Navigating the complexities of building a truly inclusive workplace can be challenging, but armed with strategies from industry leaders, it’s more attainable than ever. This article delivers actionable steps and insights from professionals who’ve successfully fostered a sense of community and belonging in diverse teams. Discover how to transform well-meaning policies into a daily practice of inclusion that resonates with every team member.
- Create Opportunities for Cultural Celebrations
- Encourage Team Members to Share Experiences
- Promote Real Inclusion Beyond Policies
- Make Inclusion Part of Daily Work
- Share Childhood Memories to Build Connections
- Start with Making Everyone Feel Heard
- Design Team-Building Experiences Beyond Icebreakers
- Introduce Shared Rituals for Real Connection
- Implement Culture Circles for Genuine Connections
- Leadership Must Champion Diversity and Inclusion
- Foster an Inclusive Culture with Open Communication
- Prioritize Authenticity and Transparency
- Encourage Open Communication and Team-Building Activities
- Provide D&I Coaching for Managers
- Promote Inclusion Throughout Employment Lifecycle
Create Opportunities for Cultural Celebrations
Fostering a sense of community and belonging among employees from diverse backgrounds and cultures starts with ensuring that your team has a voice in shaping the culture and initiatives that impact them. It’s essential to create opportunities for team members to contribute ideas and collaborate on solutions that promote inclusivity, making them active participants rather than passive recipients. For example, enhancing social events by incorporating cultural celebrations, food tastings, or employee-led storytelling sessions can create meaningful connections and appreciation for different backgrounds. In recruitment, ensuring diverse hiring panels and inclusive job descriptions can help attract talent from various backgrounds and foster a more representative workforce. Additionally, recognizing holidays in an inclusive way—such as offering floating holidays, hosting educational sessions, or spotlighting employees’ cultural traditions—ensures that everyone feels seen and respected. This thoughtful and inclusive approach not only strengthens team cohesion but also drives innovation and engagement across your company.
Heidi Hauver
VP, Customer & People Experience, LearnExperts
Encourage Team Members to Share Experiences
Building a sense of cohesion and belonging among diverse teams is such an important part of creating a positive work environment where employees feel connected, safe, and appreciated. At Custom Neon, we have team members from more than 8 different nationalities and backgrounds, spread across our offices in Australia, the UK, and the USA.
We have focused on creating opportunities for team members to share their unique experiences and ideas to prioritize inclusivity, collaboration, and promote continued learning.
Some of the small things we do to foster this include having dedicated team chats (not just work-related) where our team can share details of their holidays, cultural celebrations, recipe recommendations, favorite shows, hobbies, or any other interests with the rest of the team. This allows us to get to know each other on a deeper level, even those we only get to meet virtually.
We also share our weekly peaks at team meetings and encourage and promote open communication. People share their highs (even personal wins) so the meetings are filled with positivity, claps, and cheers. This format allows every team member the opportunity to feel valued and heard.
Team bonding activities and celebrations are carefully considered. For example, choosing alcohol-free events so that everyone can comfortably participate, and selecting charities and community initiatives that reflect our company’s values and resonate with our diverse team.
We foster and encourage mentoring among our team members. Learning from different people can help create a deeper sense of community within the workplace. We also send out a bi-annual diversity, belonging, and inclusion survey and take steps to continuously remain an inclusive workplace.
Jessica Munday
People and Culture Manager, Custom Neon
Promote Real Inclusion Beyond Policies
Fostering a sense of community and belonging in a diverse workplace isn’t about making everyone the same. It’s about creating an environment where people feel valued for who they are. In my experience, the best way to do this is through real inclusion, not just check-the-box initiatives. If leaders don’t actively listen, support and encourage different perspectives, no amount of policies or workshops will fix the problem!
The little things make a big difference. Encourage open conversations where people can share experiences without feeling judged. Make sure there are plenty of ways for people to connect, whether that’s through employee networks, mentorship schemes or just better team communication. And don’t let company culture default to one group’s way of working. A mix of communication styles, decision making approaches and social events means no one gets left out.
Belonging isn’t about big gestures. It’s about everyday actions that show people they matter. When businesses get this right, teams work better together, engagement goes up, and people actually want to stick around.
Natalie Lewis
Founder and Director, Dynamic HR Services Ltd.
Make Inclusion Part of Daily Work
We build a strong sense of community by making inclusion part of our daily work culture, not just a yearly training session. Our team starts with the basics – creating opportunities for employees to share their stories and experiences in casual settings like monthly team lunches. These informal gatherings let people connect naturally and learn about their colleagues’ backgrounds.
We make sure our workplace reflects our diverse team through simple but meaningful actions. Our break rooms include snacks from different cultures, our meeting spaces display art from various traditions, and our calendar highlights cultural celebrations important to our employees. Small gestures like these show people they belong here.
Our mentorship program pairs employees from different backgrounds, helping them learn from each other while building strong professional relationships. We also support employee-led groups that bring together people with shared experiences – these groups organize cultural events, professional development workshops, and community service projects.
Training plays a key role too, but we keep it practical and focused on real situations our teams face. Our managers learn specific skills like how to run inclusive meetings where everyone feels comfortable speaking up, and how to give feedback that respects different communication styles.
We track how well these efforts work through regular conversations with our teams and employee surveys. When people tell us something isn’t working, we adjust our approach. This constant feedback loop helps us create a workplace where everyone can contribute their best work.
Julia Yurchak
Talent Sourcing, Acquisition & Management Specialist| Senior Recruitment Consultant, Keller Executive Search
Share Childhood Memories to Build Connections
The fundamental need of every human is to belong. We are hardwired to be in community, and most of us, regardless of culture or background, are born into a family, which is the first place we strive to belong. Caregivers and siblings affect how we find our place in the family and the roles we play in our family. Inviting employees to share early childhood memories related to chronological birth order as well as psychological birth order (i.e., what it was like to be the first born, middle child, youngest, only, etc.) offers the chance to find commonalities among the group. This could generate shared understanding about each other in terms of why each person approaches work tasks in a certain way. Asking employees “How does identifying as a first born/middle/youngest/only/etc. usually show up for you at work?” can be an innovative way to hear more about each other thereby building more respect and belonging.
Discussing the roles we take on in the family may also create connections among the employees. For instance, employees could complete the statement “I was the one in my family who always…” The manager/facilitator of the conversation could then point out similarities among the group and/or link it to current workplace dynamics. Using another completion statement following the first, such as “Therefore, when I’m at work, I must… in order to feel I belong,” provides a clear glimpse into each employee’s perception of self in relation to that felt sense of belonging.
We all want to be connected, to be seen as capable, and to know that we count, and when we have that we feel courageous. Allowing for time to connect on a human level, such as sharing memories of siblings and family dynamics, establishes deeper awareness and appreciation for one another.
When humans feel they belong, they are able to relax and use their strengths to their fullest ability, but when they lack that essential sense of belonging, they will struggle to perform optimally. Wise business managers, HR directors, and C-suite level leaders make time to understand how influential belonging, or lack thereof, is in the workplace and implement simple yet effective ways to generate more of it or bring in experts to assist with this crucial task.
Susan Belangee
Owner, Dynamic Growth CCS
Start with Making Everyone Feel Heard
At our company, fostering a sense of belonging starts with making everyone feel heard and valued. One approach that has worked well for us is our “Culture Swap” initiative. Every month, an employee shares something from their culture, whether it’s a tradition, a festival, or even a favorite dish. It’s a casual, engaging way to learn about each other’s backgrounds without forcing structured diversity programs.
Beyond that, we focus on open conversations. Instead of generic team-building exercises, we encourage real discussions. For example, our informal “Story Sessions” give employees a chance to share personal experiences, work-related or not. These moments create natural connections and break down cultural barriers.
Small things also make a big difference. A simple Slack message recognizing someone’s effort in their native language or acknowledging an important holiday they celebrate all adds up. People feel seen, and that’s what truly builds community.
Belonging isn’t about policies or checkboxes. It’s about genuine human connections. And that starts with listening and showing people that who they are matters.
Vikrant Bhalodia
Head of Marketing & People Ops, WeblineIndia
Design Team-Building Experiences Beyond Icebreakers
With 20 years in the employee engagement industry, working with Fortune 500 companies, I’ve seen firsthand that fostering a true sense of community and belonging starts with intentional inclusivity – not just surface-level initiatives. The key is creating environments where employees feel valued for their unique perspectives while still feeling part of a cohesive whole. One of the most effective ways to do this is by designing team-building experiences that go beyond generic icebreakers and tap into shared values, collaboration, and storytelling. When employees from different backgrounds can connect on a human level – rather than just through work tasks – they build stronger, more authentic relationships.
A strategy that consistently works is embedding cultural inclusivity into everyday interactions rather than treating it as a one-off event. This means designing leadership programs that elevate diverse voices, ensuring internal communications reflect varied experiences, and structuring team activities where employees can showcase their cultural heritage in meaningful ways. I’ve worked with companies that have implemented ‘culture swap’ initiatives – where teams share traditions, problem-solving approaches, and even meals from different backgrounds – which have significantly strengthened workplace bonds. Ultimately, belonging isn’t about erasing differences; it’s about celebrating them while fostering shared purpose and mutual respect.
Charles Berry
Co Founder, Zing Events
Introduce Shared Rituals for Real Connection
Shared rituals create real connection. Every workplace has meetings, deadlines, and policies, but shared rituals make a team feel like a community. These can be as simple as a weekly kickoff where everyone shares a small win, or a rotating “day in the life” series where employees showcase their work and culture.
At New Ventures West, we introduced a five-minute morning check-in where team members share something unrelated to work. Within weeks, engagement improved, and conversations felt more natural. Structured moments of familiarity remove barriers and turn coworkers into a tight-knit group.
Adam Klein
Certified Integral Coach and Managing Director, New Ventures West
Implement Culture Circles for Genuine Connections
I focus on intentional inclusion, not just surface-level diversity. One thing that’s worked? Culture Circles—monthly team-led sessions where employees share traditions, experiences, or challenges. This creates genuine connections beyond work.
We also have a buddy system that pairs new hires with someone from a different background, fostering cross-cultural mentorship. Small but impactful changes—like ensuring meeting schedules respect global time zones—also reinforce belonging.
Most importantly, we make inclusion everyone’s responsibility, not just HR’s. When employees feel seen, heard, and valued, community builds itself.
Nikita Sherbina
Co-Founder & CEO, AIScreen
Leadership Must Champion Diversity and Inclusion
A genuine spirit of community and belonging starts at the top. Buy-in from leadership is not just a nice to have – it’s a MUST HAVE. If management and the leadership council are not visibly and actively championing diversity and inclusion, then anything else will likely fall short.
It must go beyond platitudes; it must be part of the organization’s DNA. To lead by example, they must commit to inclusive action, listening to individuals with different points of view, and taking responsibility for establishing a respectful and open-minded culture.
Leaders – and employees generally – need to be equipped with tools to recognize cultural differences, understand unconscious biases, and communicate across differences. These workshops could include anything from cultural sensitivity and inclusive communication, to facilitated discussions on issues of diversity. Mentors aim to create a safe space where they can all learn from each other, ask questions, and constructively address misunderstandings.
Matt Harrison
Svp of Product and Client Experience, Authority Builders
Foster an Inclusive Culture with Open Communication
Creating a sense of community among employees from different backgrounds starts with fostering an inclusive culture where everyone feels valued and heard. Open communication is key, so encourage discussions that allow employees to share their perspectives and experiences. Recognizing and celebrating cultural differences through events, team activities, and awareness programs can help build connections. Providing diversity training and ensuring fair policies create a workplace where people feel respected and supported. Employee resource groups can offer a safe space for individuals to connect and find support. Leaders should actively promote inclusivity by listening to employees, addressing concerns, and encouraging collaboration. When employees feel a sense of belonging, they are more engaged, motivated, and productive.
Abhishek Shah
Founder, Testlify
Prioritize Authenticity and Transparency
As a queer and neurodivergent leader myself, I understand the profound impact that an inclusive environment has on both personal well-being and organizational success. At NonBinary Solutions, we believe nonbinary thinking is the future of work. As our name suggests, rejecting rigid, binary frameworks is fundamental to who we are–it shapes how we approach every challenge, decision, and opportunity. Our commitment to diversity, inclusion, and nuance isn’t just a value; it’s a strategy for innovation and resilience. We prioritize authenticity and transparency in all our interactions. By creating spaces where open dialogue is encouraged, we ensure that every team member feels valued and heard. This approach not only builds trust but also empowers individuals to contribute their unique perspectives, enriching our collective creativity and problem-solving capabilities. We strive to maintain morale and stability and seek to create a workplace that is both secure and dynamic. This means fostering open, ongoing dialogue where employees feel heard and valued. We build trust through transparency, sharing the ‘why’ behind decisions and ensuring policies are adaptable to meet evolving needs. We also cultivate an environment where people can show up as their authentic selves, knowing that protections aren’t just policies on paper but deeply embedded in our culture. By recognizing the power of complexity and intersectionality, we build systems that work for everyone–not just those who fit neatly into predefined categories.
Amanda Ralston
M.Ed., Bcba, Lba, & Founder / CEO, NonBinary Solutions
Encourage Open Communication and Team-Building Activities
One effective way to build a sense of community in the workplace is to foster open communication and encourage employees to share their ideas, thoughts, and feedback. Creating opportunities for employees to interact with each other and share their perspectives can help build trust, understanding, and a sense of belonging among team members.
Another tip is to organize team-building activities, events, or volunteer opportunities. These activities can help build relationships, break down silos, and foster a sense of camaraderie among employees.
Encourage socialization and informal interactions, such as team lunches, coffee breaks, or happy hours. This can be a great way to build connections and strengthen relationships among employees.
Additionally, recognizing and celebrating employee achievements can help create a sense of belonging and shared purpose. Employees who feel valued and appreciated are more likely to feel connected to their colleagues and the organization as a whole.
Brad Cummins
Founder, Fat Agent
Provide D&I Coaching for Managers
Diversity and inclusion (D&I) coaching for managers is one of the most powerful strategies for creating a sense of belonging within companies. As the wise saying goes, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink,” so today, it is not enough if you hire a diverse workforce, you need to provide your leaders with the tools and knowledge to guide and nurture that diversity.
D&I coaching supports the managers in not only identifying their own biases but also in learning what unique challenges employees from diverse backgrounds have to face in their work cultures and how to become inclusive leaders. This may include education on subjects like personal bias, microaggressions, cultural sensitivity, and inclusive language.
Marc Hardgrove
CEO, The Hoth
Promote Inclusion Throughout Employment Lifecycle
To foster a sense of community and belonging among employees from diverse backgrounds and cultures, it’s important to promote inclusion throughout the employment lifecycle. Employees should see people like themselves in leadership roles, being given training and development opportunities, and getting promoted. By providing equal opportunity in hiring, training, and promoting talented employees, you’ll create a welcoming workplace for people from all walks of life.
Susan Snipes
Head of People, Remote People