The Development of the Employee Resource Groups Scale (ERGS)

Introduction

Organizations are increasingly aware of the need to recruit, retain, and develop an employee base that is demographically diverse. Approaches to navigating diversity and equity issues vary and organizations have utilized numerous strategies that include targeted recruitment and retention plans, mentoring programs, implementing equitable polices, public support of social issues, professional development activities, and increasingly, supporting employee resource groups (ERG). As ERGs gain visibility, they have become a recruitment tool and a way to provide evidence of an organization’s commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity. There are calls to better understand ERGs’ efficacy and outcomes related to employee development and organizational processes. To address the research gap, this study was conducted to develop the Perceptions of Employee Resource Groups Scale (PERGS) scale to understand employee perceptions of the efficacy of ERG groups.