ERG Impact Awards
2025 Application
Applications for 2025 are now closed.
Formerly known as the Above and Beyond Awards, Seramount’s Annual Employee Resource Group (ERG) Awards-Recognition Program.
Employee resource groups, their leaders, and allies deserve recognition for the critical contributions they make to drive change in their workplaces and communities. The ERG Impact Awards offer the opportunity for organizations to nominate outstanding groups, leaders, and/or members of their ERGs in multiple categories including: Business Impact, Community Impact, Workforce Impact, Workplace Culture Impact, ERG Collaboration, Trailblazer, Valued Partner, and ERG Leadership.
Honorees (winners and honorable mentions) will be recognized at our annual EmERGe Conference in Jersey City, NJ and Virtual from May 13-14, 2025.
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Timeline
- Nomination applications for the 2025 ERG Impact Awards open on June 10, 2024
- Monthly virtual info sessions throughout June – August 2024
- Nominations DUE August 16, 2024
- Awardee notifications go out in March 2025
- Awards will be presented at EmERGe in May 2025
Info Sessions
You may sign up for a virtual info session during which our ERG Impact Awards team will review the basics of the awards and nomination process while answering any general questions. All sessions will be recorded with materials (recordings, decks, and application links) sent afterward. An On-Demand Info Session and slide deck are available.
View one of the 45-minute Info Sessions below:
Application Guidelines and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Updated Application Guidelines and FAQs are now available here. New rules and limitations are in effect for 2025 submissions. Read all guidelines before applying to ensure your submission meets eligibility requirements.
Best Practices from Previous Honorees
As a starting point, we encourage you to review the best practices from the 2023 ERG Impact Award honorees and 2022 ERG Impact Award honorees.
Honorees from previous years: 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016
Watch how we’ve honored the 2023 awardees at our 2023 EmERGe event in this video:
Nomination Instructions
ERG Impact Awards are presented in group and individual categories. Descriptions of each category are provided below, along with links to the Word file applications for reference. All nominations must be submitted via the online form with two nominators listed per submission. Word file applications will not be accepted.
ERG Impact Award Categories
Group Categories
The same ERG may not apply to multiple categories, with the exception of the ERG Collaboration category. ERGs may only apply to one of the following group categories: Business Impact, Community Impact, Workforce Impact, Workplace Culture Impact, or Trailblazer. The ERG Collaboration Category is the only exception where an ERG may submit another application (with another ERG) if they already apply to one of the other group categories. We recommend prioritizing quality over quantity and selecting a category where the ERG had the greatest measurable impact.
Business Impact
Groups nominated in this category have made a clear and significant contribution to their organization’s business goals. Examples of work in this area of impact include, but are not limited to, product insights, development, and innovation; supplier diversity; marketing and market penetration; brand positioning and reputation; and other business operations impacting the “bottom line.”
Community Impact
Groups nominated in this category have made a clear and significant contribution to the external communities in which their organization does business. Examples of work in this area of impact include but are not limited to, educational and vocational opportunities for historically excluded populations, environmental sustainability, disaster relief, overall health of a community, volunteerism and philanthropy, and external partnerships with community-based organizations.
Workforce Impact
Groups nominated in this category have made a clear and significant contribution to their organization’s efforts to recruit, retain, and advance diverse talent. Examples of work in this area of impact include but are not limited to, pipeline development, recruitment, onboarding, mentorship and sponsorship, frontline and hourly workforce development, and internal leadership development programming.
Workplace Culture Impact
Groups nominated in this category have made a clear and significant contribution to their organization’s inclusive culture. Examples of work in this area of impact include, but are not limited to, employee engagement; promotions of inclusive behaviors, benefits, policies, and procedures; workplace design and accessibility; spaces of belonging; and opportunities to increase cultural competency.
ERG Collaboration
Groups nominated in this category have made a significant collaborative effort to contribute to their organization’s diversity, equity, and inclusion goals in relation to business, community, workforce, and/or workplace culture impact. To be considered for this award, at least two or more ERGs must have collaborated on an initiative within one of the areas of impact above.
Trailblazer
To be considered for this award, groups MUST come from a small organization with less than or equal to 2,500 total (global, if applicable) permanent employees AND/OR have two or fewer years of ERG maturity at an enterprise level. Groups nominated in this category have made a significant trailblazing effort to contribute to their organization’s diversity, equity, and inclusion goals in relation to business, community, workforce, and/or workplace culture impact despite their size, limited resources, and age since initial ERG charter.
Individual Categories
The same individual may not apply to multiple categories. An individual may apply to the ERG Leadership category or the Valued Partner category, but not both.
ERG Leadership
A candidate for the ERG Leadership Award is an individual whose resilience and determination have led to the creation, success and/or turn-around of their ERG. Examples of exemplary leadership include, but are not limited to, a deep understanding of the organization’s DEI and business goals; the skills to forge partnerships with other ERGs, business leaders, and external organizations to create meaningful impact; and the ability to influence multiple aspects of the company’s culture, business, and the community.
The category is not limited to only ERG Chairs; ERG committee leads and highly engaged members are also eligible to be nominated.
Valued Partner (Formerly Valued Ally)
An individual nominated for the Valued Partner Award must be an executive sponsor, ERG program manager, DEI or HR team member, or a business/functional leader who serves as a valued partner to one or more ERGs within their organization. These individuals contribute to the success of ERG(s) by providing support, outstanding guidance, and exposure. Examples of ways individuals contribute as valued allies include, but are not limited to, leveraging their position within the company to influence senior leadership and build engagement of the C-suite in DEI and ERG work, showing a commitment to DEI beyond involvement in an ERG, and seeking opportunities to expand a knowledge base to better support the ERG and the business.
We look forward to celebrating honorees at EmERGe!