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D&I? DE&I? DEI&B? Whatever you call it, approaching your talent acquisition, management and retention with an inclusive and open mindset is de rigueur these days. Far more than simply adding another letter of the alphabet to an acronym, Belonging is a proactive, holistic attitude that can change your ability to retain staff from all walks of life, and to keep them happy. And it’s not just about minority groups – it has a lot to do with company culture and how well we listen.
Jeremy Spake, a US-based thought leader in DEI&B, said in a recent podcast for HR Labs: “These acronyms are ever-evolving. So, I think it’s important for all of us to remember that whether you’re using DEI, IND, or DEIB, our goals all should be pointed in the same direction—which is to have an organisation where all employees feel empowered to bring their whole selves to work and to thrive in doing so.”
“39% of respondents feel the greatest sense of belonging when their colleagues simply checked in with them”
What is belonging in the workplace?
One of the most interesting things about the introduction of the ‘B’ in the inclusion acronym is that the focus is on the core of how people feel and what makes them want to stay, rather than on methods to achieve that. Diversity, for example, is important and is about casting a wide net to make sure we give equal opportunity, and that our workforce is representative of the talent in society as a whole. Belonging, however, is what makes valuable members of our society feel welcome, no matter their skin colour or any physical disabilities, etc. Belonging is also behavioural and cultural.
Deloitte, in its whitepaper on the manufacturing sector, DEI: Beyond Reskilling, describes this ‘B’ as: “The outcome of feeling respected and treated fairly, that enables individuals to make meaningful contributions to shared goals.”
Findem, a talent insights firm, describes Belonging on their blog as, “centred around the employee experience of feeling accepted in the workplace. Every team member should feel that their perspective is valued and adds something useful. Belonging to a team implies a sense of value—that an employee is needed and wanted. A simplistic example is if a leadership team is composed of nine seasoned managers and a young, new manager. This could make the new manager feel like an outlier with little value to offer. But, if the others actively encourage the new manager to voice ideas and input, provide equal opportunity for this manager to lead projects and grow, this helps the new manager to feel valued and respected.”
These actions, argue the blog, all contribute to and deliver belonging for that manager.
“Do I belong here?”
Both at HR Grapevine and as HR professionals, we touch on imposter syndrome a lot, and the fact that all of us feel it (with, naturally, higher numbers of women and minority groups reporting that they feel it more often). The opposite of that feeling, though, is when employees and leaders in your organisation can answer an emphatic, “Yes!” to the question, “Do I belong here?”. But in fact, very few of us can do so.
In the same whitepaper quoted above, Deloitte reports that, “Feelings of belonging are central to building a sense of safety among employees. In [our recent study], only one-fifth of respondents felt confident about sharing their ideas or challenging their colleagues’ ideas and only 28 percent feel that their manager values individual differences in working style, background, and knowledge to help produce better results.”
As the authors of the HRB article ‘The Value of Belonging at Work’ put it: “Social belonging is a fundamental human need, hardwired into our DNA. And yet, 40% of people say that they feel isolated at work [HRB study of 1,000 American workers], and the result has been lower organizational commitment and engagement. In a nutshell, companies are blowing it. U.S. businesses spend nearly 8 billion dollars each year on diversity and inclusion (D&I) trainings that miss the mark because they neglect our need to feel included.
Indeed, the study continues, “exclusion is a growing issue. We found that more than 40% of those we surveyed are feeling physically and emotionally isolated in the workplace. This group spanned generations, genders, and ethnicities.”
“Social belonging is a fundamental human need, hardwired into our DNA”
How to create belonging in the workplace?
So, how do we help our employees feel that they belong? While HR and work can’t always tackle the wider societal issues of loneliness, isolation and lack of connection, the workplace (even remote workers) is ‘where’ we spend the bulk of our time.
In the HRB survey, the answer to this question was charmingly (and sadly) simple: 39% of respondents feel the greatest sense of belonging when their colleagues simply checked in with them, both personally and professionally. The ‘art of the check-in’, of course, is individual, and some employees will simply not want to engage that way – the easiest way to ascertain this is to simply ask, or, for neurodivergent employees, who may feel more ‘put on the spot’ than other neurotypes, an anonymous employee survey may help.
Business writing skills company TechHelp asked 10 business HR leaders their top tips for ensuring the ‘B’ in your D&I approach is where it needs to be, and the advice is all really sound.
- Have open communication
- Welcome interest groups
- Empower employees
- Implement diversity training
- Do the internal work
- Use inclusive language
- Make your tech stack accessible
- Prioritise connection
- Get leadership on board
- Prioritise connection
How are you and your organisation working to make people feel as if they belong? Let us know in the comments!
