5 Signs You Need A New ERG Structure

If you follow me, you’ve likely heard me mention the two major pain points many companies face with their ERGs:

1️⃣ ERG leaders are burnt out and

2️⃣ ERGs are experiencing low engagement.

If both of these resonate, it probably goes back to your structure. Low engagement numbers often result from ERG leaders not knowing how to engage the audience or what work they should be doing.

ERG leaders are often expected to be experts at engaging their community, but community building is a skill. When ERG leaders come in, they look to whoever is running the ERG program for best practices. Often, these best practices are basic outlines of what it means to be an ERG leader, not a step-by-step checklist with images that function as a standardized operating procedure set. That’s why I’m not a fan of the term “ERG playbook,” as it often lacks the comprehensive information ERG leaders need.

In many ERG playbooks, you’ll find procedural things like what qualifies as an ERG leader and acceptable behaviors, but what ERG leaders need is to know their roles, how these roles contribute to ERG success, the metrics that indicate success, and step-by-step instructions on achieving that success. This includes hacks and tips from a community-building expert. Many people in the DEI space were forced to lead an ERG program without being true community-building experts, leading to pain points.

Here’s five signs your governance structure needs a refresh:

1. Burnout Among ERG Leaders: If your ERG leaders are feeling burnt out, it’s a clear sign that their roles are not made simple. If ERG Leaders don’t clearly understand their responsibilities and the one key metric they’re responsible for, they’ll feel overwhelmed and burnt out. However, if their role can be accomplished in just an hour or two per month, they won’t feel this way. Overwhelm and burnout indicate that your governance structure likely needs a refresh.

2. Uneven Distribution of Work**:** If one or more ERG leads feel like they’re doing all the work, it’s a sign you need a new governance structure. When roles aren’t clear, it’s easy for others not to show up for their responsibilities. This is especially true for vague roles like chair, where one co-chair might disconnect, leaving the other with all the work. A clear governance structure ensures even distribution of responsibilities.

3. Lack of Documentation: If you don’t have proper documentation and new ERG leaders wouldn’t know where to start, your governance structure is not working well. Roles should be clearly defined, indicating specific actions. Vague roles like chair or commerce need clear action steps so ERG leaders know what to do and don’t feel overwhelmed. Proper documentation ensures everyone knows their responsibilities and how to execute them.

4. Inconsistent Structures Across ERGs: If your ERGs follow different structures, it’s a sign you need to redo your governance structure. Standardizing roles helps hold everyone accountable to the same metrics and standards, making the program look more mature and cohesive. A community expert should guide this process, ensuring best practices are followed and implemented consistently.

5. Lack of Metrics: If there are no metrics tied to the roles within the ERG structure, you need a new governance structure. Metrics like input and output metrics are essential for measuring the effectiveness of an ERG program. Each ERG leader role should have clear output and input metrics. Output metrics measure the results of their activities, such as attendance at events, while input metrics measure the activities themselves, like the number of posts scheduled. Without a solid governance structure, this is impossible.