Creating an "Employee Experience of Belonging" increase Engagement and Productivity rates by 400%!

?? The number of employees with a strong sense of belonging is only a quarter of the workforce.

A strong sense of belonging correlates with every metric HR and business leaders want to improve, from productivity and performance to retention and safety. The five pillars of belonging are: Welcomed, Known, Included, Supported, and Connected. When any single pillar is activated, feelings of belonging double. When all five are activated, belonging triples.

Belonging plays a significant role in every step of an employee’s journey with your organization from before they join the team to long after they depart. Six questions are required for your employee survey: one for belonging in general, and one for each of the five pillars of belonging, according to a new interesting research published by Achievers using data from surveys of more than 30,000 employees and 10,000 HR leaders.

?Definition of Belonging

Researchers define belonging as an experience of connection, security, and community, it’s about feeling at home in one’s place, without reservation.

When each of us feels that way both at work and at home, we can rest assured that we are co-creating a brighter world together.

?Belonging increase each HR Metric

Researchers discovered that when organizations increase employees’ sense of belonging from low to moderate, they see huge upticks in every category they measure, with another increase in:

?? Engagement (5 times more)

?? Productivity (5 times more)

?? Employee Advocacy (9 times more)

?? Job Commitment (6 times more)

?? Wellbeing (4 times more)

?? Resilience (3 times more)

?? Physical safety (2 times more)

?? Physiological safety (3 times more)

??Even getting an employee from low belonging to moderate belonging increases engagement and productivity rates by 400%.

?Belonging pillar toolkits

Researchers suggest to use the following toolkits to find the right area of focus, including specific actions for each area.

Divided into three levels of action, these toolkits outline what organizations, managers, and individuals can do to better support each pillar, increasing the experience of belonging for every employee.

?? Welcomed : From job posting to hiring process to day one, week one, and month one first impressions matter. Organization need to formalize onboarding and think about “welcome” beyond new starters.

?? Known: Let employees know that they matter for more than their job title by getting to know them beyond the superficial.

?? Included: being valued for your differences, not in spite of them, and being able to respectfully disagree with other people in the room.

?? Supported: include everything from basic tools and resources to professional development and work flexibility. A supportive manager is critical for employee wellbeing and success and is an important starting point for this pillar.

?? Connected: The connection pillar is the single biggest belonging driver. Researchers believed that from strong work friendships to a robust network, people who feel well connected at work are more than twice as likely to feel a strong sense of belonging.

?The belonging builders

Researchers also highlight the builders which are all correlate strongly with belonging but have a two-direction relationship:

1. Trust: is two-way street. This may seem obvious, but too many organizations measure trust without considering how they are demonstrating it. When people don’t feel trusted, they are less likely to say they trust their manager or senior leaders.
2. Community : Creating a sense of community goes beyond individual connections. Community at work is about bringing people together through common interests, objectives, or experiences.
3. Shared vision: A shared vision for the future can inspire and motivate.
4. Workplace culture: Every interaction an employee has contributes to what they think the workplace culture is, so be intentional in what those experiences look and feel like.
5. Communication: Sharing accurate and timely information is an important part of employee belonging because it fosters feelings of inclusion, support, and connection.

?Building better belonging begins on day 1

Researchers found that people who are warmly welcomed and invited to be part of their organizational community are twice as likely to feel a sense of belonging, and welcoming efforts predict positive outcomes for new employees ranging from greater role clarity, self efficacy, job performance, retention, perceived fit, and job satisfaction.

?? Employees with a strong sense of belonging are twice as likely to recommend their company as a good place to work, and 76% more likely to recommend their managers

?How to measure belonging?

Achievers researchers recommend six questions for your employee survey: one for belonging in general, and one for each of the five pillars of belonging:

1?? Overall sense of belonging: I feel a strong sense of belonging at my organization

2?? Welcomed: I feel warmly welcomed at my company (first day, new team, new role)

3?? Known: I feel known as an individual at my company

4?? Included: I feel included at work (can be myself, my opinions are valued, can respectfully disagree)

5?? Supported: I am supported at work in achieving my personal and professional development goals

6?? Connected: I feel a strong connection with peers and colleagues

?? Researchers recommend including these questions in engagement surveys, when running pulse surveys (three or more surveys a year), leaders may choose to cycle through different questions to keep the total length shorter. In that case, include the overall belonging metric every time, with the pillar questions asked at least once a year so they can see where any changes have had impact.

?? Finally researchers encourages HR and business leaders to think in days and years when they are assessing initiatives and investments instead of thinking about months and quarters, maybe the next fiscal year. Also there are dozens of data-driven insights into creating a culture of belonging. However, one size does not fit all. Managers, deskless workers, and different generations all have different needs and resources.

Thank you ?? Achievers researchers team for these insightful findings:

Hannah Yardley Kumari L. Williams Natalie Baumgartner, PhD Culture Thought Leader Emma Harvie

Dave Ulrich George Kemish LLM MCMI MIC MIoL

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