Creating a Sense of Belonging in Your Workplace
Creating a sense of belonging in your workplace isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s an essential component of a thriving organisation. When employees feel connected to their company’s purpose and to each other, everything improves: productivity increases, talent sticks around longer, and innovation flourishes. But how do you foster this sense of connection, especially in today’s increasingly hybrid work environment? The answer lies in thoughtful internal communication, and video is proving to be one of the most powerful tools for building genuine belonging.
Why does belonging matter for your company?
When employees feel they truly belong, they bring their whole selves to work. This creates a foundation for psychological safety that drives better business outcomes.
Belonging in the workplace can lead to increased innovation as people become more comfortable sharing ideas. It enhances collaboration with teams working together more effectively across departments. Organizations also experience improved retention as employees remain loyal through challenges. Additionally, engagement leads to higher productivity with better overall results.
Clear, authentic internal communication directly reinforces this sense of belonging. When information flows openly and inclusively throughout your organisation, it signals that everyone is valued and part of the same journey. But when communication breaks down, so does the sense of connection that keeps your teams engaged and aligned.
The link between belonging and business success is reflected in how teams tackle problems, how freely information and ideas move through your organisation, and ultimately in your bottom line through reduced recruitment costs and higher productivity.
Common barriers to effective internal communication
Even with the best intentions, internal communication often faces significant obstacles that undermine belonging:
- Information silos that keep departments isolated from each other
- Hybrid and remote work arrangements that reduce natural interaction
- Communication overload that causes important messages to get lost
- Overly formal or corporate language that fails to connect emotionally
- Lack of authentic voices from all levels of the organisation
These barriers don’t just hurt information flow—they directly impact how connected people feel to your organisation’s mission and to each other. When employees don’t see themselves represented in company communication or can’t access information they need, their sense of belonging suffers.
How video transforms internal communication
Text-based communication has its place, but video offers unique advantages for nurturing belonging.
Video creates an emotional connection that text simply cannot match. Seeing real faces, hearing genuine voices, and witnessing body language helps employees connect with leaders and colleagues on a human level. This emotional dimension makes messages more memorable and impactful.
While text-based communication offers limited emotional connection, video provides strong connections through faces, voices, and body language. Reading text can be time-consuming, but video content is typically quick to absorb. Video also appeals to both visual and auditory learners, making it more accessible. Furthermore, text can only describe company culture, while video actually shows culture in action.
Video also democratises communication by making complex information accessible to everyone regardless of learning preferences. A brief, well-crafted video can convey in two minutes what might take much longer to read—and with better retention.
Most importantly, video brings your company culture to life. It shows rather than tells, making your values and mission tangible through authentic representation.
Building belonging through co-created video content
One of the most powerful approaches to internal video is the co-creation model, where employees capture the footage and professional editors transform it into polished final products. This approach offers several benefits for building belonging:
Key Benefits of Co-Created Video
- Authenticity: When employees film content themselves, the result has a genuineness that professionally filmed content sometimes lacks.
- Democratized Voice: Messages flow from all directions, not just top-down.
- Inclusivity: Diverse perspectives are naturally incorporated.
- Efficiency: Content creation is distributed across the organization.
Effective formats for building belonging through co-created video include:
- Day-in-the-life employee spotlights that showcase diverse roles
- Team achievement celebrations that recognise collaborative success
- Cross-department project updates that highlight how different teams work together
- “Values in action” stories that show your company principles being lived out
Practical tips for implementing a video communication strategy
Creating a sustainable video communication approach that fosters belonging doesn’t have to be overwhelming:
- Develop a simple content calendar that aligns with your organisation’s rhythm. Include regular content types like monthly updates, but leave room for spontaneous stories that emerge naturally.
- Identify authentic storytellers within your organisation—people who are passionate about sharing their experiences. These don’t need to be the most senior or polished speakers; often the most compelling stories come from unexpected voices.
- Set up a clear process for collecting, editing, and distributing videos. The co-creation model works well here: employees can capture footage on smartphones, and professional editors can transform it into polished content.
- Focus on consistency over volume. A few well-produced videos that genuinely reflect your culture will build more belonging than a flood of content that feels forced or corporate.
Measuring the impact of your communication efforts
To understand how your video communication strategy affects belonging, look at both quantitative and qualitative indicators:
Track engagement data such as views, comments, shares, and watch time to understand reach and initial resonance. Pay attention to conversation patterns like references in meetings and follow-up discussions, which reveal content impact beyond initial viewing. Consider gathering feedback about feelings of connection and information adequacy to gauge the correlation to belonging. Also look for evidence of changed behavior that indicates real-world application of communication.
Most importantly, look for signs of impact. When a video helps bridge understanding between departments or inspires contributions in new ways, this suggests your approach is successfully building belonging.
By embracing video co-creation as part of your internal communication strategy, you can transform how connected your employees feel to your organisation and each other. The benefits of video co-creation go beyond just information sharing—they create the emotional connections that make work meaningful and build the sense of belonging that every successful organisation needs.
If you’re interested in learning more, contact our team today
