At Medline, a sense of belonging and our best work for customers go hand in hand

At Medline, a sense of belonging and our best work for customers go hand in hand

Updated company values encode the need for employees to enter the conversation and be 'seen, supported and connected,' part of our special formula from Day 1

By Pallavi Connor
Chief Belonging Officer

What does it really mean to belong at work? For me, it clicked nine years ago with a quick post-meeting debrief in a hallway.

"You had some great input at the end," said a Medline division leader I was supporting as a human resources partner at the time. "I could tell you had something important to contribute, but you didn't speak up until I directly asked for your thoughts."

This was true. I was mere weeks into my tenure at Medline, learning the business, and my suggestion was counter to the group's arrived-at conclusion.

"Pallavi, here at Medline, it's really important that you say what's on your mind," the leader continued. "We value being direct with each other, and we hired you because we know you have good ideas. Even if we disagree, being candid with each other helps us build trust and move faster, which is what we really care about."

I wasn't given this feedback because it was in an HR manual. The importance of candor wasn't a branded slogan or a poster in the elevator. This leader wanted me to be successful at Medline, and that took the form of underlining one of the company's core values: purposeful candor.

As Medline was preparing last year for its initial public offering, many of the questions from potential investors and collaborators were about our culture. What makes Medline unique? Why should they work with us? Why do prospective candidates want to work here?

What brought me here was strong business growth and commitment to customers. Being pulled aside and given the confidence to speak up is an example of what has kept me here. I felt seen for the contributions I was making, encouraged to contribute new thinking and connected to our mission to make healthcare run better. I wasn't just on a team - I was part of a team.

Fast-forward to now

For the last 18 months, I have led our Belonging function, working with my team in close partnership with the Medline business and HR to preserve and grow an environment of belonging - a place where "being part of the group" means every employee who ascribes to our values feels seen, supported and connected. "Belonging" can feel like both a familiar feeling and an abstract concept to some. To bring it to life, my team focuses not on slogans and buzzwords but on concrete, measurable actions that can make a real impact.

Those actions sprout from our foundational company values, which we use to describe who we are and what sets us apart. Updated in 2025, these values are:

• Relentless Customer Focus
• Drive to Succeed
• Relationships Matter
• Gritty Problem Solving
• Agility & Flexibility
• Purposeful Candor

The phrasing may be different, but these are not new values. Who we are and how we work at Medline remains fundamentally unchanged. However, with this new shared language, we are better able to be true culture ambassadors, model these behaviors, consistently show candidates, new hires and partners who we are and create the conditions that invite those who share our values to join us and thrive.

Relationships and resources

Belonging at Medline means connecting colleagues with each other through intentional networking, our seven employee resource groups (ERGs) and early-career mentoring. It means we work with our learning teams and ERGs to create programming that is open and accessible to all of our employees and can help any of them develop, from those at our corporate offices to those at our 60-plus manufacturing and distribution facilities.

Outside our walls, belonging also means our partnerships with schools and talent organizations go beyond simply recruiting for open jobs. We build deep relationships to support future talent, give students and experienced candidates alike a window into our culture and equip them with industry insight, technical/product expertise and the leadership and relationship skills they'll need to belong and succeed, whether at Medline or elsewhere.

I recently scanned the survey feedback from an "Intro to Sales" class that Medline led for one of our university partners.

"I liked that Medline speakers gave helpful general interview tips, not just for their business," one student wrote. "After class, I asked one of the speakers for résumé advice, and he was very helpful. I will explore open positions at Medline based not only on the information we learned but based on the time we had with them. It seemed like a company with a good culture."

Work is where we spend our days. Imbuing our work with a sense of purpose is essential in helping us feel we're part of something special. The more we feel we belong, that our contributions and voices matter, the more that purpose comes into focus.

I think about my experience in that hallway many years ago, or an employee sharing a story of the valuable connections they made through one of our ERGs, or a student expressing gratitude to Medline for a conversation that helped them on their professional path. It's in these everyday moments that people feel "seen, supported and connected."

They're the moments that make me and others so proud to work here.

Learn more about Medline's approach to belonging and the opportunities it creates.