CHRO insights: What it takes to advance a culture of belonging

We continue to connect with CHROs across North America to understand their experiences, challenges, and triumphs as they work to build workplace cultures centred around inclusion and belonging.

Most recently, I had the pleasure of moderating a virtual roundtable event in which a group of HR leaders based in New York spoke candidly about their paths to creating more supportive workplaces and how they have adjusted to meet their employees where they are.

During the discussion, we explored the added challenges that remote and hybrid work environments have presented, how the frequency of employee listening has evolved in lockstep with the pandemic, and the impacts of recognition on productivity and retention.

The new ways of work

Several of the session participants touched on how onboarding during remote and hybrid work has impacted the employee experience and what they’re doing to address it.

One such CHRO highlighted that it’s all about frequency — scheduling ongoing touchpoints, creating a buddy system, setting up networking opportunities, and more. All with the goal of recreating an onboarding experience similar to what they would have had in-person.?

Another leader pointed out that we tend to gravitate towards the colleagues we already know rather than taking the time to reach out to new hires, something that is critical for establishing a sense of belonging during the early days of a new job. A great actionable takeaway from this point is to schedule 1:1 coffee chats with individuals who join the organization. Not only does it help them to feel included from day one, it also builds comradery and connections within and across teams — an invaluable benefit, especially as many of us continue to work at a distance.

Another great point that resonated with me was how one organization anchors everything that they do in respect — a sort of North Star to guide their way and help them benchmark their progress. What better way to stay the course when it comes to advancing a culture of belonging? This led our participants to reflect on the changed role of their employee resource groups (ERGs) and how their organizations have made changes to become better DE&I partners and allies to their employees.

Listening: The evolution

Of course, a large part of getting it right when it comes to building or rebuilding a workplace culture is collecting employee feedback.

Pre-pandemic, most organizations were delivering only one annual poll to their people. Now, most are soliciting employee feedback 2-3x per year. Some organizations have even done away with their annual surveys in favor of quarterly (or even more frequent) pulse checks to allow for a more agile approach.

We at Achievers take a holistic approach to employee listening, using annual and quarterly surveys in addition to always-on check-ins, giving employees the opportunity to share their feelings and experiences in real-time through the Achievers Employee Experience Platform?. Discussions with our roundtable group revealed that this type of approach is now more commonplace, as organizations look to employees to help inform workplace changes that create more inclusive environments.

Gratitude: the gateway to improved productivity and retention

One theme that continues to arise during our discussions with CHROs is the role of recognition in supporting organizational change, especially when it comes to establishing a greater sense of belonging among employees.

One roundtable participant raised an important point. Before you can recognize an employee, whether they’re a peer or team member, you have to know them. This ladders back to the earlier mention of actively and intentionally taking the time to get to know others in the organization when they join. Since we know that recognitions that are more specific are more impactful, it goes without saying that this is an important first step to take. Whether in-office, on-site, remote, or hybrid, taking the time to get to know each other is paramount in a successful recognition strategy.

For those still working remotely, this same participant recommended work-free drop-in style meetings in which people talk about topics completely unrelated to the business, such as whether Halloween decorations should be scary or silly — any light-hearted topic that gets people to open us and connect on a more personal level. These interactions help to replace those in-office moments where a colleague would drop by your desk to ask a quick question and you’d end up chatting about your day or your weekend plans. The foundation for being able to express gratitude begins within these conversations.

Once it’s time to recognize, it’s important to align the recognition with the organization’s values — something that many CHROs we spoke with are actively advocating for. Not only does this help to establish desired behaviors, it also helps employees to understand how and where their contributions fit within the organization — another way to support their sense of belonging and improve retention.

?Another great way to get ahead of turnover — something many organizations are experiencing at the moment — is to conduct ‘stay’ interviews in which you ask employees what they’re looking forward to when it comes to being recognized and rewarded. This suggestion from one of our roundtable participants reminded us all of the importance to keep communication open and ongoing to not only improve the employee experience and promote productivity, but also to stem turnover.

The journey continues

To support our roundtable participants in their journey to create more inclusive workplace environments, I shared our 2021 Culture Report and I wanted to share it with you as well. In the report you’ll uncover our Belonging Model and the five elements that drive a sense of inclusion and belonging, developed by the Achievers Workforce Institute. I hope that you find it useful,