Best Ways to Create a Sense of Belonging at Work

Belonging doesn’t happen by accident. You can have a friendly team, a solid project documentation doc, and still end up with a new hire who never quite finds their footing. Because feeling welcome isn’t the same as feeling like you belong. Belonging is about being seen, heard, and safe to show up fully. Belonging means the reciprocal trust of team members to spitball ideas, try things, and fully collaborate. Belonging means you won’t get called a “DEI hire” when you are the only women on the team or called lazy when you have to take your wife to chemo at 3pm. Belonging means you have healthy working relationships with your colleagues, and they give you the benefit of the doubt. If you’re a people leader - it’s your responsibility to create this environment. You set the tone for the culture of belonging on your team from the first day a new team member starts. Here are a few things I do to set the stage for belonging: 1. Make introductions personal. Not just names and roles—share interests, experience, and proud moments from their lives. 2. Share team norms explicitly. Onboarding a new hire is a great opportunity to verbally reinforce the cultural norms that are expected to to everyone. 3. Invite their voice early. Ask their opinion in meetings. Let them see their input matters before they feel “ready.” When people feel like they belong, they don’t just integrate faster—they contribute more confidently, collaborate more openly, and stick around longer. Your team is happier, is more likely to hit goals, and you; you earn the place of amazing leader that built the best team they ever worked on. ❤️

Decoding belonging: B – Bravery Encouraging voices to challenge the status quo, surface truths, and advocate for necessary change. Speaking up against harmful practices and behaviors. E – Equity Recognizing that different people have different needs, removing barriers that have disadvantaged historically excluded groups, and designing systems where everyone can access information, resources, and opportunities they need to succeed. L – Leaning In Engaging with curiosity, confronting discomfort, and being willing to learn and unlearn rather than retreating into defensiveness. O – Openness Fostering a transparent, trust-based environment where information flows freely and where vulnerability is not seen as a weakness. Openness is also about sharing decision-making power, encouraging feedback, creating space for honest dialogues across all levels of the organization, and holding ourselves accountable. N – Nurturing Committing to the long-term development of individuals and teams by investing in their growth, well-being, and potential. G – Growth Embracing learning, innovation, and change as continuous processes. Seeing mistakes as opportunities rather than character flaws. I – Inclusion Ensuring that every individual, across every identity and experience, feels valued, respected, and heard (except racist, misogynistic, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, and other oppressive narratives and behaviors.) N – Normalizing Making belonging practices part of everyday life instead of a one-time initiative or a special program. Embedding inclusion into hiring, meetings, leadership, evaluation, and decision-making until it becomes “that’s how we work together.” G – Grounding Rooting actions, policies, and practices in shared values. Grounding reminds us that organizational culture needs a steady foundation where decisions are not only strategic but also aligned with who we say we are and who we aspire to be. —— [Image description] The image features the word “BELONGING” in bold, capitalized letters at the center. Each letter in the word is vertically connected by dotted lines to a corresponding value or concept that elaborates its meaning.

Most new hires feel lost. They meet the team once, and they’re left to figure it out alone. That’s not how you build a high-performing team. That is how you lose talent fast. Belonging doesn’t happen by chance.  It’s created with intention—from day one. So how do you make new hires feel like they belong? Here’s what I’ve been doing since (xyz years and has worked for our team: 1. Start with a one-on-one. Kick things off personally. Set the tone. Make them feel seen and valued. This is their first real experience of our culture—make it count. 2. Introduce them to the whole team. A group meeting gives context. It shows them they’re part of something bigger. It helps them understand the team’s shared purpose. 3. One-on-ones with each team member. This is the game-changer. Personal meetings build real connections. They help the new hire understand roles, build trust, and feel supported. High-performing teams are built on these relationships. 4. End the week with a follow-up. Check in again. Answer questions. Celebrate a quick win. Even a small success makes a difference. It builds confidence and shows they’re already contributing. By week two, they shouldn’t feel like the “new person.” They should feel like a valued member of the team—ready to contribute. That’s how high-performing teams are built. By leaders who prioritize belonging and connection—from day one. 📌 Want to build your best team ever? Join 27,000+ who receive these insights in my free newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gCv_2MQ2

Employee turnover is expensive. [and the cost isn’t only financial] Every departure costs more than just hiring and training a replacement. It slows the whole team down. That’s why some teams thrive and grow, while others keep starting over. People leave when they feel unheard, unseen, or stuck. The best talent stays where they can grow, be trusted, and feel part of something meaningful. Here are 8 proven ways leaders can create that kind of culture: 1/ Listen to Them ➜ Keep open channels for feedback and show you act on what you hear. 2/ Recognize Them ➜ Regularly celebrate wins, big or small, to keep morale high. 3/ Invest in Them ➜ Provide learning, training, and opportunities that help them grow. 4/ Promote Them ➜ Offer new challenges and career paths that keep them engaged. 5/ Inspire Them ➜ Share a vision they can believe in, connect their work to it, and make them feel part of something bigger. 6/ Coach Them ➜ Guide them through challenges and help them see the bigger picture. 7/ Trust Them ➜ Give real autonomy, involve them in decisions, and show confidence in their abilities. 8/ Protect Them ➜ Encourage work-life balance, provide mental health resources, and respect personal boundaries. Because at the end of the day: Employees don’t just stay for paychecks. They stay where they feel valued. Leaders, which of these 8 do you practice consistently? __ ♻️ Share it to remind more leaders how to keep their best people. 📌 And follow me, Victoria Repa, for more.

Small But Mighty 💪 We're all clear that Belonging doesn't happen overnight. What we sometimes fail to realize is that belonging isn't solely about big, sweeping gestures and large-scale initiatives either. To be clear, those are definitely important AND here are 6 small but mighty ways that you can start building belonging on your teams today. ✅ 1. Values and Behaviors. Write them down and broadcast them. Assuming that a team shares the same values without clearly stating and enforcing them is a mistake. By promoting values like inclusion and respect, and explicitly defining the associated behaviors, you can create a stronger sense of belonging among team members. ✅ 2. Team Meetings. Rushing through Team Recognition at meetings can fall short of the belonging we're trying to achieve. Consider stopping to really celebrate the wins by letting a team member (NOT just the leader), talk about the work involved, call out members of the team and discuss the impact to the business. ✅ 3. Physical spaces. · You may be surprised at how easily you can use physical spaces to communicate inclusivity to your team. · Everything from the decor of your conference rooms (for example, images of your people as video monitor backgrounds) to spaces for set aside as quiet rooms or relaxation zones can signal to your employees that you want them to feel seen and supported in the office. ✅ 4. Communications. · While there is an entire body of work and training around inclusive communications, I want to specifically call out that being transparent and vulnerable in communicating has a profound effect on belonging. ➡️ Transparent here does not mean breaking confidence or privacy but it does require clarity and authenticity. ➡️ Vulnerability deepens trust which also has a huge impact on the connection your teams will experience. ✅ 5. Stretch assignments. · I heard this very actionable idea at a conference last year and it never left me. · For all people leaders, create a spreadsheet with the names of your direct reports and what a good stretch assignment for each of them would look like. · Meet with them to gain alignment and create the action plan to make it happen. This will signal that you see your people and are invested in their growth. ✅ 6. Team Rewards. · Sometimes we rack our brains to come up with the perfect gifts for employees. How about we just ask them? · Create a form with the question: "If you had an extra 10 (or 20 or 50) dollars that you had to spend on yourself, what splurge would you go for that maybe you would not ordinarily do for yourself?" · Collect this information and have it ready when it's time to celebrate an individual.