It starts with passion. A few people raise their hands fueled by lived experience, a sense of purpose, and the drive to make their workplace better. But passion alone can’t sustain a movement. Without systems, structure, and shared ownership, even the most committed ERG leaders hit a wall.
I’ve worked with many ERGs with core board members who have been together for years and feel comfortable in their ways of working, or others in which the group is being led by whoever is still showing up – rather than leadership through intentional planning and employees who are seeking opportunities to contribute. These long-time volunteers are usually still passionate, but this is tempered by exhaustion or frustration, and their initiatives have stalled.
Building the strategy and tactics to periodically infuse the group with new leaders is critical for sustained engagement and impact.
If your ERG feels like it’s running on the same five people, it’s not a commitment problem; it’s a capacity and communication problem.
Here’s what’s really happening—and what to do about it.
Why It Happens
Over-reliance is baked into many ERGs from the start. The founding team often carries the dual load of building credibility and executing everything—communications, events, partnerships, data tracking. They’re focused on engaging peers and influencing senior leaders, all while sorting through the dynamics of a newly formed team in which no one is anyone’s manager.
Without clear succession planning or rotation, they become the default “Forever Board.”
The patterns become predictable:
Early stage ERGs over-load with events and activities in an attempt to prove their value.
Maturing ERGs fail to reset governance and board or committee structure as membership scales.
Established ERGs confuse legacy with leadership continuity, and innovation and impact stall.
The result? A few people are doing it all, while potential contributors sit on the sidelines unsure where they fit.
I’ve coached many ERG leaders who say that “no one is volunteering”. For early-stage groups, the gap is most often a lack of awareness about the group’s goal or activities, and the opportunities to get involved. In our overloaded Inboxes, employees may have missed news or updates about the ERG, or simply don’t know enough about it yet to raise their hands. For maturing and established groups, volunteering may diminish if there is a lack of clarity about the leadership roles, lack of specificity on the time or efforts needed, and uncertainty from members about how to get involved or when they’re needed.
The Cost of Doing It All
ERGs rely on discretionary effort—volunteer time, emotional energy, and invisible labor. Concentrating that effort in a few hands creates ripple effects across people and performance:
Burnout spikes. Leaders quietly drop off, ghost meetings, or disengage mid-project.
Momentum stalls. Events fizzle. Promising initiatives never move past the idea stage.
Credibility erodes. Sponsors lose confidence. Members lose trust. The ERG’s impact—and influence—flatlines.
This isn’t just a people issue. It’s a strategic risk. When an ERG’s operations hinge on one or two individuals, institutional knowledge disappears the moment they leave, and the channels used to engage members become stagnant or silent.
Volunteer Recruitment Is a Strategy, Not an Emergency
You can’t scale impact reactively. Recruitment must be built into the rhythm of your ERG rather than triggered by gaps or crisis.
A women’s ERG in an insurance company reached out to us with concern that their ERG was “falling apart” – original leaders were tired and ready to move on, and they hadn’t identified successors or planned for the transition.
We defined six-month co-lead roles, introduced an “apprentice” style rotation program so that people could work with a few leaders before determining the best spot for their skills, and built a light onboarding toolkit for volunteers. Within three months, four new leaders emerged from unexpected places, and they had sustained member engagement across a challenging time.
Start by:
Defining roles with precision. Swap the generic “We need help” quip for a more specific description: “We need a communications co-lead to post monthly updates and manage our email list. It’s a six-month role, 1–2 hours a week.”
Creating micro-volunteer options. Not everyone can serve on a board or leadership committee, but many can manage a project, lead a session, or mentor new members. Make space for those who can contribute an hour per month, or periodically throughout the year. Think “gigs” in addition to your broader roles.
Communicating impact. People are more likely to step up when they understand how their contribution drives results. Showcase the work happening with your current leaders through spotlights in articles or videos. Celebrate their efforts and impacts more visibly, and members will want to get involved in a deeper way.
Recruitment isn’t a sign of weakness—it’s a signal of health.
By evolving your recruitment strategies and structure, you can create room for more people to volunteer, and build confidence through clarity of roles and responsibilities.
When people see a clear path to lead, they can step forward.
Normalize Turnover (Yes, Really)
I’ve seen this pattern across every industry—tech, energy, healthcare, finance. The organizations that have sustained and high-functioning ERGs plan for leader turnover and succession.
In addition to the planned rotation of group leaders, you’ll likely experience about 30% unplanned leadership attrition through unexpected circumstances – so build that into your planning cycles, too!
Document: Capture key processes, contacts, and timelines.
Good documentation speeds up your volunteers’ ability to contribute vs spending time trying to figure out how to get it done.
Don’t make each new leader develop new practices if they’re already working – and if they’re not, your new leaders can make process improvements.
Transition: Pass the baton with intention.
Create simple onboarding and offboarding checklists to help new leaders gain knowledge quickly, and past leaders to share their insights with impact.
Whether an informal selection or a formal election process, build succession planning steps into your annual calendar.
Recognize: Publicly thank outgoing leaders and introduce new ones with visibility and pride.
Praising the work done by past volunteers is not only the right thing to do for those who contributed, it sets the stage for the group culture and future leadership behaviors.
Don’t dismiss the impact of the recognition – when colleagues see someone’s skills and knowledge being valued by a group, they’re more likely to want to participate.
Turnover doesn’t destabilize impact. Done well, it’s a force multiplier.
Your Next 30-Day Challenge
Audit your leadership load. Who’s overextended? Who needs a co-lead or additional support? Who’s ready for growth? And who’s ready to step away and needs a succession plan?
Map your transitions. Identify who will rotate off next quarter and who’s ready to step in.
Design a volunteer strategy. Define 3–5 new roles with clear scope and timeframes. If your leadership team or board has a gap, focus there first. If not, think of small roles that can infuse your existing team with energy and support…before the burnout.
Communicate far and wide! Create a campaign to get multiple messages about new opportunities in your communications channels and internal sites. Ask other groups to cross-promote within their membership, and share with company leaders to reach outside the usual audience.
The Bottom Line
ERGs thrive when leadership becomes a relay, not a marathon. Sharing the load isn’t about doing less—it’s about doing it better, together. When more people have pathways to contribute, the ERG’s influence, innovation, and sustainability expand exponentially.
That’s how you move from passion to progress—and from advocacy to impact.