on allyship trainings or bring in speakers under the guise of allyship. Think of events like “Supporting Women in the Workplace,” which often target allies with advice on how to support women-  an allyship event. Spending your budget on things like this isn’t the best use of resources.

Here’s the thing: some ERGs have become too focused on allies, turning into mini-diversity committees centered around educating people. But ERGs should primarily be a place where your members feel seen and valued—a space where they can be themselves without reservation. It’s essential to create an environment that immerses allies into your community’s culture. Culture is more than ethnicity; each ERG has its own unique culture, and your space should be rich with that cultural vibe.

You want your ERG to be so infused with its own culture that when allies come in, they learn through immersion. They should absorb and experience the culture rather than being catered to with specific events designed for them. One of the biggest mistakes ERGs make is focusing too heavily on ally events, making members feel like their ERG is talking about their community instead of to their community. An ERG should be for its members, not just about them.

Right now, the industry is a bit confused about the true purpose of ERGs. We sometimes forget that community is at the heart of it all. It’s vital to create a sense of belonging - the feeling of  being seen and ability to be authentic - within your ERG. Spending most of your budget on events that don’t build community? That’s a misstep.

If you didn’t catch last week’s discussion, be sure to reference the clip where we dive deeper into this topic. If you attended the ERG Engagement Tour Keynote Workshop, aka the 10 Rules of Engagement Workshop, you’ve heard my take on allyship and how I compare allies to tourists. The recording below is the allyship portion from that workshop. Don’t worry, it’s only 10 minutes :)

That’s it for this week! 🙌 

Weeks of consistent newsletters: 9 🎉