The Connection Collective | How to Set, Track, and Crush ERG Goals Like a Pro

Hello Trailblazers & Changemakers,

In 2025, “winging it” isn’t a strategy—especially for ERGs looking to drive meaningful impact. Many ERG leaders struggle with defining success, securing leadership buy-in, and keeping initiatives on track. Without clear goals, momentum fades, engagement drops, and ERGs risk becoming another checkbox initiative.

So, how do we move from good intentions to real, sustainable impact?

By setting SMART goals—clear, measurable objectives that align with company priorities and drive long-term success.

Let’s dive into why SMART goals matter, what they are, how to create them, and how Chezie’s platform makes tracking, reporting, and execution effortless.

Current Challenges for ERGs

ERGs face growing obstacles. Corporate DEI priorities are shifting, making it harder to secure resources and leadership support. Hybrid and remote work environments add another layer of complexity, as ERGs now compete with various employee engagement initiatives. Additionally, most ERG leaders are volunteers juggling full-time roles, leaving little bandwidth to execute impactful programming.

Without focused, strategic goals, ERGs risk losing relevance, engagement, and leadership investment. SMART goals provide the structure needed to ensure initiatives remain aligned with company objectives and drive measurable outcomes.

The Power of SMART Goals for Your ERGs in 2025

SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound—a framework designed to help ERG leaders move beyond good intentions and into strategic, high-impact execution.

SMART goals help ERGs move from loose aspirations to structured execution by ensuring objectives are:

• Specific – Clearly defined and focused

• Measurable – Quantifiable with trackable progress

• Achievable – Realistic but ambitious

• Relevant – Tied to company priorities and DEI strategy

• Time-bound – With a set deadline for accountability

For example, instead of saying, “Improve mentorship in our ERG,” a SMART goal would be:

This version eliminates ambiguity and makes it easier to track success and demonstrate impact.

Whether you’re looking to increase ERG membership, secure more funding, or enhance leadership engagement, SMART goals provide the clarity and structure needed to turn aspirations into results.

By setting clear objectives, ERG leaders can avoid the pitfalls of vague initiatives, ensuring that their programs drive engagement, foster inclusivity, and contribute to the broader business strategy.

Framework for Setting ERG Goals

1. Assess ERG Priorities & Organizational Needs
Before setting goals, ERG leaders should evaluate key challenges, past performance, organizational DEI priorities, and member needs.

For instance, a Women in Tech ERG might recognize that mid-level women employees struggle to advance due to a lack of mentorship and sponsorship. If leadership has also identified increasing diversity in leadership as a key DEI goal, the ERG should craft a goal that directly addresses career advancement while supporting the company’s broader objectives.

2. Define Specific Goals
Avoid vague objectives. Instead of “improve mentorship,” define an actionable goal:
"Launch a structured mentorship program pairing 20 mid-level women engineers with senior leaders by Q3 2025."

3. Make Goals Measurable
To track success, establish clear metrics such as participation numbers, engagement rates, and promotion outcomes. An updated goal could be:
"Ensure at least 80% of participants complete the mentorship program and that 30% of mentees secure leadership-track roles within a year."

4. Ensure Goals Are Achievable
Consider resource constraints. A goal that aims to launch a mentorship program for all women in tech company-wide may be too ambitious. Instead, a phased approach—starting with 20 pairings in the first year—allows for a manageable rollout with room for future expansion.

5. Align Goals with Business & DEI Strategies
For leadership buy-in, ERG goals should align with company-wide objectives. If leadership aims to increase women in leadership by 25% by 2026, a mentorship program designed to feed into leadership tracks becomes a compelling initiative for executives to support.

6. Set a Timeframe
A structured timeline ensures accountability. Breaking a goal into phases helps manage progress:

• Q1: Secure leadership sponsors and recruit mentees/mentors

• Q2: Conduct mentor-mentee matching and host a kickoff event

• Q3: Run mentorship sessions and track engagement

• Q4: Gather feedback, measure results, and refine for 2026

7. Track Progress & Measure Impact
Use tools like Chezie’s ERG tracking platform to monitor participation, collect qualitative feedback, and report on success metrics. This keeps the ERG accountable and provides valuable data for securing continued investment.

8. Reflect & Iterate for Future Goal-Setting
After a full cycle, review the program’s success and refine it. If engagement was strong, the ERG might expand from 20 to 50 mentees next year or introduce additional leadership development workshops.

Why SMART Goals Matter for ERGs

🔹 Increased Organizational Buy-In

ERGs thrive when they have leadership support. But getting that buy-in often means proving value. SMART goals help ERG leaders define success in quantifiable terms, making it easier to demonstrate how ERGs contribute to employee engagement, retention, and overall company culture.

🔹 Clear Direction in an Evolving Workplace

With the ever-changing workplace and social landscape, ERGs need structured, strategic goals that align with business priorities. SMART goals keep efforts focused, scalable, and impactful.

🔹 Accountability for Leaders and Program Managers

Vague aspirations don’t drive results. SMART goals ensure ERG leaders and program managers stay on course, making success easier to measure—and celebrate.

Instead of planning “a mentorship program,” an ERG with SMART goals would say:

"We will launch a mentorship program that pairs 50 employees from underrepresented backgrounds with senior leaders by Q3. The program team will track participation rates, collect feedback, and measure engagement levels to assess impact."

This approach eliminates ambiguity and ensures ERG efforts translate into meaningful outcomes.

Pro Tip: Start Small, Then Scale!

How Chezie Simplifies SMART Goal Tracking

At Chezie, we know that setting SMART goals is only the first step. Execution and tracking are what bring those goals to life. That’s why we’ve built an ERG-specific goal tracking tool to help teams seamlessly manage their progress.

With Chezie’s latest feature, ERG leaders can:

👉 Set measurable goals aligned with company priorities.
👉 Track real-time progress and make data-driven decisions.
👉 Create reports to showcase ERG impact to leadership.
👉 Automate reminders and check-ins to keep initiatives on track.

Instead of juggling spreadsheets, emails, and scattered notes, Chezie’s platform centralizes goal-setting, making it easy for ERGs to stay organized, accountable, and impactful.

Join Us for a Live SMART Goals Webinar!

Want to see how SMART goal tracking works in action? We’ve got you covered.

From Intent to Execution: Creating and Tracking SMART ERG Goals for 2025
🗓 Date: February 18, 2025
⏰ Time: 12 PM EST
🎤 Hosted by: Dumebi Egbuna

In this session, we’ll:

✔️ Break down the SMART goal framework and how to apply it to ERG initiatives.
✔️ Share practical strategies for increasing ERG engagement and demonstrating impact.
✔️ Showcase Chezie’s goal-tracking tool with a live demo, so you can see how it works.
✔️ Answer your questions on setting and measuring ERG success in 2025.

💡 Ready to set your ERGs up for success?

If you're interested in exploring how Chezie can enhance your Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), I invite you to schedule a demo. We also offers a wealth of resources to support your ERG initiatives:

• ERG Toolkit: Comprehensive guides and templates to help you establish and manage effective ERGs.

• Blue Pages: A collection of articles and thought pieces on best practices for ERGs.

• ERG Leaders Community: Join discussions with ERG and DEI leaders to share experiences and strategies.

Lastly, connect with me on LinkedIn for more insights and updates.