ERG Success Metrics & Business Impact Study
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The 2026 ERG Success Metrics & Business Impact Study draws on 115 ERG Oversight Managers across the US, Europe and beyond. It doesn't just tell you where the field stands.
It gives you the peer evidence to defend every decision you've made, and a clear path for every one you still need to make.
And yet 98% expect ERG numbers to hold steady or grow.
The portfolios that weathered it had something in common
What separated the ones that didn't is documented in this report.
You're managing one of the most complex, least understood roles in the organization.
Most ERG Oversight Managers started without a formal mandate, a clear budget or a peer who does the same job. The decisions that matter most — governance, measurement, leader recognition, executive accountability — don't come with a playbook. This study tells you what and how much is needed to succeed and how other organizations are doing it.
Your leadership wants numbers. You're not sure you have the right ones yet.
The 2026 study identifies the exact gap between what portfolios claim to deliver and what they can actually prove — and gives you a three-question diagnostic to figure out which measurement problem you're actually solving.
Governance feels like documentation. But the risk isn't in the document.
100% of high-performing portfolios have governance — but the data show most stop at stage two of four. The operationalization and enforcement that actually protect you are where the gap opens, and where this report is most specific.
Your ERG leaders are doing demanding volunteer work with inconsistent support.
Selection, recognition, training, evaluation, succession — most portfolios have addressed one or two. The 2026 data show what happens when all five are in place, and what the highest-return, lowest-cost investment is at each stage.
You're doing all of this in less time than the role actually requires.
The single most predictive variable in the study is time allocation. OMs who dedicate at least 50% of their work time to ERGs run measurably stronger portfolios. The data now make that internal conversation much easier to have.
Second Annual Report
Now with year-over-year movement.
The 2026 study is the first in this series to show direction — not just where the field is, but where it moved in twelve months. Governance momentum is real: portfolios with continuously updated frameworks rose from 29% to 44% in a single year. The measurement gap is widening. And the gap between what portfolios intended to build in 2025 and what they actually built is documented for the first time. That trend layer changes how every number reads.
The peer benchmarks that support the management priorities that have the greatest impact.
- Professional research & analysis explained in the 33-page PDF report
- 40+ peer benchmarks mapped to ERG portfolio focus: Create/Update/Elevate
- Clear and consistent success factors that every organization can apply
- Global representation with single and multi-country ERG portfolios, plus European regional analysis
- Specific recommended actions in each section for Oversight Managers and DEI/HR Leaders
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