A successful onboarding process determines whether new employees feel a sense of belonging from the very beginning and whether they are able to contribute their perspectives, skills, and personalities. Employees who feel included in their teams perform better, are more resilient, and are less likely to consider leaving. But what exactly fosters this sense of inclusion among new team members? What experiences, behaviors, or leadership behaviors promote inclusion—and which ones hinder it?
This is exactly where the Inclusion Journey comes in. Using an innovative, scientifically grounded survey design, we make inclusion during the onboarding process not only measurable but also explainable. Our goal is to identify the specific factors that shape the experience of inclusion within teams - and to derive tailored strategies to foster an inclusive workplace culture. In doing so, we combine academic rigor with practical implementation, offering your organization and its leaders carefully curated solutions for promoting inclusion.
At the heart of this project is a customized, multimodal survey conducted within your organization. Over the course of several months, we accompany new employees with recurring assessments - from their first week on the job through the later stages of their onboarding. Daily brief surveys and regular check-ins provide in-depth insights into how inclusion is experienced, its predictors, and its consequences in the day-to-day work context.
Particular focus is placed on specific triggers and influencing factors: Which leadership behaviors have a positive impact? What team dynamics support a genuine sense of belonging? What expectations and individual characteristics shape the inclusion experience?
Based on these insights, we provide you with a customized action plan that can be implemented directly within your organization. The Inclusion Journey offers companies a robust, data-driven foundation for intentionally designing more inclusive onboarding processes. The insights gained go far beyond a snapshot - they reveal why inclusion succeeds or fails, how it can be cultivated, and which specific levers are key to achieving it.