Walk the halls of any major corporation today (if that’s still a thing where you work) and you’re likely to see digital posters for employee resource groups (ERGs) representing communities like women, people of color, LGBTQ employees, working parents, and more. ERGs have evolved from their activist roots fighting workplace discrimination during the civil rights era into widely accepted fixtures of the corporate landscape. But are companies realizing their full potential?
Workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) are often viewed as separate realms. But these initiatives intersect in significant ways, especially through employee resource groups. ERGs already serve as platforms for fostering diverse, inclusive cultures. With their grassroots insights and engagement, they are primed to drive community impact – if activated intentionally.
The untapped potential sits in plain view. Companies spend millions annually on CSR initiatives—employee volunteering programs, matching gift campaigns, charitable donations. Engaging ERGs represents a hidden asset to amplify these investments. But outdated assumptions have led most companies to only half-heartedly activate ERGs to drive community engagement. The opportunity gap is apparent when examining how companies involve ERGs in volunteering. Although closely related in purpose and process, very few companies intentionally align employee giving and volunteering with ERG initiatives even though ERG members are more likely to participate if activities align with their group’s focus area and values.
Something is preventing ERGs from realizing their full power as change-makers in local communities. But what if we thought about this challenge in a radically different way? What if we applied insights from psychology and behavioral economics revealing how small “nudges” can prompt lasting changes in mindsets and behaviors?
The Power of Nudges
We don’t always behave rationally. In reality, most human thinking relies on mental shortcuts, biases, and emotional factors. This truth has been firmly established in recent decades by research in behavioral science—the interdisciplinary study of human behavior drawing on fields like cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and behavioral economics.
Drawing on over 200 randomized evaluations, the Harvard Business Review recently concluded that “traditional policy tools, like educating, persuading, or incentivizing people, are often surprisingly ineffective.” More effective are “nudges” rooted in behavioral science—subtle changes to how choices are presented that guide people toward better options while preserving freedom to decline.
A nudge could be as simple as changing the default option to drive a desired behavior. For instance, auto-enrolling employees into retirement savings plans dramatically increased participation compared to requiring opt-in. Nudges make socially beneficial behaviors easier and more salient in the moment when decisions are made. And they work with human nature rather than simplistically expecting idealized rationality.
Applied thoughtfully, such behavioral design concepts create immense potential to activate ERGs as partners in purpose-driven initiatives. Let’s examine proven approaches that tap into core human tendencies while avoiding manipulation:
Leveraging Default Effects
A powerful form of nudge centers on defaults. Our human bias toward inertia and acceptance of the status quo can be constructively leveraged.
For example, consider automatically signing up new employees for the ERG aligned with their demographic profile, forcing them to actively opt-out if uninterested. This small friction nudges participation by giving ERGs the benefit of the doubt. During onboarding when people are overwhelmed with choices, removing the burden of proactively opting-in makes joining the easy default path.
Similarly, setting recurring volunteering commitments or donation allocations as the default engages status quo bias while allowing opting out. People tend to accept preset options requiring no action. Defaults enroll employees onto a purpose-driven path while fully preserving choice.
Activating Social Influence
We are profoundly social creatures. Perceptions of what peers think and do shapes our own behavior. Companies can illuminate wider participation to gently prompt engagement through social norms.
For instance, emails or posters might highlight growth in ERG membership and events. Profiles could feature members describing their rewarding experiences. Exposing this social proof activates the innate human tendency to follow the crowd. If we believe others who share our identity are volunteering or giving through an ERG, we intuitively feel compelled to join in.
Of course, truthfulness is paramount. Deception backfires. But carefully surfacing actual involvement makes engagement visible. Our natural desire for social belonging and status gets tapped constructively.
Reframing Around Identity
Humans are motivated by identity. Aligning activities with deeply held affinities and values heightens meaning.
Reframing volunteering and giving opportunities around shared identities dramatically affects ERG member response. An event to clean up schools draws more participation when marketed as an initiative of the Working Parents ERG rather than generic volunteering. Donation drives branded by the Women in Tech ERG rather than the company generally yield greater support. These small shifts in appeal create big results by speaking to what people care about most.
Nudging us by identity need not limit choices. Multiple ERGs could back the same activity, broadening appeal. What matters is activating intrinsic motivations by connecting to purpose on a personal level. This psychological reframing can turn typically low ERG engagement into passion and conviction.
Real-World Cases: The Evidence in Action
The application of Nudge Theory to ERGs has been proven successful through real-world cases. Companies like Google and Microsoft have effectively utilized nudges to enhance participation in their ERGs, resulting in increased attendance and more engaged members who actively contribute to ERG initiatives. These cases serve as practical validations of the theory, demonstrating its feasibility and effectiveness in a corporate setting.
Google, for example, has implemented various strategies to improve participation and engagement in their ERGs. One approach they have taken is through their hiring goals, aiming to increase the representation of underrepresented groups in leadership positions by 30% by 2025. They have also launched initiatives like the Black Googler Network and Self-ID, which provide resources and support for underrepresented communities within the company.
Similarly, Microsoft has successfully leveraged ERGs to foster an inclusive and engaged workforce. Their ERGs have been instrumental in supporting employee communities and promoting diversity and inclusion. These ERGs provide career development and networking opportunities, create spaces for connection and support, and drive activities that promote community engagement and cultural awareness . Microsoft understands the importance of employee experience and continuously evolves their approach to ensure they are listening to and addressing the needs of their employees.
The Path Ahead
A few simple nudges cannot on their own totally transform behavior across the varied landscape of companies and causes. But applied thoughtfully and ethically, behavioral design offers concrete steps any organization can take to realize more of the immense potential in their employee base to drive community impact.
The world urgently needs corporate responsibility efforts to accelerate progress on societal challenges. But exhorting overworked and overwhelmed employees to merely do more will not suffice. We must engage human behaviors as they exist, not as an economist’s model suggests they should be.
The time has come to test these behavioral concepts rigorously to deepen understanding of how small changes can remove big barriers to participation. Corporate social responsibility needs to embrace insights from the behavioral sciences revealing the systematic mental shortcuts and social cues that subconsciously shape our actions.
Nudge the Good is an initiative of the RW Institute aiming to show that even modest nudges informed by psychology and neuroscience research can produce outsized increases in pro-social behaviors. But this is only the beginning. We are just waking up to the possibilities of behavioral design in creating an ecosystem where doing good comes naturally.
The ultimate vision moves beyond one-off campaigns to a holistic choice architecture that makes giving back the path of least resistance. Companies striving to intertwine purpose with profits can lead the way. By initiating small steps to tap into the science of what truly motivates human beings, business becomes a catalyst enabling employees to pursue meaningful impact on causes they care about through the power of well-designed nudges.
