Fostering Employee Engagement and Talent Retention Through Employee Resource Groups

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The past 2 years have been a challenge for leaders to engage and motivate their team members. The great resignation proved that employees have the option to choose their desired career paths. Thus, organizational leaders should devise ways to prevent turnover and keep employees.

On today’s podcast episode we interview Deanna Figurito, Founder and Lead Coach of DFig Connects Coaching and Consulting. Today’s topics are locked-in on the implementation, benefits, and significant effects of ERGs or Employee Resource Groups to improve employee engagement and talent retention.

What Deanna Learned From the Past 2 Years

From the past 2 years, Deanna learned three (3) important things worthy of reflection.

Shift on What Really Matters – According to Deana, a lot of people learned and are now prioritizing things that really matter to them. For Deanna, transformation is not a problem if you are on the road towards significant self-change.
Shift to Fully Virtual – For the past 2 years, Deanna learned how to build her coaching business virtually.This goes to show that opportunities can be created even in the virtual space.
Rejection is Redirection – There are times that Deanna encountered walls in building her business. Failures, roadblocks and setbacks are part of the journey. Instead of wallowing in sadness and disappointment, redirection is key to sucess.

Into the ERGs or Employee Resource Groups

ERGs are communities sanctioned inside an organization which represent the voice of team members. These communities are utilized to foster employee engagement and employee representation. The rise of ERGs are due to the fact that Millennials are getting older and Gen Zs are getting into the workforce. Consequently, the need has grown for physical and virtual spaces where people with common goals and challenges can gather.

From a corporate standpoint, ERGs are used for retention and attrition strategies. From an employee standpoint, they are used for fostering a sense of purpose and inclusion. Most often, people stay in environments wherein they are allowed to grow and feel valued.

The Significant Effects of Having Company ERGs

According to Deanna, company ERGs lead to increased connectedness among team members. These engagements tend to increase employee talent retention by a significant number. It has been observed that there is high attendance in ERG workshops and training modules.

Employees who have experienced ERGs report more clarity, support, and visibility. Feeling connected tends to increase an employee’s intrinsic motivation. Keeping employees happy and engaged correlates to an increase in an organization’s productivity and revenue.

Additional Benefits of ERGs to Team Members

According to Deanna, ERGs allow people to come together despite their differences.

ERGs increase understanding around varying perspectives, backgrounds, and circumstances. This sets the stage for more open interaction during the work day.As humans, we all want to be heard. ERGs create shared experiences that build common bonds of empathy.

Who is Deanna Figurito?

Deanna Figurito is the Founder and Lead Coach of DFig Connects Coaching and Consulting, an Executive Coaching group with one mission – to help everyone live an authentic life. Deanna is a Tech leader who left her 13-year, Corporate life at Pinterest to move to Peru to be with her family when Covid ravaged the world.

Since then, she’s launched DFig Connects Coaching and Consulting where she works with people, companies, and teams to create a more fulfilling life and satisfying workplace. DFig Connects empowers values driven contribution at the individual and team level which promotes engagement and sustains retention of high potential talent.