Exploring Employee Resource Group (ERG) Efficacy Through ERG Charters at Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Loading...
Date
2024-12
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), part of Vanderbilt Health, is a teaching and patient healthcare system with seven hospitals and more than 180 clinics throughout Tennessee. With over 32,000 faculty and staff members, VUMC has implemented six employee resource groups (ERGs) to provide their employees opportunities for engagement, belonging, cultural connections, mentorships, and more. To aid the ERG leaders, who are volunteers, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion introduced an ERG project charter as a tool that outlines the leaders’ roles and responsibilities and identify their ERG goals. This study aimed to explore in what ways the ERG charter impacts the efficacy of the six ERGs at VUMC. We used a mixed methods approach incorporating interviews with ERG leaders, executive sponsors and Office of Diversity leaders and an analysis of documentation including ERG project charters and monthly ERG meetings agendas. Based on the participant interviews and document analysis we had three key findings: the ERG project charter positively impacted the efficacy of the ERGs but only during the goal setting process, the ERG leaders were familiar with the project charter but not actively using the tool, and the ERG leaders are instead using the Office of Diversity and Inclusion to support their efficacy. Recommendations include the Office of Diversity and Inclusion scheduling one-on-one meetings with each ERG leader, allocating budget for each ERG, creating training for the ERG leaders, creating an ERG leader toolkit, and implementing a performance measuring process.
Description
Leadership and Learning in Organizations capstone project
Keywords
Employee Resource Groups, ERG, Collective efficacy, Project charters, Goal setting