Belonging has become one of the most cited and most abused terms in workplace inclusion, and the research base has moved much faster than the practice has caught up. This session brings the empirical view. We will distinguish the interventions that produce durable engagement and retention outcomes from the ones that produce photo opportunities, and will show attendees what research and collaborators' work suggests about where to invest inclusion budget in 2026 and 2027. This is a research session designed for senior HR practitioners who need to translate academic findings into operational decisions, and who need to defend those decisions to skeptical executive stakeholders. Attendees leave with a decision framework grounded in evidence rather than intuition.