Belonging: From comfort, to connection, to contribution

In celebration of the launch of our 2020 Global Human Capital Trends report, we are hosting a series of open webinars on each of the ten trends. The 2020 report offers business leaders a path forward to prepare for the future, and each webinar hears from some of our Human Capital practice leaders in New Zealand and leading local organisations to gain an in-depth perspective on the impact of each trend.

Last week, we kicked off with the top trend ‘Belonging: from comfort to connection to contribution’, this year’s chapter on diversity and inclusion. The webinar was presented by Sonia Breeze (Deloitte Partner) who was joined by guest speakers Fezeela Raza (Auckland Council) and Marlene Strawson (Mercury Energy). Across the hour, we had 100 HR, Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) and other business leaders join virtually to hear the trio talk. Sonia shared insights and key messages from Deloitte’s 2020 study, which builds on a decade of research into belonging. We discussed how organisations can forge a stronger link between belonging and organisational performance by strengthening individual’s connection and contribution to their team and organisational goals.

Organisations must move beyond making people feel comfortable at work, to fostering a sense of connection with those they work with, and ultimately having people feel they contribute in a meaningful way to a common goal – be it a goal for their team, organisation or the community. Sonia talked us through how investment in belonging can lead to increased performance, reduced turnover risk and a decrease in sick days taken.

Fezeela and Marlene then walked us through some of the great initiatives and work Auckland Council and Mercury Energy have been doing in regards their respective organisations’ progress on diversity and inclusion. Through Fezeela, we heard about the council’s initiatives on the ethnic and gender pay gap, inclusive recruitment and courageous conversations on race. Further Fezeela talked to us about the successful He Ata Accelerated Female Leadership programme and their senior appointment diversity targets. Marlene shared with us Mercury Energy’s ‘One Direction’ priorities, and how to her the most important thing you can do is create meaningful purpose for people in your organisation. Marlene also talked us through effective use of the ‘Change Supporters’, a nominated internal network to Mercury Energy, as pillars to test and refine any change throughout the business.

We had some great questions from the audience on topics such as investing in belonging, shifting to hybrid ways of working, gaining a sense of belonging when working from home, measuring belonging, COVID-19 and the market today. A recording of the session and the presentation can be found on the registration homepage.

Find out more about the 2020 Global Human Capital Trends here, and reach out to the Deloitte New Zealand team if you would like to talk about how we can support your journey to fostering belonging and workforce contribution to drive high business performance.

Finally, you can register for our upcoming webinars to hear more from our Deloitte leaders and guests on actionable strategies and stories at the forefront of reinventing the future of work.