Most ERG programs aren’t short on effort. They’re short on repeatable systems—the kind that create visibility without constant check-ins. And the fix isn’t “more meetings.” The fix is turning leadership roles into repeatable processes.
Step 1: Start with tasks, not titles
Here’s what people usually get backwards: they start with roles.
They decide they want a Chair, Co-Chair, Events Lead, Comms Lead, Partnerships Lead… and then they scramble to find tasks to justify each title. That’s why pillar-based roles often get weird. You end up fitting work into boxes instead of building boxes around real work.
If you want less lift and more consistency, flip it. Before you name a single role, list the actual work that has to happen for your ERGs to run smoothly.
Not “communications.” Actual tasks like “Schedule 2x Slack messages per week”
When you have a clean task list, you stop designing roles based on vibes.
Step 2: Assign each task a cadence and a time estimate
This is the step that turns random effort into a predictable rhythm and makes roles realistic.
Every task gets two labels:
Cadence: weekly / monthly / quarterly / annual
Lift: how many minutes it should take when done correctly
Be honest here. When you actually time-box ERG tasks, you realize a lot of them aren’t heavy—they just feel heavy because they aren’t systemized.
Example time estimates:
Draft & Schedule 2 Slack Posts: 10 minutes
Export Meeting Attendee List + send to PM: 5 minutes
This is where you prevent the “ERG second job” effect—because you’re defining the real lift.
Step 3: Bundle tasks into roles (and cut roles aggressively)
Now group tasks that naturally belong together into one role.
And here’s the standard: if a role doesn’t have enough recurring tasks to justify it, it shouldn’t exist. It’s not a role. It’s a random chore.
A perfect example is Finance. If you have a clean finance process, “finance” is often a five-minute task, not an entire volunteer role. Creating a Finance Lead role when the work is occasional and tiny is honestly a waste of a strong volunteer.
Your goal is fewer roles with clearer ownership—not a bunch of titles that sound official.
Step 4: Document the role in detail (this is your Speedee System)
Once you’ve defined the tasks, cadence, and lift, you turn it into a process by documenting exactly how to do it—step by step—so it comes out the same every time.
This is the difference between:
“Our Comms Lead posts weekly updates”
and“Here’s the exact checklist, template, and workflow for weekly updates, including where it lives, what to copy/paste, and what ‘done’ looks like.”
Every tiny step matters:
where the work lives
what tool is used
the template to use
the order of steps
what success looks like
This is how you build your ERG “Speedee System”—the conditions on the backend that make the work feel smooth and easy. (We’ll talk more about this later this week on our PM call.)
Step 5: Reinforce it until it sticks (storming is normal)
Even with great documentation, you’ll need to monitor it at the beginning.
That doesn’t mean the system failed. That’s just the storming phase.
Expect to check in for the first month—sometimes 2–3 months—until people stop improvising and the role becomes routine.
After that, you’re no longer babysitting. You’re spot-checking.
The bottom line
If you want to stay up to date without being at every single meeting, you need roles that run like systems.
Tasks → Cadence + Lift → Roles → Documentation → Reinforcement.
That’s how you build a structure you can trust—and that’s how you reduce volunteer burnout without lowering your standards.
