The Power Of Belonging: Building A Candidate Journey That Inspires

Today’s employees are seeking a greater sense of belonging, here’s how to foster it.

As a record number of employees continue to leave their roles in 2022, the candidate-driven market that has surfaced over the course of the pandemic shows no sign of slowing. While many organizations have reacted by reevaluating their offerings to ensure a competitive edge when recruiting talent, the changing needs of today’s workforce must be considered – and they may not be what employers expect.

According to a recent study conducted by McKinsey, employers have starkly different ideas of what motivates their employees rather than what is unfolding in today’s landscape. When asked why employees had quit, many employers named compensation, work-life balance, or poor physical and emotional health as top causes. While each is an important factor, they were not at the top of employees’ lists – the majority shared that they didn’t feel valued by their organizations (54%) or their managers (52%) and that they lacked belonging (51%) as the top three reasons for leaving their roles.

With increasing competition to attract and hire the best talent, creating a compelling candidate journey that is rooted in diversity, equity, inclusion (DE&I) and belonging can play a powerful role in helping companies differentiate from the current noise in the market.

Don’t know where to start?

Here are a few approaches that can upscale your organization’s approach to inspire belonging throughout the entire employee experience.

Infusing hospitality into each step of your candidate journey takes little effort, but can have an exponential return on investment in the form of referrals, testimonials and genuine word of mouth virality. For candidates that become team members, the interview process provides their first impression of the company and in turn, should reflect the culture they can come to expect.

For candidates that ultimately do not pass the interview process, this hospitality-driven experience is just as important. The job search and interview process can be stressful and time-consuming, especially during a pandemic. By following through with each candidate, and providing finalists key feedback on decisions and where they might improve, companies can invest in their future recruiting funnel while developing a strong employer brand.

Building DE&I initiatives requires time and reflection as a team to understand collective priorities before taking action. Instead of trying to tackle it all, take time to speak with employees to learn their needs before determining where it will be most impactful to apply energy and resources. By establishing three-four key pillars that orient the company’s actions, each small step will build momentum and produce invaluable learnings to achieve larger goals along the way.

Empowering team members to shape the policies of inclusivity within the organization is critical to ensuring a lasting impact. At our organization, we discovered that many people were missing the joy and connectivity that can happen naturally at the office. Through establishing a “DE&I Squad” volunteer organization, the team proactively developed programs to rebuild this sense of belonging.

This exercise not only unifies teams with a commitment to creating space for employees to speak openly, but can also better promote education and awareness of DE&I challenges across the company.

It can be difficult to find a winning approach to DE&I in such a fast-paced environment. For this reason, organizations can never stop experimenting. Strategies can and must change dynamically as teams discover new approaches. When a new channel or community that attracts strong candidates is identified, prepare to double down on that effort.

Companies will continue to face an ongoing struggle to hire and retain top talent until they take the time to develop strategies that truly inspire employees. Those that invest in understanding these motivations – and approach company culture with a mindset of inclusivity and belonging – will have the best chance to ensure their organizations foster an environment where teams can thrive long-term.