Creating a Sense of Belonging from Day One

Sep 19, 2025 -3 Minute Read

How fostering belonging from the start shapes employee retention, engagement, and cultural alignment.

Introduction

For new employees, the first day sets the tone for their journey within an organisation. A sense of belonging isn’t just a feel-good concept, it’s a key driver of retention, engagement, and long-term success. When employees feel included and emotionally connected from the beginning, they’re more likely to remain loyal and contribute meaningfully to the organisation.

This post explores how organisations can integrate belonging into their onboarding processes, the impact of belonging on retention, and actionable ways to build cultural alignment from day one.

Why Belonging Matters in Onboarding

Belonging has a profound influence on how employees perceive their role within an organisation. Here’s why it’s critical during onboarding:

Belonging Shapes Retention: Emotional connections formed early reduce turnover by fostering loyalty and alignment with team and organisational values.
Inclusion Enhances Engagement: When employees feel seen, heard, and included, they’re more likely to bring their best selves to work.
Cultural Integration Drives Success: Early exposure to organisational culture builds a foundation for long-term alignment and productivity.

Core Elements of Building Belonging During Onboarding

Emotional Connections Improve Long-Term Retention

Help new hires form meaningful connections with their teams through introductions, shared experiences, and early collaboration.
Use personalised touchpoints, like a welcome note from leadership or a team social event, to build rapport.
Emphasise empathy by understanding the unique needs and feelings of each new hire during their onboarding journey.

Inclusion Builds Belonging from Day One

Create onboarding sessions that celebrate diversity and highlight inclusivity as a core value.
Ensure onboarding materials reflect diverse voices and perspectives.
Facilitate open discussions that invite new hires to share their backgrounds, strengths, and aspirations.

Cultural Ambassadors Guide New Hires

Pair new hires with cultural ambassadors. Assign experienced employees to answer questions, offer guidance, and model organisational values.
Encourage ambassadors to share stories and insights about the organisation’s culture and traditions.
Recognise ambassadors for their role in fostering a welcoming environment.

Managers Play a Key Role in Fostering Belonging

Train managers to lead with emotional intelligence and adaptability, tailoring their approach to each new hire’s individual needs.
Set up regular check-ins to ensure new hires feel supported and confident in their roles.
Provide managers with resources to address challenges and build trust with their team members.

Tools to Integrate Belonging into Onboarding

Organisations can leverage tools and strategies to make belonging a central part of onboarding:

Personalised Onboarding Plans: Design plans that consider the strengths, communication preferences, and career goals of each new hire.
Structured Feedback Loops: Collect and act on feedback from new hires about their onboarding experience to identify areas for improvement.
Inclusive Communication Platforms: Use communication tools that encourage collaboration and connection across diverse teams.
Cultural Immersion Activities: Incorporate activities like team storytelling or cultural workshops to deepen new hires’ understanding of organisational values.

Actions to Consider

Here are actionable steps to help your organisation create a sense of belonging from day one:

Evaluate Your Onboarding Process:
- Does it provide opportunities for new hires to build meaningful connections?
- Are managers trained to address emotional and behavioural needs?
Create Inclusive Touchpoints:
- What small gestures (like personalised messages, welcome kits, or team introductions) can you add to onboarding to enhance belonging?
Strengthen Cultural Alignment:
- How can you involve cultural ambassadors or mentors in the onboarding process?
- Are you actively showcasing your organisation’s values and inclusivity in onboarding materials?
Foster Continuous Feedback:
- What systems do you have in place to gather feedback from new hires about their onboarding experience?
- How can you use this feedback to refine and improve the process?

Consider This: How can you ensure your onboarding process creates a meaningful and inclusive experience for every new hire?

Final Thoughts

Creating a sense of belonging from day one isn’t just about making employees feel welcome; it’s about building a foundation of trust, inclusion, and cultural alignment that drives long-term success. By prioritising emotional connections, inclusion, and support through cultural ambassadors and managers, organisations can foster retention, engagement, and productivity from the very start.

What steps can your organisation take to foster belonging from day one?

This post forms part of our series on the 8 steps of the Employee Lifecycle. This post specifically explores the Onboarding Stage.

Some of our other posts that explore the Onboarding stage include:

Topics:

Employee Engagement Employee Lifecycle Employee Lifecycle: Onboarding Stage

Trevor O'Sullivan

General Manager. Since the early 2000s, Trevor has worked with thousands of Talent Management professionals to develop and apply assessment-based talent management solutions for selecting, developing and managing people. Trevor is an active member of the TTI Success Insights (TTISI) Global Advisory Council, contributes to TTISI product development and is a regular presenter at TTISI-R3. He is honoured to have received multiple Blue Diamond Awards and, more recently, the Bill Brooks Impact Award recognising his contributions to the TTISI global network.

Creating a Sense of Belonging from Day One

Introduction

Why Belonging Matters in Onboarding