Human beings have an innate need to feel a sense of belonging; to feel safe and valued for who they fully are, to feel included and part of something bigger than themselves.

Given that a large majority of our waking hours are spent at work, it’s critically important to feel this in the workplace as much as in other aspects of our lives.

 Without it, companies risk disengagement, loss of productivity, and turnover, while employees face potential loneliness, illness, stress, and underperformance.

What Millennials and Gen Z want — and What Companies Can do to Keep Them

However, the new era of hybrid working has changed how we connect, interact and socialize as employees.  It’s changed how we experience ‘belonging’ but not our need for it. 

The loss of the ‘social glue’ and inbuilt connection opportunities we once took for granted means organizational efforts to ensure a strong sense of community and inclusivity are having to be adapted to meet our basic human needs too.

To help you adapt and keep your employees needs top-of-mind, no matter where they choose to work from, here are six ways that Internal Communication can contribute to creating a solid sense of belonging in your organization:

Internal communication has never been more important for keeping employees informed, included and inspired in this chaotic, unsure, hybrid working world. 

The core basics of good business communication still stand and must not be overlooked in favour of more fanciful tactics. 

It is still vital that employees understand the strategy and direction of the organisation they work for and contribute to to feel that sense of purpose and belonging. 

They need to know what part they play, feel that they add value and are both individually and collectively making a positive impact. 

Additionally, employees need to feel respected which is where open, honest communication and transparent decision-making remain important in building trust and a sense of psychological safety.

The world seems to be changing at every moment and along with it employees emotions, needs and opinions. 

It’s well documented that employee voice contributes to high levels of engagement and feeling valued, so opportunities to listen to employees and meet them where they’re at needs to be prioritized. 

Internal communication has a real opportunity to ensure their channels and culture facilitate regular opportunities for employees to share honest views in a safe and respected way, to speak openly about what’s on their mind, so they feel heard and a valued member of the community. 

And when leadership communication is honest and transparent, so will employee communication!

3. Build in meeting socialization opportunities

The online meeting space of Zoom and Teams is now an accepted component of work-life, whether we like it or not, but it also presents a great opportunity to boost a sense of belonging if the focus isn’t solely on business topics and conversations. 

Having time to socialize and chat about more personal news and experiences before or at the end of meetings, or even to have dedicated informal, social gatherings online can create and strengthen valuable bonds and relationships between colleagues.

Managers hold the key to creating a sense of belonging across the organization as an employee’s experience at work is predominantly dictated by their relationship with their boss. 

Cited as the most trusted source of support in the organization, Managers are often an employee’s first line of support and guidance.  Internal communication can enable and support this relationship by gathering and listening to Managers' feedback and views from their teams — and ensuring they’re supported and enabled to keep their teams feeling informed and included.

Remote workers can often be overlooked, feeling forgotten and isolated as they’re out-of-sight and out-of-mind.  They’re less likely to be recognized for their work, thanked for their contributions, or given any form of feedback.

Hybrid working reduces the chance of natural in-person recognition and appreciation, affecting someone’s sense of belonging and value. 

Internal communications can play their part in facilitating and enhancing opportunities to recognize staff contributions and achievements by supporting a culture of recognition.

Think about how your Slack channel, newsletters, intranet articles, or Manager connections can all contribute to enhancing a sense of belonging by duly recognizing staff no matter where they work from. 

Don’t forget to lead by example by building thanks and recognition into your own everyday working practices as you collaborate with colleagues too.

6. Make belonging everyone’s responsibility

To better communicate genuine support for the idea of belonging, make everyone responsible for creating a culture of inclusivity, care, and respect. Lead the way in advocating that everyone’s voice is heard. 

Actively encourage and create opportunities for all employees to contribute to and participate in organizational efforts, communications, discussions, and events. 

It can be all too easy to go to your usual sources for input, feedback, and contributions, to stick to the tried and trusted past ways, but with intentional focus on being inclusive, internal communicators can make a real difference and build a deeper sense of belonging for all their employees.

Six Practical Ways to Create a Sense of Belonging in the Hybrid Working World 

Meaningful purpose is at the heart of employee engagement, and digital communications should run through the veins

There is no better time than today to talk about purpose. What makes us move forward? What builds on our resilience? 

, people want to work for companies that share their same values, and are focused on the ‘greater good of society’. 

need to be able to connect the company’s purpose to their daily jobs

This requires a considerable effort from top management, who should rely on internal communications to create timely and relevant content for their employees. 

This is where your digital communications play a huge part, especially after proving their value amidst the COVID-19 outbreak.

Channels Audit Template: Are your Employee Communication Channels Working?

Precisely, in March 2020, the world dramatically changed. Far from recovering, we are still adjusting to this new reality. Back then, when we were dealing with the unknown, companies faced a challenge beyond the job description. 

At the BBVA Microfinance Foundation (BBVAMF), we took on the responsibility of guiding people through a crisis with both professional and personal implications. 

We had to rethink our strategy — fast — to prevent silos, keep all teams aligned and connected, and avoid setbacks in the corporate culture.

A strategy based on proximity, interaction, and empathy. In other words, a strategy based on human connections... despite social distancing. In this endeavor, digital channels turned out to be not only essential but also very effective.

These are a few lessons we learned back then and are consolidating today:

1. Online meetings? Sure. But keep them short, relevant, and interactive.

Who said video calls are a waste of time? We, communication specialists, know by heart that while the channel is only a means, content is always King. 

Keeping that in mind, online meetings should happen under three conditions: timeliness, relevance, and interaction.

At the beginning of the pandemic, we set weekly meetings with all employees and the CEO, to get an update on the situation with our clients and the microfinance institutions we run. Most importantly, we created the space for people to ask questions and get immediate answers from top management.

For us, COVID-19 opened the door to a new level of proximity among employees across the company and it set a standard. People became more involved, and showed interest in how they could contribute more and better to the organization’s purpose, as they had more information to act upon.

Today, as we work in a hybrid format, we still book a slot from time to time for teams to present projects and receive feedback. What was once an article on the corporate website or a section in an internal newsletter, is now a virtual space to meet, discuss and share ideas across teams.

2. Change the narrative and adapt it to the channel. Engage employees and clients in internal communications.

Don’t underestimate the power of a good story. It may not come as a surprise, but more human communication starts with relatable stories that can engage employees. Look for inspiring examples among teams or clients that materialize the corporate purpose and values.

Once you have identified them, make them protagonists. Allow them to tell their own story in their own words. Set the scene, but then leave it to them. Video, podcasts, pictures, written testimonials… mix and match different formats to increase effectiveness and tell the whole story.

Just make sure to remain consistent, adapting the language to a more simple and clear one, which will create stronger and more memorable connections.

At the BBVAMF, our purpose is the sustainable development of people under vulnerable conditions. During the worst times of the pandemic, 

 to make sure the whole company had visibility on the new reality we were dealing with, and the efforts of the teams working closer to the purpose (i.e. to our microfinance institutions’ clients). We then created multimedia pieces to create emotional yet inspiring bonds.

And this is central to our internal communications in order to bring closer different realities and drive empathy. Not only with our clients but also among teams, who share their motivations, struggles, and their resilience, inspiring others to follow or act on it.

This is even more relevant as teams are physically dispersed, and as the boundaries between the personal and professional spaces are blurrier than ever.

3.  Unleash employees’ potential as brand ambassadors. Leverage synergies between internal and external communications.


As we transition to a more human communication, we empower employees and give them more visibility. This encourages them to share content with their personal and professional network, amplifying the voice of the organization outside the corporate channels.

Needless to say, one of the highest expressions of employee engagement is when they start a conversation on their contribution to the organization’s purpose.

Another effect of putting people at the center of the narrative, which has also a direct impact on the matter discussed just now, is that organizations can identify and boost hidden talent. 

As events have proliferated with digital communications, the company can benefit from a higher brand presence across international events with more diverse spokespeople.

The world today requires digital communication but also humanized communication, to not only beat social distancing or distance alone, but also to exemplify, to inspire, and to spark action in a consistent way across all locations. 

Both concepts are far from being opposite, and combining them can become a game-changer for employee engagement. Undoubtedly, there is no better time than today to talk about purpose. 

Just make sure to keep the conversation relevant for those who drive the company forward.

How to Shape Your Digital Communications to Improve Employee Engagement

Eighteen months ago, the murder of George Floyd sparked many White folks’ increased urgency in supporting racial justice. 

Of course, anyone who’d been paying attention knows it was just another example of White supremacy and systemic racism playing out over hundreds of years to continually marginalize, oppress, traumatize, and murder Black folks and other people of color.

Still, the commitment to racial justice from White folks has been welcome. For most of us, it’s a steep learning curve to elevate our racial awareness and accelerate our racial fluency. 

, there are plenty of White folks who remain invested in creating an antiracist world.

How to Promote Diversity & Inclusion in Your Workplace: Employee Storytelling

In my work with White leaders and their mostly White teams, I challenge them to hold themselves and each other accountable for how their actions or inactions contribute (or don’t contribute) to an equitable and inclusive workplace culture. Because most White people had not thought much about any of this before the summer of 2020, this is no easy task.

Supporting White folks on their journey to regularly show up for their BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) colleagues often requires a reframe of their world view. 

Because of privilege and complacency, White folks often struggle to engage in meaningful conversations with humility, self-reflection, curiosity, and a willingness to learn and change that would ultimately lead to action that positively impacts BIPOC folks. 

It’s essential to remember that while antiracism work can be difficult for White people, it's nowhere near as difficult as BIPOC folks dealing with racism every day of their lives.

There are no easy answers for “what to do” to fight racism, no formula for how White folks can advocate for their BIPOC colleagues. I can’t and won’t provide a list of “do’s” and “don’ts.” 

 do is provide four key lenses that I have found successful in helping White folks figure out 

Key question to consider: Do you use your power and privilege to fight against inequity and injustice?

Or are you okay with the status quo? To state the obvious, the only reason antiracism is a thing is because racism is a thing. The reason we need to fight for justice and equity is because there is so much injustice and inequity. 

White leaders in corporations must see antiracism work as social justice work. If we don’t, it’s all a facade, and nothing will change. For the newly initiated, this means lots of catching up—reading, listening, watching, learning, immersing, growing, evolving. You will never arrive, which is all the more reason to keep going on the journey.

Want an example of an organization committed to social justice? Check out 

, a company dedicated to accelerating social change.

Key question to consider: Do you connect and empathize with people from different backgrounds?

Or are your social and professional circles made up of “people like you”? To be an effective antiracist, you must be self-aware. You must be willing to be vulnerable, compassionate, and curious about the lives of others. 

In short, you must be willing to see the humanity in every single person—including yourself. You must believe people’s stories, validate their truths, and develop cultural humility and agility. You must understand that your norm is not necessarily 

Matt Fawcett, Chief Strategy Officer at NetApp, is 

 of how a senior White leader models emotional intelligence to drive impact and affect change.

Key question to consider: Can you sit with uncertainty and stay in uncomfortable conversations?

White folks new to antiracism work tend to have low stamina for the necessary continuous dialogue that leads to change. 

Our privilege, coupled with our lack of patience, fluency, and equanimity, leads to us avoiding engaging in uncomfortable truths about racism and our complicity in perpetuating it. 

To break this cycle, we need to slow down, breathe, and learn to observe what is happening without becoming defensive or dismissive. This mindset shift takes years of practice. No better time than now to start making that shift.

Ruth King, a Black woman and the author of 

helps us understand how racial bias begins with distorted perceptions

, and what we need to do to mitigate those biases.

Key question to consider: Are you perpetuating or disrupting the narrative of the privileged majority?

Whose stories are being amplified? Whose aren’t? Why? Who decides which stories are told, which stories are true, which stories influence policy and law and regulations and norms? 

Who’s telling these stories? Whose interest do they have in mind? Whose perspectives are being centered on? These are just some of the questions we need to be asking ourselves if we’re remotely serious about antiracism.

What’s your personal story about race and racism? Have you thought about it much? Why or why not? Evan Birkhead, a White strategic marketing and communications professional, 

 of how to use our personal story to advocate for racial justice and equity.

 you need to be consistently antiracist, but they’re a good start for anyone who’s genuinely interested in committing to making change. 

Which of course includes you, yes? I know it does. I appreciate you doing the work. And so do your BIPOC colleagues.

Four Lenses White Leaders Can Adopt to Advocate for Their BIPOC Colleagues

To quote Dolly Parton, “Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life”.

Long before Covid-19, the employee marketplace was changing and posed significant challenges for those trying to recruit. 

In 2019, a study from the British Chambers of Commerce suggested that close to three quarters (72%) of businesses were struggling to find the right talent. 

This was exacerbated by the pandemic, with figures published in September showing that the number of job vacancies had reached a record high of one million – with this figure expected to increase following the conclusion of the Government’s furlough scheme.

A Template to Measure Belonging in Your Workplace

This struggle is prevalent across a huge range of industries, including food, construction, hospitality, and social care.

So why are businesses across the board struggling to attract talent?

Covid-19 forced businesses to review their ways of working and gave employees around the globe room to breathe and time to reflect on what was important to them.

Employees – both existing and prospective – are now wanting (and expecting) more from an employer. 

More flexibility, more understanding, and more authenticity; along with open communication on the organization’s purpose, mission, and environmental and social impact. 

The primary drivers for a job move are still there – seeking a new challenge or opportunity for professional growth – but employees are also looking for a connection with a business on a personal level. Employees are looking for alignment with their own values, passions, and interests. 

Employees have never been able to pick and choose as much as they can now.

How can an employer stand out on the online job boards or LinkedIn?

Here’s an answer you didn’t expect – internal communications.

I believe that internal communications can help organizations to stand out for the right reasons – and attract the right talent, and perhaps most importantly, retain that talent once it is through the door.

Avoid using generic terminology or jargon in your job adverts and posts, otherwise, you will sound like everyone else. 

Write the materials in your own brand voice. If you have brand positioning – a clear purpose, mission, vision for the future, and values – feature these strongly and provide proof points or examples of how these are lived and breathed within your organization.

There’s a reputation storm coming, as many businesses have a widening gap between how they portray themselves in a public forum and reality. 

Exclusive research conducted by our Strategy & Insights (S&I) team found that culture was the topic most posted about by businesses on social media. 

This comes ahead of other popular topics including CSR, diversity and inclusion, and learning and development.

However, through applying social intelligence to analyze social media posts from 25 FTSE 100 companies and conducting an in-depth analysis of Glassdoor reviews for the same companies, our S&I team found that employee experience rarely matches what companies want to be known for when it comes to internal communications and culture.

My advice here is simple: make sure that what you’re putting out there for all to see is honest and an accurate description of both the role and the company culture.

Your biggest asset is your people, and no one has a better understanding of the employee experience and the skills required to do a given role than them. 

Get your employees or a group of ‘brand ambassadors’ to either review your existing recruitment materials or to help produce or contribute to new drafts. Alternatively, take inspiration from positive points and strengths in your annual employee (or regular pulse) surveys.

This exercise can also give you some compelling employee stories which (provided they are comfortable with you doing so) could also be captured – either in written form or in video – and shared on your own social media channels. 

There are a number of brands who are already doing this, using their people and stories about their experiences to entice new talent. Diageo is a particularly good example of this.

If you are struggling to fill your vacancies, take comfort that you are not alone in this. The world of work and, more generally, the employee marketplace are both undergoing a dramatic transformation, so take time to revisit and rewire how you sell your organization, and the opportunities and experience you provide, to ensure you are connecting with and ultimately attracting the right talent.

How to Use Employee Communications to Attract Top Talent

Diversity and inclusion (D&I) are vital elements of an organization’s success. While many companies have been putting diversity, equity, and inclusion into greater focus over the last few years, there is still significant room for improvement.

Reaching beyond HQ: Communicating effectively with a diverse workforce

 per employee. Another study by Gartner found that inclusive teams 

improve team performance by up to 30 percent

This is because diverse teams promote employee engagement and productivity and they allow for enhanced problem-solving abilities. Having numerous perspectives in the mix can allow for business challenges to be approached in new and effective ways.

When it comes to promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace, here are some things companies should consider:

1) Educate managers on the benefits of diversity in the workplace

workplace diversity plays in overall company success. Likewise, there is no guarantee that managers will be equipped with the know-how and skills to manage a diverse group of employees.

Offering training to managers is a simple but effective way of helping them develop the knowledge needed to manage a diverse team. By offering cultural and other sensitivity training sessions, managers will be inspired to oversee and guide diverse groups of employees.

Having an employee feedback system is an excellent way to assess the performance of managers when it comes to these issues. Giving employees a voice of their own will allow for the easy assessment of what is going right and what needs to change.

According to a Glassdoor survey, 72 percent of women, 89 percent of black respondents, 80 percent of Asians, and 70 percent of Latinos said workforce diversity was important to them. A significant number of white participants held the same view.

ndicated that people with ‘ethnic’ names need to send out a greater number of resumes before they get a call back from employers, compared to other applicants. Furthermore, 

 are rated lower than males, even if the resumes themselves are equal.

This is often attributed to something called ‘culture fit’ which operates on the premise that certain candidates will not be a good fit for a company’s culture. However, what this is truly indicating is a lack of diversity within the company. If businesses are going to create a ‘culture fit’ then it should be one that incorporates greater diversity and creates opportunities for building inclusion in the workplace.

Global internal communications statistics, benchmarks and trends

As leaders commit to improving D&I within their organizations, there should be an awareness of the important role education and training plays. Diversity and inclusion training are great ways to improve equality in the workplace as they are a way to openly address biases and prejudices.

The best way businesses can ensure the training is successful is to tailor it to their specific set of needs. It’s important to reflect on the reasons why you’re creating the program in the first place and clearly outline what changes you are hoping to make. 

It is also useful to utilize a variety of teaching methods such as lectures, group discussions, and interactive exercises, to keep employees engaged throughout.

This is something that companies should adapt and grow over time to meet evolving D&I needs. To be most useful, bias and diversity training cannot be a once-a-year event that checks off the box for corporate compliance.

4) Celebrate differences to make everyone feel included

To create a business that fosters an atmosphere of inclusion and belonging, employees should be encouraged by business leaders to share their 

 with the rest of the workforce. This can be achieved through a number of inclusive at-the-office activities including:

 during special times of the year that are important to certain workers such as Black History Month or Pride Month.

Ensuring that every individual has an equal say in the organization's decision-making process.

Organizing a potluck lunch day where people bring food unique to their culture for their co-workers to try.

Teams made up of a diverse group of employees 

encourage members to learn about one another’s experiences, cultures, and values. This mixing of workers also allows for the blending of different minds which ultimately leads to the generation of new and unique ideas, different approaches to problem-solving and increased innovation.

If there is no possibility for diversity within the team then an option is for companies to enlist a third party from a different background, culture, age, or sex to lend their expertise to the project.

The innovation and creativity that come from such teams will have many benefits for employers. This is why inclusivity within an organization is so important when it comes to ensuring its success.

Creating diverse teams not only allows for equal opportunities for employees but offers a host of benefits to employers. Diversity in an organization leads to better teams, greater creativity, and more efficient decision-making

However, diversity on its own is not the answer. Making sure new hires from various backgrounds feel included, supported, and understood among their co-workers and managers is the thing that will make them want to stay at the company.

The solution lies in embracing diversity and understanding inclusion not just in the HR department but throughout the organization. If a business is able to implement at least a couple of the strategies outlined above, they’ll be equipped with one of today’s biggest competitive advantages.

How to promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace

Attracting and retaining staff is a growing challenge for organizations all over the world. As attractive salaries and perks become more commonplace, employees and potential employees are instead focusing on an organization's culture and values when choosing where to work

An organization's culture and work environment have become a prominent factor in retaining key staff and recruiting new ones. It's a huge piece of the 'quality hire' puzzle according to recruiting strategist 

, and quality hires can have a significant impact on service delivery as well as employee retention.

The Ultimate Guide to Internal Communications Strategy

For organizations intent on holding on to valuable employees, it's worth investigating what your staff thinks about their work environment through 

. One of the keys to getting insightful responses is to ask what Joni Fedders, Aileron President calls "

". "Empowering questions are open-ended, thought-provoking, challenging, and solution-oriented questions that cause a person to search for answers and new possibilities."

Asking questions that require only a 'yes' or 'no' answer can have the effect of stopping the conversation, or preventing one from beginning in the first place. When compiling your employee survey questions about culture take the time to think about your questions. A simple rephrasing of a question can often change it from a dead-end to a conversation starter.

Here are 11 examples of survey questions you can ask your employees regularly to determine the general feeling among your workforce.

What does a good work environment look like to you?

What areas do you think we as an organization can improve upon?

What one word would you use to describe our work culture?

What do you think is the organization's biggest strength?

What quality have you seen in a colleague that you'd like to nurture in yourself?

How do you see the work you do having an impact on organizational goals?

What is the one thing that stands out for you about working at this organization?

How does your manager recognize or highlight employees' work?

What does a successful project look like to you?

With work culture emerging as a key factor in staff recruitment and retention, it's become more important than ever that you understand your organization's culture and how it's perceived internally by employees. 

Organizational culture is broadly defined by 

 as the underlying beliefs, assumptions, values and ways of interacting that contribute to the unique social and psychological environment of an organization.

Senior management could have a different view of the work environment than their employees. The goal of regular work culture surveys is to 

 of your organization and to hire people who fit in with these values.

 of TalkingPoint Leadership, this is a critical point in the success of an organization: "Hiring based on shared values and cultural beliefs lead to winning results."

 conducted by the Henry B. Tippie College of Business on the consequences of an individual's fit within an organization showed that employees who sit in well with their organization enjoy better job satisfaction, were more likely to stay with the organization, and their job performance was significantly better than those who weren't a natural fit.

Through regular surveys with probing, open-ended questions, organizations can gain invaluable employee feedback on the true work culture, and use that insight to enhance staff retention as well as give them a leading edge for recruiting key staff.

Measuring wellbeing in the workplace is possible, and it’s important. When companies use feedback from their employees, they can take action where needed and ensure everyone’s wellbeing is supported.

Does the workload assigned to you allow you to achieve a healthy work-life balance?

Do you feel that your colleagues and managers care about your wellbeing?

Do you have someone to talk to at work when you are feeling stressed?

Does your manager vocalize support for the company’s wellbeing program?

Does your manager give you a reasonable workload?

Do you believe your manager would be understanding if you took a sick day for mental health reasons?

Do you feel comfortable asking your manager for support in sustaining a healthy work-life balance?

Does your work allow you to allocate time to physical fitness?

Does your work allow you to spend enough time with family, friends, and non-work activities?

Does your work allow you to take enough vacation time throughout the year?

Do you feel interested in participating in your organization’s wellness offerings?

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