Culture of Belonging
Building a culture that drives performance
A culture of belonging is the strategic lever that supports talent growth and retention, high performance and agility, and organizational resilience. Creating a culture of belonging is the foundation for great leadership, diversity of talent, great teams, and great companies. Employees need to trust the organization, be psychologically safe, and feel connected to purpose to thrive.
At RHR, we help organizations build a culture of belonging that supports talent growth and retention, high performance and agility, and organizational resilience.
Download our Culture of Belonging Guide
Our Culture of Belonging Assessment
Our assessment provides leaders an in-depth analysis of cultural talent-management practices, beliefs, experiences, and perceptions.
With our assessment, organizations can identify where gaps might exist and develop highly targeted interventions to support the health of their culture. If you’re looking to create a sustainable and meaningful impact on your culture and the talent in your organization, we can help.
Understanding the Business
- Conduct interviews with senior leaders
- Review internal data and context
Prepare for Launch
- Design comprehensive launch plan
- Develop a custom-made interview guide
- Prepare effective communication strategy
Data Collection
- Launch survey data collection
- Conduct interviews / focus groups
Analysis and Delivery
- Create comprehensive and integrated report
- Design and conduct team offsite to review survey and determine path forward
Our Culture of Belonging Framework
Our leadership and behavior-based programs are built around our Culture of Belonging framework model, which is systemic, pragmatic, and accessible.
Advocacy – A demonstration of support in an equitable manner, including equitable talent processes, performance processes, resources, and minimization of bias.
Trust – Trust is high when there is alignment with business purpose and strategy and investment is made around relationships and communities.
Safety – Safety is the ability to push against the organization and challenge ideas and offer new ones. Belonging grows when mistakes can be accepted and learned from.
Access – Belonging increases when there is clarity around how decisions are made and when they are perceived as equitable, and individuals know how to gain success and influence.
Opportunities – Belonging grows when a business enables learning, aligns capabilities with responsibilities, and is clear about expectations.
Our Practice Team
Our committed team specializes in fostering inclusive cultures for organizations worldwide. We offer tailored solutions, leveraging expertise in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Through strategic initiatives, training, and personalized guidance, we empower organizations to cultivate a culture of belonging, driving employee engagement, innovation, and long-term success.
Cristina Jimenez
Senior Partner
Head of Belonging
Adam Magerman
Product Development
and Delivery Lead
Myongii Shephard
Client Analyst
Belonging
Jack Burns
Project Coordinator
Let’s Talk
If you’re looking to implement a diversity, inclusion, and belonging strategy for the first time, or are looking to refine and improve your current activity, we can help.
Kelli Ryon
Head of Client Relationships
kryon@rhrinternational.com
+1 571 354 7398
Managing Differences Development Program
Our Managing Differences Development Program is designed to enable leaders to move from being well intentioned to proactive, creating cultures of belonging that have a meaningful impact on employees.
We help our senior leaders develop the tools they need to cultivate a human-centric approach to leadership that drives a culture of belonging.
Our Practice Team
Our committed team specializes in fostering inclusive cultures for organizations worldwide. We offer tailored solutions, leveraging expertise in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Through strategic initiatives, training, and personalized guidance, we empower organizations to cultivate a culture of belonging, driving employee engagement, innovation, and long-term success.
Cristina Jimenez
Senior Partner
Head of Belonging
Adam Magerman
Product Development
and Delivery Lead
Myongii Shephard
Client Analyst
Belonging
Jack Burns
Project Coordinator
Let’s Talk
If you’re looking to implement a diversity, inclusion, and belonging strategy for the first time, or are looking to refine and improve your current activity, we can help.
Kelli Ryon
Head of Client Relationships
kryon@rhrinternational.com
+1 571 354 7398
The Importance of Belonging
As organizations continue to deal with increased pace, intensity, and shifting talent demands, there is a dynamic tension between performance and belonging. There is an increased risk of burnout, disconnection, workplace toxicity, and a lack of purpose.
Leaders and companies need to transform from a rigid, power-based, and hierarchical set of standards to a more human-centered and agile way of working.
Belonging is pragmatic and is built systematically through concrete foundations focused on opportunities, access, safety, trust, and advocacy within an organization. Belonging is the connective tissue between shifting demands; pace and pressure; and a purposeful, human-centered approach to leadership.
Put simply, better humans make better leaders.
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Our Team
Our committed team specializes in fostering inclusive cultures for organizations worldwide. We offer tailored solutions, leveraging expertise in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Through strategic initiatives, training, and personalized guidance, we empower organizations to cultivate a culture of belonging, driving employee engagement, innovation, and long-term success.
Cristina Jimenez
Senior Partner, Head of Belonging
Adam Magerman
Product Development and Delivery Lead
Myongii Shephard
Client Analyst, Belonging
Jack Burns
Project Coordinator
Let’s Talk
If you’re looking to implement a diversity, inclusion, and belonging strategy for the first time, or are looking to refine and improve your current activity, get in touch with Kelli today.
Kelli Ryon
Head of Client Relationships
kryon@rhrinternational.com
+1 571 354 7398
Our Impact
Whenever we work with an organization, we aim to deliver the following impact:
Leaders equipped to navigate the complex future
Employees who are deeply connected to the organization — driving retention, growth, and high performance
A culture that fully leverages the performance and potential of all employees through psychological safety
Organizations that inspire, not only engage
Organizations that win the talent war(s)
Resilience and improved health and well-being
Clearer sense of purpose that builds trust
Common Mistakes
Here are some of the common mistakes we have encountered over the years working with organizations regardless of their sector or maturity:
Not developing a strategy before implementing interventions
Not communicating the vision and strategy to the organization (change-management shortcomings)
Developing a strategy without fully understanding their culture (through data)
Not considering diversity when transforming culture — creating boundaries around talent and cultural initiatives that are all interrelated
Not ensuring top leadership is aligned on the culture, vision, mission, values, and core belonging behaviors
Not investing in the development of ALL their employees
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Our Team
Our committed team specializes in fostering inclusive cultures for organizations worldwide. We offer tailored solutions, leveraging expertise in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Through strategic initiatives, training, and personalized guidance, we empower organizations to cultivate a culture of belonging, driving employee engagement, innovation, and long-term success.
Cristina Jimenez
Senior Partner
Head of Belonging
Adam Magerman
Product Development
and Delivery Lead
Myongii Shephard
Client Analyst
Belonging
Jack Burns
Project Coordinator
Let’s Talk
If you’re looking to implement a diversity, inclusion, and belonging strategy for the first time, or are looking to refine and improve your current activity, we can help.
Kelli Ryon
Head of Client Relationships
kryon@rhrinternational.com
+1 571 354 7398
Building Belonging: Case One
Our client wanted to leverage data to inform strategy and interventions.
They were eager to understand how employees from all areas of the organization experience the workplace and where disparities might exist among their 8,000 employees.
Approach
- Interviews with senior leadership and other key stakeholders to understand the culture and to inform our data-collection approach
- Define employee segments and scope of data collections
- Create a custom interview protocol and ensure a confidential process
Data Collection
- Culture of Belonging survey data from 1,600 employees
- 34 focus groups and 31 individual leadership interviews
Conclusion
Leveraged our online platform to reach all segments of their workforce, analyze the data by key demographics, and bring forward critical insights into the employee experience:
- Workplace experiences reflected inequities
- Loss of relational culture is a critical concern
- Leadership is disconnected from their impact on the culture and employees
- Belonging issues seen early in the employee life cycle, leading to retention challenges
Outcomes
- Highly customized development plan for the client
- Targeted interventions to support equitable treatment of employees
- Increased commitment to culture and belonging from senior leaders
- Two years later, organizational representation, psychological safety, and employee sense of connection to the business have increased
Building Belonging: Case Two
Our client has deeply embedded values focused on creating a culture of belonging.
Central to that was ensuring the diversity, equity, inclusion, and Belonging strategy drove sustainable change.
The goals of this process were to:
- Create a development and assessment experience that positively impacts culture
- Identify how leaders demonstrate belonging behaviors and provide individualized feedback
- Create a strategy for addressing gaps in experience and for making cultural shifts
Our Approach
Focus the executive team on their own growth and alignment first
Create a clear definition of belonging and measurement process
- Develop the top leaders and deploy a 360 process
- Leverage data to inform individual, team, and organizational strategy
Data Collection
- Approximately 300 leaders (2,500 total responses) completed a 360 feedback process
- Response data segmented by key demographic data
- Outcome measures included engagement, psychological safety, and performance
Conclusion
- Belonging behaviors were positively related to all outcome measures, including engagement, psychological safety, and performance. Deep analytics enabled strategic and action planning at all levels.
- Key insights included:
- Key populations were systemically having less positive experience
- Informal norms centered around ways of working were creating significant stress with all employees
- Deep relational strengths were very clear as were areas that required more attention and would shift employee experience
Outcomes
- What is centrally important to leadership became very clear.
- Belonging is key to business success
- Low tolerance for systemic issues
- Clarity on what to do and how to focus resources and energy
- Leadership up-skilling capabilities in a scalable manner
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Our Team
Our committed team specializes in fostering inclusive cultures for organizations worldwide. We offer tailored solutions, leveraging expertise in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Through strategic initiatives, training, and personalized guidance, we empower organizations to cultivate a culture of belonging that drives employee engagement, innovation, and long-term success.
Cristina Jimenez
Senior Partner,
Head of Belonging
Adam Magerman
Product Development
and Delivery Lead
Myongii Shephard
Client Analyst
Belonging
Jack Burns
Project Coordinator
Let’s Talk
If you’re looking to implement a diversity, inclusion, and belonging strategy for the first time or are looking to refine and improve your current activity, we can help.
Kelli Ryon
Head of Client Relationships
kryon@rhrinternational.com
+1 571 354 7398
Stevie® Award Winners 2023 for Diversity
We’re thrilled to share that we have clinched the prestigious Bronze at the Stevie® Awards for Diversity and Inclusion at the 20th Annual International Business Awards®!
Diversity and inclusion aren’t just concepts — they’re the driving forces behind our progress. This award reaffirms the strides we’ve taken to foster an environment where every voice is not only heard but also celebrated, and every perspective is valued.
Forbes
We are delighted to have been named one of the world’s top consultants for 2023.
Forbes partnered with the research company Statista to create the second annual World’s Best Management Consulting Firms list.
The rankings were created after surveying both clients and senior executives at consulting firms in 40 countries including the U.S., Germany, France, the UK, the Netherlands, Brazil, and Japan.
Our Team
Our committed team specializes in fostering inclusive cultures for organizations worldwide. We offer tailored solutions, leveraging expertise in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Through strategic initiatives, training, and personalized guidance, we empower organizations to cultivate a culture of belonging, driving employee engagement, innovation, and long-term success.
Cristina Jimenez
Senior Partner
Head of Belonging
Adam Magerman
Product Development
and Delivery Lead
Myongii Shephard
Client Analyst
Belonging
Jack Burns
Project Coordinator
Let’s Talk
If you’re looking to implement a diversity, inclusion, and belonging strategy for the first time, or are looking to refine and improve your current activity, we can help.
Kelli Ryon
Head of Client Relationships
kryon@rhrinternational.com
+1 571 354 7398