Amanda Chua, Author at Omni HR

It’s beyond question that diverse teams simply perform better than less diverse ones. Which makes sense—imagine you were only allowed to recruit from one specific pool of people. That would severely hinder your access to top talent and the varied experiences that spark creative brilliance.

That is why a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policy is so important. Such a policy not only states your organization’s commitment to diversity and inclusion (which helps the wellness of your employees and your business’ bottom line), but also outlines a strategy to enforce it.

In this article, we’ll be diving into the key elements of a great DEI policy, how you can incorporate them in your workplace, and strategies for communicating them to your team.

What is a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Policy?

A DEI policy is the official document outlining your organization’s commitment to encouraging diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. It’s the guiding framework for creating a workplace environment where all your employees can feel valued, regardless of their background, identity, or experiences. DEI policies outline your organization’s stance on fostering diversity and combating discrimination, as well as how it plans to go about developing an inclusive culture.

At its core, an effective DEI policy communicates your organization’s commitment to creating a workplace culture that embraces and celebrates differences while striving for fairness and equality. By establishing clear expectations and standards, your DEI policy sets the tone for workplace culture and aligns the efforts of leaders, managers, and employees toward building a more inclusive workplace, where everyone has equal opportunities to contribute and thrive.

Why are DEI Policies Important?

While the value of diversity might seem obvious, there could be unconscious biases or outdated practices still in use that make true equity difficult to achieve. But with a DEI policy, you can tackle them head on. Here’s why that’s important:

Promoting fairness and equality: DEI policies help ensure that all your employees, regardless of their background, identity, or experiences, are treated fairly and have equal opportunities for advancement within your organization. By clearly laying out your organization’s commitment to equity and inclusion, these policies set clear expectations for behavior and decision-making that impacts individuals on the team.

Fostering a positive work environment: DEI policies are important for creating a workplace culture where all team members feel valued, respected, and included. By embracing diversity and encouraging inclusion, your organization can cultivate a sense of belonging among its employees, leading to higher morale, increased engagement, and improved overall well-being.

Enhancing organizational performance: Research has shown that diverse teams are more innovative, creative, and effective at problem-solving. By promoting diversity and inclusion through DEI policies, your organization can tap into the unique perspectives, skills, and experiences of its employees, leading to better decision-making and better business outcomes. In this case, employee well-being directly contributes to your organization’s bottom line.

Attracting and retaining talent: In today’s competitive job market, candidates (especially those in Gen Z and Gen Alpha) increasingly seek out employers that prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion. Organizations with robust DEI policies are more likely to attract top talent from diverse backgrounds and retain employees over the long term by creating an environment where all individuals can thrive and grow.

Meeting legal and regulatory requirements: Implementing DEI policies will help your organization comply with legal and regulatory requirements related to discrimination, harassment, and equal employment opportunity. By establishing clear guidelines and procedures for addressing issues of discrimination and bias, your DEI policies help minimize legal risks and protect your organization from potential liabilities.

DEI policies are essential tools for creating a workplace culture that celebrates diversity, promotes equity, and encourages inclusion. By embedding these principles into official policies and practices, your organization can create an environment where all employees feel empowered and able to contribute their unique talents and perspectives to achieve common goals.

What Should a DEI Policy Include?

Comprehensive DEI policies should reflect your organization’s commitment to promoting diversity and creating an inclusive workplace culture. The key elements that your DEI policies needs to include are:

Mission statement and commitment: Begin the policy with a clear and concise mission statement that plainly states your organization’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. This statement should encompass your company values and emphasize the importance of creating a workplace where all team members are respected, valued, and empowered to succeed, regardless of background.

Definitions and terminology: Define key terms related to diversity, equity, and inclusion and how they relate to your workplace. This ensures clarity and understanding among your employees, and can be pointed to in case any policies are contested. Provide explanations of terms such as equity, inclusion, unconscious bias, microaggressions, and privilege to foster a shared understanding of these concepts within your organization.

Scope and applicability: Specify the scope and applicability of your DEI policies, including who is covered by the policy. Clarify whether it applies to all aspects of employment, including recruitment, hiring, promotion, compensation, training, and development.

Non-discrimination and anti-harassment policies: Outline policies prohibiting discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on protected characteristics (like race, religion, or gender identity). Clearly identify prohibited conduct, reporting procedures for complaints or concerns, and your organization’s commitment to investigating and addressing any allegations of discrimination or harassment as soon as they’re made aware of them.

Accommodation for disabilities: Include provisions outlining your organization’s commitment to offering accommodations for employees with disabilities to ensure equal access to employment opportunities at your workplace. Describe the process for requesting accommodations and how your organization will help to provide access and opportunities for those who’ve made requests for accommodation.

Diversity and inclusion initiatives: Describe the specific initiatives, programs, and strategies your organization will use to promote diversity and foster inclusion within its workplace. This could include recruitment and employee retention programs aimed at increasing diversity, training and education opportunities to raise awareness of unconscious bias, or employee resource groups to support underrepresented communities.

Equity and fairness principles: State your organization’s commitment to promoting equity and fairness in all aspects of employment, including compensation, performance evaluation, and career advancement. Outline the policies and practices aimed at identifying and overcoming traditional barriers to equity.

Training and education: Highlight your organization’s commitment to providing training and education on diversity, equity, and inclusion topics for employees at all levels. Describe the content, format, and frequency of DEI training initiatives and expectations for employee participation.

Accountability and measurement: Establish mechanisms for holding leaders, managers, and employees accountable for upholding the principles outlined in your DEI policy. Make sure to include regular monitoring and assessment of DEI initiatives in your policy, as well as for collecting feedback and measuring progress toward your goals.

Examples of DEI Policy

The best way to understand how DEIs work is to consider them in practice. Here are 10 examples of DEI policies for you to consider including in your own:

1. Zero-Tolerance Policy for Discrimination and Harassment

Implement a clear and enforceable policy that prohibits discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on protected characteristics such as race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, and age. Make sure to outline procedures for reporting and investigating complaints and specify consequences for violations.

2. Inclusive Recruitment and Hiring Practices

Consider adopting blind recruitment practices, where identifying information is removed from the resumes of potential candidates. This helps mitigate unconscious bias and promote fair evaluation of candidates based on qualifications and experience.

You should also actively seek out and recruit candidates from underrepresented groups to increase diversity within the organization. Regardless of background, provide a comprehensive onboarding process that introduces new hires to the organization’s culture, values, and diversity initiatives.

Get inspired: Onboarding 10 Companies That Have the Best Employee Onboarding Experience
(and You Can Too)

3. Flexible Working Arrangements

Put in place policies that support flexible or hybrid work models such as remote work, flexible hours, or compressed workweeks to accommodate diverse needs and lifestyles. For instance, if you have employees with mobility limitations, allowing them to work more frequently from home could greatly improve their workplace comfort and effectiveness.

4. Inclusive Language and Communication

Promote the use of inclusive language in all communications, including job postings, internal communications, and external messaging. Provide training and guidelines to educate your employees on the importance of inclusive language and respectful communication.

5. Accessibility and Accommodations

Ensure that your workplace facilities, technologies, and communication channels are accessible to employees with disabilities. Provide reasonable accommodations, such as modifying facilities (e.g. reorganizing the workplace layout to facilitate wheelchair access) or providing assistive technologies to create equal access to employment opportunities and the workplace.

6. Inclusive Benefits and Wellness Programs

Offer benefits and wellness programs that address the diverse needs of your employees, including parental policies, mental health resources, and accommodations for religious observances and holidays. A comprehensive and flexible wellness program allows for greater diversity and appeals to a greater talent pool.

7. Performance Evaluations and Feedback

Implement fair and objective performance evaluation processes that are free from bias and discrimination. Provide regular feedback and coaching to support your employees’ professional growth and development. Training to overcome unconscious performance appraisal biases will offer value as leaders approach key performance review seasons.

Read more: A Guide to Mastering Performance Management

8. Professional Development and Advancement

Pair employees from underrepresented groups with mentors or sponsors who can provide guidance, support, and advocacy in their career development. You should also provide training programs for leaders and managers to increase awareness of diversity and inclusion issues and develop inclusive leadership skills.

Offer training and development opportunities that address the specific needs and career aspirations of diverse employee groups. Talk to your employees directly and get a sense of their ambitions and goals, and shape your training opportunities accordingly.

9. Company Culture and Engagement

Create a policy that firmly codifies an inclusive company culture where all employees feel valued, respected, and included. Promote diversity and inclusion initiatives, celebrate diverse perspectives and contributions, and create opportunities for employee engagement and collaboration.

10. Unconscious Bias Training

Provide training to educate employees on unconscious bias and its impact on decision-making processes. Offer practical tools (like the Implicit Association Test) and strategies to help your employees recognize and mitigate bias in their interactions and decision-making. Remember—unconscious bias is subtle and affects everyone, even if they don’t recognize it. Combating unconscious bias through education should be a cornerstone of successful DEI policies.

How to Communicate Your DEI Policies?

Creating a DEI policy is insufficient; it needs to be effectively communicated and consistently reinforced to ensure its impact. Here are some tactics you can employ to ensure your whole team is aware of your DEI policy:

Clear and transparent communication: Make sure that your DEI policy is clearly articulated in writing and easily accessible to all members of your workforce. Consider creating a dedicated section on your company intranet or website where your employees can easily access and reference the policy.

Employee training and workshops: Conduct training sessions and workshops to educate employees about your DEI policy, its importance, and their role in supporting diversity and inclusion efforts. Provide examples and case studies to illustrate key concepts and encourage interactive discussions.

Leadership endorsement: Demonstrate visible support for the DEI policy by having senior leaders and executives endorse it publicly. Encourage leaders to communicate your organization’s commitment to diversity and inclusion in company-wide meetings, emails, and other internal communications.

Regular communication: Incorporate messages about diversity and inclusion into regular communication channels such as newsletters, internal memos, and team meetings. Use these opportunities to reinforce your organization’s values and highlight initiatives that promote diversity and inclusion.

Feedback opportunities: Create regular feedback opportunities to allow employees to provide input and share their experiences related to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Encourage open and honest communication and assure employees that their feedback will be valued and acted upon.

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs): Encourage the formation of ERGs or affinity groups focused on promoting diversity and inclusion. These groups can act like forums for your employees to discuss DEI-related topics, share best practices, and organize events and initiatives, or even as solidarity groups for underrepresented communities within your workforce.

External communication: Communicate your organization’s commitment to diversity and inclusion to external stakeholders, including clients, customers, partners, and the broader community. Highlight initiatives and partnerships that support diversity and inclusion efforts and demonstrate your organization’s values.

Fostering Inclusivity with Omni

Undoubtedly, DEI policies are crucial for fostering a positive workplace culture and drive organizational success. HR Information Systems (HRIS) play an important role in supporting these policies by automating processes, encouraging transparency, and providing insights to help organizations effectively implement and reinforce their DEI policies.

With modern HR automation tools like Omni, you gain access to data-driven insights that facilitate informed decision-making, as well as seamless integrations that effortlessly connect with your existing employee favored systems, making your entire engagement process more efficient and modern.

Our performance management module provides you with instant reports to track diversity and inclusion goals, ensuring these initiatives are prioritized and progress is measurable. Furthermore, our employee self-service portals empower employees to access and understand DEI policies, fostering awareness and inclusivity.

With a full suite of modules supporting every aspect of your business, Omni’s intuitive and customizable platform integrates with your team’s favorite systems for a seamless and timely adoption, ensuring diversity, equity and inclusion are adopted into your company’s culture.

If you’d like to learn more about how Omni’s all-in-one HR software can bring your DEI initiatives to the next level, book a demo with us today and start building a more diverse and equitable organization!

A hiring freeze is a valuable indicator of a country’s market and can provide valuable insights into its economic conditions. According to CNBC, 20% of companies in Asia Pacific implemented hiring freezes in 2022, with 40% of them only recruiting for essential positions.

In this guide, we will explore the reasons and impacts of hiring freezes. We also provide strategies to help HR leaders navigate them, ensuring your business remains stable and financially secure.

What is a Hiring Freeze?

Hiring freezes are periods where companies refrain from hiring new workers. These freezes, which can be temporary or indefinite, are typically implemented to reduce costs. During a hiring freeze, companies do not fill vacancies left by departing employees and do not create new positions.

It’s worth noting that a hiring freeze usually impacts non-essential positions. In other words, companies may still hire employees for essential roles, work with freelancers, or hire part-time workers if it is cost effective.

By doing so, the critical business functions such as research, development, production, and sales can continue uninterrupted. Disrupting these core operations could lead to a decrease in revenue, which goes against the purpose of implementing a hiring freeze.

So, the question is – why would companies resort to such measures?

Hiring freezes are often announced in response to financial difficulties, as a proactive measure to prevent financial strain, or as a response to economic slowdowns, recessions, overcapacity, and other market circumstances.

By minimizing operational and payroll costs during times of financial hardship, companies can avoid a more drastic measure for cutting costs such as layoffs and mass firings.

Reasons for Companies to Implement Hiring Freeze

As an employer, understanding the reasons for hiring freezes helps you decide when to impose and lift them.

Market changes

Market conditions may change, decreasing revenue and limiting profitability. As such, they might drive even the most successful businesses to cut costs via hiring freezes. Companies may choose to implement a hiring freeze if they anticipate an industry shift or in response to unexpected changes in market conditions.

For instance, a significant increase in paper costs could impact the publishing industry, forcing a publishing house to implement a temporary hiring freeze due to financial constraints.

Global crisis

A global crisis can have repercussions on businesses worldwide, leading even successful companies to implement hiring freezes. During these times, companies might halt non-essential recruitment globally while monitoring global trends, maintaining this measure until an effective crisis response plan is in place.

For example, consider the impact of disease outbreaks, such as the COVID 19 pandemic, which significantly minimized domestic consumption and purchasing power. Coupled with containment measures, this resulted in a worldwide crisis.

Many governments and organizations, including the Philippines government, with its ‘Bayanihan to Heal as One Act’, implemented crisis response plans. However, despite these efforts, many are still facing challenges. As a result, it is unsurprising that many companies implemented hiring freezes.

According to the Business Inquirer survey, over 60% of responses in the Philippines anticipated negative business impacts from the pandemic, with half reporting that they have already implemented hiring freezes.

Budget concerns

Suppose you notice that your company’s budget is insufficient to cover additional salaries, benefits, and recruitment costs, and other hidden costs. In that case, you may decide to temporarily halt recruitment until the company achieves better financial stability.

Implementing a hiring freeze allows companies to avoid laying off current employees and prevents budget deficits or overspending issues. To exemplify, you might find that the total cost of the hiring process exceeds your quarterly employee salary budget, it may be beneficial to impose a hiring freeze until the start of the new quarter or until the balance sheet is balanced.

Read more: The Cost of Recruitment: HR’s Guide to Creating, Tracking and Implementing a Salary Budget

Potential liquidity concerns

Liquid assets are assets easily convertible to cash, including cash, marketable securities, and market instruments. These assets are crucial for meeting short-term obligations such as wages and vendor bills.

If you’re worried about insufficient liquid assets, review your company’s liquidity ratios for clarity. If the ratios confirm your concerns, consider allocating a portion of your salary budget to finance your current assets. Implementing hiring freezes can also serve as effective short-term solutions, but this should be viewed as a last resort.

Impending layoffs

As mentioned previously, implementing hiring freezes can help avoid drastic measures such as layoffs due to financial constraints. This approach is a key strategy for maintaining your company’s stability, providing much needed job security for your current employees during a challenging time.

Picture this: your company faces some financial turmoil, leading to widespread anxiety among employees who fear potential job losses. By communicating that no layoffs will occur and that the freeze only applies to non-essential roles, you can ease their concerns. This approach is likely to increase their willingness to adapt to necessary structural changes, enhance their loyalty to the company, and reduce attrition rates.

Hiring Freeze Impacts

Understanding the impact of hiring freezes provides a multidimensional understanding of the situation and helps you prepare a robust change management strategy. Implementing hiring freezes have dual impacts, affecting both employees and companies.

Impact on employees

Upon announcement, hiring freezes provide employees with the job security they seek. Despite the company’s financial challenges, employees feel reassured knowing the company’s commitment to retaining them, thereby enhancing company loyalty.

However, during a hiring freeze, some business responsibilities may be left unaddressed due to departing employees, with no plans to replace them. Instead, the additional workload is distributed among existing employees, potentially requiring them to work longer hours, which could lead to employee burnout.

This increased workload underscores the importance of viewing hiring freezes as a temporary measure. It’s crucial to ensure that tasks allocated to employees are manageable and that they are fairly compensated based on their performance and efforts.

Keeping the hiring freeze temporary is especially important considering the trend of job hopping among Gen Z and millennials, known as the “Great Reshuffle”. By keeping the freeze short-term, you can avoid decreases in employee performance, morale, and satisfaction, as well as increasing retention rates. Meanwhile, it’s essential to develop a more sustainable, long-term budgeting strategy.

Impact on companies

As mentioned previously, prolonged hiring freezes can negatively impact overall performance and profitability, leading to increased turnover rates.

Additionally, a hiring freeze can signal financial difficulties to creditors and other companies, potentially impacting the company’s reputation and partnerships.

During hiring freezes, managers may hesitate to address performance issues, fearing that employees will quit and not be replaced, further worsening the problem. Alternatives such as freelancing and outsourcing can be beneficial in the short-term but will be costly and counterproductive when trying to reduce operational costs.

Temporary hiring freezes can help mitigate these consequences and even offer benefits. Firstly, they provide financial stability by reducing costs associated with salaries, onboarding process, benefits, and training, aiding in restoring financial stability.

Secondly, a hiring freeze can enhance efficiency by encouraging management to restructure, train, and invest in current employees, optimizing internal talent and boosting morale. They also save time and energy by streamlining processes without the need for onboarding and welcoming new employees.

Lastly, temporary freezes allow for reflection on business goals and operations, as managers have the opportunity to assess current strategies and identify growth opportunities. This period of reflection can lead to revised plans, policies, and procedures, ultimately improving the company’s long-term outlook.

3 Ways HR Can Respond and Handle Hiring Freeze

1. Be proactive and transparent

Ensuring clear communication of the hiring freeze to your employees is crucial. Emphasize that their jobs are secure and that additional tasks are temporary. Utilize open communication channels, and 1-on-1 meetings to encourage cooperation.

Prepare strategies to mitigate potential increase in performance gaps and decrease in employee engagement during the freeze. Stay interviews can be valuable tools.

While questions asked during exit interviews help you understand why an employee is leaving, stay interviews tend to be more proactive. They involve speaking with current employees to understand why they choose to remain with the company. This insight into their values, perspectives, and priorities can inform the development of a targeted retention strategy.

Finally, inform any promising candidates who were in the interview process about the freeze. Maintaining contact and providing regular updates can help nurture these relationships and can be beneficial for when the freeze is lifted.

2. Support internal transfers

Internal job transfers occur when existing employees take on new roles within the company. Compared to external hiring, they require less time for hiring, onboarding, and training, making them a more cost effective option.

Furthermore, internal transfers boost employee motivation by highlighting the opportunities for growth within the company. This aids in retaining high quality employees during hiring freezes.

Most importantly, internal transfers allow you to streamline business processes and utilize employees’ skills and talents effectively. This minimizes stress and additional tasks for employees during the hiring freeze, preventing employee burnout.

3. Maintain employee engagement

Given that hiring freezes can increase the workload of existing employees, there is a risk of reduced moral and employee engagement. Therefore, it is crucial to invest in employee engagement during a hiring freeze using various strategies.

Need some inspiration? Download our 2024 HR Calendar for engagement ideas!

According to Josephine Lanzarone, vice president of marketing, Asia Pacific, Pluralsight, “If there is no incentive for employees to remain in an organization, employers will be hard-tasked to sell-in roles to prospective talent in the first place—leaving or expanding gaps in teams and compounding the challenges they are tasked with addressing.”

She adds, “Much of what drives employee satisfaction, and therefore retention, benefits the organization itself. For example, 65% of all skilled professionals rate learning and developing new skills as the most important priority for them.”

Providing current employees with resources, coaching, and training, such as cross-training, which is cost effective, can help them handle their additional responsibilities. It is unwise to assume that employees will leave the organization after upskilling. By investing in their future, employees are more likely to feel engaged and remain with the organization.

Another effective method of maintaining engagement levels during a hiring freeze is through active listening. Making employees feel heard through employee satisfaction surveys and performance conversations and promptly addressing their concerns demonstrates your commitment to their satisfaction.

Learn more: 20 Strategic Employee Engagement Survey Questions

Finally, employee recognition and acknowledgement are essential, particularly when employees are putting in extra effort during hiring freezes. Utilize group channels, recognition walls, and weekly meetings to acknowledge outstanding individuals. Promote deserving employees and highlight the significance of the company’s work to help employees understand their role in the bigger picture and recognize the value of their contributions.

Strategic Workforce Management with Omni

While hiring freezes present challenges such as increased workload and potential morale issues, they also offer benefits like cost savings and the opportunity to optimize current talent.

HR professionals play a crucial role in navigating these challenges, ensuring effective communication, employee engagement, and support for employees. Omni makes it easy for People leaders to manage workforce dynamics during hiring freezes through one, automated platform.

With Omni, HR professionals can leverage automation and expert created templates to build seamless processes to support each stage of the employee lifecycle, and manage each function in a centralized, easy-to-use platform. Omni’s data analysis and smart-reports allow you to derive real-time, actionable insights on your employee experience so you can build an award winning culture of growth, innovation, and engagement even during periods of hiring freeze.

Book a demo with our team today to learn more about how Omni can help uncover the insights you need to build a highly engaged workforce.

During the tax season in the Philippines, you may be tasked with submitting a set of documents to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), leaving you questioning their necessity.

Among the various tax forms required, the BIR Form 2316 is one of the most important forms as it provides insight into the tax ratio for an individual employee, breaking down their payments into various categories. With the form deadline right around the corner, this guide aims to provide you with all the necessary information to gain a clearer understanding of the BIR Form 2316.

What is the BIR Form 2316?

The BIR Form 2316, also known as the Certificate of Compensation Payment or Income Tax Withheld, is an annual tax return form in the Philippines. It consolidates an employee’s gross income along with the corresponding taxes and government deductions withheld throughout the calendar year or relevant taxing period.

In other words, it acts as evidence that a salary underwent income tax deductions, aiding the BIR in verifying businesses’ tax compliance. Moreover, in the event of an employee quitting, it assists their new employer in calculating the taxes withheld for the remaining portion of the year and can serve as proof of financial eligibility for various applications.

Employers are required to issue this form to employees subject to a declaration of final tax or any salary or remuneration and submit it to the BIR. Additionally, it should be attached to the employee’s Annual Income Tax Return (AIR) if they file one or if they are not eligible for substituted filing.

To be specific, the BIR Form 2316 should be attached to the BIR form 1700 for employees receiving purely compensation income or BIR form 1701 for employees receiving mixed income.

Download the BIR Form 2316

Who Should Prepare the BIR Form 2316?

Employers are in charge of preparing the BIR Form 2316 for any employee who received a salary, wage, or any other forms of remuneration from the organization during the preceding year.

Once the forms are accurately filled, employers are in charge of submitting the BIR Form 2316 on behalf of its employees. It is essential to prepare three copies: the original form designated for the employee, a duplicate for the BIR, and an additional copy for record-keeping purposes, which employers must retain for the next ten years.

When to Prepare the BIR Form 2316

Employers are required to prepare the BIR Form 2316 after computing the annual taxes for the year. This means preparing the tax return form towards the conclusion of the financial year for employees whose taxes and gross incomes are implicated.

When is the Deadline for the Submission of BIR Form 2316?

Generally, employees must receive their BIR Form 2316 on or before January 31 of the succeeding year.

However, there are two other deadlines to be aware of:

Employer filing: For employers required to file the BIR Form 2316 on behalf of your employees, the deadline for the submission is 28 February 2024.
Duplicate copy submission: For employees who received a BIR Form 2316 from their employer, they are required to submit a duplicate copy to the BIR by 29 February 2024.

How to Submit the BIR Form 2316

To submit the BIR 2316, you should follow these steps. First off, head over to the BIR certificate pages and download the BIR form.

Then, collect the needed employee information in Part 1. You’ll need to enter the date, which should be January 1. The only exception is for employees who you’ve hired in the past year; the date for those is their tenure start date. Note that items nine to 11 apply to employees who earn minimum wages only.

Next, enter the required employer information in Part II. Fetch the Certificate of Registration (RIB form 2303), as it includes the data you need for items 12 to 15. Under Part II, you’ll either check Main Employer for full-timers or Secondary Employer for part-timers.

Part III is dedicated to previous employer information. For employees that you’ve hired in the past year, you’ll need to check that the details of their previous employer are accurate.

Now, in Part IV, you fill in all your employee benefits (taxable and non-taxable), government contributions, and remunerations. It’s divided into sections A for your employee’s financial summary and B for their compensation income and taxes withheld details. Afterward, consider items 29 to 33 only if your employee is a minimum wager.

Also, the authorized signatory must sign item 51. You’ll need to sign item 52 and enter your current Community Tax Certificate number or a valid ID number, the paid amount, and the place of issuance. Finally, note that items 53 and 54 apply only to employees eligible for substituted filing.

Don’t forget the signatures. You must sign on item 53, and your employee must sign on item 54. Then, create your three copies, and submit or store them (as mentioned above).

To illustrate, you’ll need to save the electronic copies individually on a USB drive, DVD, or DVD-R. They must be in a PDF file format with the file names alphabetically arranged in the DVD-R. To name them, follow this naming convention: EmployeesLastName_EmployeesTin_TaxablePeriod.

What are the Required Attachments for BIR Form 2316?

For any BIR 2316 form, you should submit the original copy of the following documents:

Notarized Sworn Declaration

This document is a sworn declaration to affirm that the soft copies of all the BIR 2316 in the DVD-R are complete and typical of the originals.

You swear:

That in compliance with the requirements of Revenue Regulations No. 02-2015, submitted herewith is/are one (1) DVD-R containing ___________ covering the period of 12/31/2023

That the contents of the DVD-Rs being submitted herewith conform to the conditions/specification requirements set by the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

That the soft copies of the BIR Form 2316 contained in the DVD-R/s being submitted herewith are the complete and exact copies of the original thereof.

Notarized Substituted Filing Declaration

This form is composed of a list of the employees that qualify for substituted filing. It’s a table including the following information about each employee working for you:

Name of employee
Taxpayer identification number
Amount of compensation
Tax due withheld and remitted

Then, you follow the list with this statement: “I declare under the penalties of perjury, that this declaration has been made in good faith, and to the best of my knowledge and belief to be true and correct.”

Transmittal Form

This form includes a list of all the employees with the BIR Form 2316 in the submitted DVD or USB drive. Simply, it contains the employees whom you’re submitting the BIR Form 2316 on behalf of. Also, it includes the tax identification number and taxing period covered in the income tax withheld form.

What is Substituted Filing?

Understanding the eligibility criteria will help you submit exactly the needed forms according to the BIR, which should make the tax filing process as smooth as possible. Substituted filing applies to employees who:

Receive purely compensation income of any amount
Have one employer only in the Philippines for the calendar year
Have a spouse who complies with the above conditions

Another eligibility aspect relates to you. For your employee to not have to file their own AITR and to rely on the BIR Form 2316, you must:

Withhold the taxes of your employees properly
File the BIR Form 1604-C for them
Issue the latest version of the BIR Form 2316 for them

Are Electronic Signatures Allowed in the BIR Form 2316?

Yes, electronic signatures are allowed on the BIR Form 2316. Based on the Revenue Memorandum Circular (BCM) No. 29-2021 issued by the BIR on February 26, 2021, e-signatures are permitted for four forms including the BIR Form 2316. This includes digital signatures among other methods.

This decision was necessary to address the difficulties that COVID-19 posed and comply with the mandates of Republic Act (RA) No. 11032 or the “Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018.” In the past, you and your employee would’ve needed to sign the BIR Form 2316 manually or in wet ink for it to be valid and binding.

What is the Purpose of the BIR Form 2316 From Previous Employer?

Employers typically request that their new hires provide them with the BIR Form 2316 for two reasons. It’s proof of their previous income and the taxes withheld (during the taxable year) by their previous employer. This way, new employers don’t deduct the same taxes already withheld by the former employer.

If your employee requests the BIR Form 2316 when leaving, you are obliged to provide them a copy on their last payday or back pay.

Other Use Cases of BIR Form 2316

BIR Form 2316 is beneficial to the HR department, as it makes it easier to conduct payroll processing. The most common use case of BIR Form 2316 is for BIR to monitor businesses’ tax compliance as it proves that the right taxes were withheld from your employees’ total income.

Other use cases include an employee proving their financial eligibility for a loan, credit card, visa, or scholarship. By presenting the BIR Form 2316, they can prove that they meet the requirements. Likewise, government agencies and private organizations may demand this form as part of certain applications.

Another use case concerns expats. Expatriates living or working in a country other than their own can submit this BIR Form 2316 to prove that they are paying taxes. This way, they can avoid getting taxed for the same income source in their home country.

Automate Your Compliance Process with Omni

Completing the BIR Form 2316 can be a daunting task for many organizations due to its complexity and the meticulous detail it requires. However, with the right tools and systems in place, this process can be significantly simplified.

Omni helps HR teams stay up to date with the latest laws and regulations while streamlining the end-to-end employee management lifecycle. With secure and centralized employee records, HR teams can easily store, update, and communicate employee information across departments and with employees.

Our solution offers a comprehensive payroll solution tailored to Philippines specific requirements. With features like support for Philippine peso, automated tax calculations, and managed SSS, PhilHealth and PAG-IBIG contributions, Omni can help HR teams simplify their payroll processing and ensure compliance with ease.

Start your 14 days free trial and see how Omni can simplify the intricacies and complexities of preparing and submitting the BIR Form 2316 and minimize the costs associated with common errors.

Book a demo with us today!

A decent work life balance is the key to an engaged and healthy workforce. As an employer, understanding your employees’ rights and benefits regarding Singapore leave entitlements is crucial for fostering an engaged workforce, reducing burnout and ensuring compliance with local Singapore regulations.

Annual leave is one of the more standard elements of employee benefits and has its own set of rules and regulations unique to Singapore leave entitlements. Here, we’ll explore the laws, requirements, challenges, and strategies for administering, tracking and managing annual leave under Singapore leave entitlement regulations to help you ensure compliance and boost employee engagement.

What is annual leave?

Annual leave refers to a period of paid time off granted to employees by their employer. Apart from Singapore public holidays like National Day or Deepavali, employees can utilize their annual leave for any reason, whether for vacation or just for a day off. The allocation of this type of Singapore leave is usually set out in the employment agreement with the number of days granted per year based on company policies and HR calendars, or employee’s tenure.

Is annual leave mandatory?

As per the Singapore Employment Act, annual leave is a mandatory form of Singapore leave for employees. Under this protection, employees are entitled to receive a designated number of paid annual leave each year.

Employers are mandated to keep accurate and current records of Singapore leave, including annual leave taken by their employees. They may compensate employees for any unused annual leave days upon their departure from the company, but are not legally required to do so. Alternatively, employees may be allowed to use the remaining annual leave to offset their notice period, at the company’s discretion. Whichever method, the Singapore government does mandate that employers are required to allow employees to carry forward their annual leave, which guarantees that employees receive their full entitlement of annual leave during their employment.

It is also worth noting that an increasing number of companies are offering unlimited paid time off as an employee benefit. Under these circumstances, the regulations governing annual leave no longer apply, as the Employment Act establishes a minimum standard while unlimited paid time off exceeds this minimum, removing the need for regulation. Similarly, unlimited paid time off policies aim to empower employees by granting them greater control over their time off. Enforcing the strict rules of annual leave regulations may conflict with this flexibility.

Who is eligible for paid annual leave?

Under the Singapore Employment Act, all employees are eligible for annual leave if they have worked in the company for at least 3 months.

The annual leave entitlement for employees is based on their duration of service with the company, starting from their first day of employment.

For full-time employees, the number of annual leave days increases gradually for each year of service, starting at 7 days during the first year and adding 1 day for each subsequent year. This progression culminates at 14 days after the eighth year.

On the other hand, part-time employees are entitled to annual leave in proportion to the yearly entitlement of a full-time employee, based on the number of working hours. Similarly, employers can also offer more generous leave policies than the minimum requirement.

Example of part-time employee annual leave calculation:

Full-time annual leave entitlement: 14 days per year

Part-time employee: Rachel works 20 hours per week

Calculation:

Full-time working hours: 40 hours per week (assuming a standard full-time work week)
Rachel’s proportion of working hours: 20 hours / 40 hours = 50%
Rachel’s pro-rated annual leave: 14 days * 50% = 7 days

Therefore, Rachel is entitled to 7 days of annual leave per year based on her pro-rated calculations.

Can annual leave be pro-rated?

In Singapore, annual leave can be pro-rated in the following situations:

For part-time employees: As mentioned above, part-time employees are entitled to annual leave based on their weekly working hours. This inherently involves prorating their leave based on the reduced work hours compared to a full-time employee.
For incomplete years of service: Whether you’re full-time or part-time, if you have yet to complete a full year of service, the Singapore leave entitlement is pro-rated based on the number of complete months as per below:

(Number of completed months of service/12 months) x full-time leave entitlement.

Omni tip for Singapore leave: Proration is always calculated by rounding down to the nearest whole day. If the fraction of a day is less than one-half, round it down; if it is half or more, round it up to one day.

Carrying Forward or Encashment of Annual Leave

Employees covered under Part IV of the Employment Act, which encompasses workers earning a monthly basic salary of $4,500SGD or less and non-workers earning a monthly basic salary of $2,600SGD or less, retain the right to carry forward any unused annual leave to the next leave cycle of 12 months.

However, there are no laws specifying that unused leave after the carry forward period must be encashed. Whether employees are allowed to encash their unused leave depends on their employer’s discretion. The employer has the right to decide whether to offer leave encashment and under what conditions (e.g. a minimum number of unused days).

In situations where the accumulated unused annual leave surpasses the statutory entitlements, employees are recommended to consult their employment contract to understand the company’s protocol for handling such leave. This might involve choices such as encashment, carry-forward to the following year, or forfeiture.

For employees that are not covered under Part IV, such as managers, executives or professionals with higher salaries, the employment contract serves as the primary resource to determine eligibility and procedures regarding the carry-forward or encashment of annual leave. Some contracts permit carry-forward with specific limits, while others might provide options for encashment or forfeiting unused leave.

What Happens if Annual Leave is Used Up?

In the case where employees have exhausted their accrued annual leave, they have the option to request for unpaid leave, also known as no-pay leave. This arrangement allows employees to take time off without pay, but approval for such Singapore leave is entirely at the employer’s discretion.

HR professionals must carefully consider the implications of approving unpaid leave, as it directly affects Singapore payroll processing and budgeting.

Can Employers Refuse or Force Annual Leave?

As stated in the Employment Act, employers are not permitted to refuse employees’ requests for annual leave. Nevertheless, should the employee’s requested leave period clash with the company’s operational requirements, the employer reserves the right to propose an alternative date for the employee to utilize their leave.

Similarly, employers are prohibited from compelling employees to utilize their annual leave. Employees have the right to use their annual leave days at a time convenient for them, and it is not within the employer’s jurisdiction to dictate when they should take their leave.

Challenges in Managing Singapore Annual Leave

Managing Singapore leave effectively poses various challenges for HR professionals. Here are some of the common challenges faced:

Manual processes

Many organizations still rely on paper-based systems or spreadsheets for employee time off requests and approvals. This can lead to inefficiencies, errors, and delays in processing leave requests and updating records. Manual processes are also prone to human error, making it difficult to maintain accurate and up-to-date leave records.

Take your manual leave processes to the next level:

Try our free employee time off request template

Compliance complexities

Compliance with labor laws, Singapore employment passes, and regulations regarding Singapore leave can be complex, especially in jurisdictions with stringent requirements or where laws are frequently updated. HR professionals need to stay informed about legal requirements related to annual leave requirements, carryover limits, and payment for unused leave upon employee’s departure. Failure to comply with these requirements can expose organizations to legal risks and financial penalties.

Data accuracy

Accurate tracking of annual leave balances and usage is pivotal for ensuring that employees receive their entitled Singapore leave and that payroll calculations are correct. However, maintaining data accuracy can be tricky, especially when using manual systems or disparate processes that are not integrated. Inaccurate leave records can cause disputes between employees and employers and may even result in legal or financial repercussions.

Lack of transparency

Last but definitely not least, employees may face challenges in accessing information about their annual leave entitlements, remaining balances, and the status of their leave requests. A lack of transparency in the leave management process can lead to employee frustration, confusion and mistrust, causing employee engagement and morale to drop. HR professionals need to ensure that Singapore leave policies and procedures are clearly stated and communicated to employees and provide access to accurate and timely information about their leave entitlements.

Strategies to Effectively Manage Singapore Leave

Managing annual leave in Singapore effectively requires organization, awareness and clear communication. Here’s some strategies to mastering Singapore leave management:

Develop a record keeping process

Developing a record keeping process for tracking employee annual leave is pivotal. This system should include employee details, leave requests, taken leaves, balances, and any supporting documents, all while adhering to data privacy regulations.

Using a cloud-based HRIS system is recommended as it automates the process, freeing HR professionals of administrative burdens and reducing the likelihood of manual errors.

Stay up to date with local regulations

To stay up to date with changing regulations, HR professionals should subscribe to Ministry of Manpower updates for timely notifications regarding changes in leave entitlements, regulations, and penalties.

Additionally, joining associations or forums can provide valuable insights into industry best practices and legal interpretations, aiding in staying current with local regulations. Regular audits should also be conducted to ensure company policies and practices comply with current regulations.

Clearly communicate leave policies

Another key to managing Singapore leave involves creating a detailed leave policy document that clearly outlines entitlements, types of leaves, procedures, and blackout periods in a concise manner. Once the document is prepared, it should be published online or distributed in hard copy, and made easily accessible to all employees.

Moreover, the policy should be explained during onboarding, with Q&A sessions held to address any queries. Changes or updates to the policy should be communicated through email or newsletters in a timely manner. Finally, translating the documents into different languages is important for inclusivity and to cater to a diverse workforce where applicable.

Not sure what to include in your employee handbook for onboarding?

Download your free employee handbook template

Leverage automation and HR tools

As mentioned above, leveraging automation with HR tools can simplify the management of Singapore leave. These HR tools are designed to automate request approvals, track balances, and generate reports for efficient leave management. With these features, analyzing leave trends and identifying areas for improvement in policy or resource allocation is simplified.

Additionally, some HRIS softwares provide employee self-service portals, enabling employees to manage their leave directly, thus reducing administrative burden and empowering employees to take advantage of their benefits. Similarly, HR software with e-signature features facilitate online approvals, reducing paperwork and streamlining the process.

Effortless Singapore Annual Leave Management with Omni

Addressing these Singapore leave challenges requires HR professionals to invest in modern leave management systems and processes.

Omni’s time off management capabilities help managers and HR teams swiftly navigate employee leave management. Omni’s platform allows you to approve leave applications on the go and keep track of who’s in and out of the office with at-a-glance scheduling.

Our employee self-service portal enables employees to submit their time off requests, which are automatically routed to the appropriate manager thanks to customizable approval workflows. Our user-friendly mobile application further simplifies the process, allowing employees to apply for time off requests on the go.

For further leave management ease, Omni seamlessly integrates with common work tools such as Slack, enabling managers to manage time off approvals with a simple push of a button. With automated calculations, employees and managers can easily view leave balances in real-time, and track how many vacation days they have left without having to go through HR.

Our localized solutions and inter-connected system merges your Singapore leave management efforts with payroll processing, facilitating automatic, accurate calculations and compliance with local regulations for various regions.

If you’re ready to take your leave management to the next level,

book a demo with us today.

We’ll walk you through our platform’s capabilities and demonstrate how Omni can transform your leave management processes, saving you time, reducing administrative burdens, and enhancing overall efficiency.

According to a PwC global survey of 3,200 workers, “the majority (69%) of senior leaders credit much of their success during the pandemic to culture.” Additionally, 72% emphasize the role of culture in facilitating change initiatives. Notably, as much as 67% of respondents view culture as more important than strategy or operations.

These findings underscore the importance of defining culture in the workplace. In this article, we’ll explore the significance of culture building and offer strategies and tools to help define workplace culture effectively.

What is Culture Building?

Culture building is the art of building a specific atmosphere, particularly the organizational or company culture, which significantly influences how employees and managers operate.

Defining culture in the workplace encompasses a set of shared values, behaviors, beliefs, attitudes and norms that characterize your business. This includes formal rules like policies and traditions, as well as informal practices such as unwritten norms and attitudes. For example, creating a separate chat on your company’s messaging software where employees exchange memes or engage in playful banter, fostering a lighthearted atmosphere.

Why Does Workplace Culture Matter?

Culture building is crucial because it boosts employee engagement, enhances performance and employee well-being, attracts top talent, and hones innovation. This results in lower turnover and absenteeism rates, lower recruitment costs, and a stellar company reputation.

A strong company culture not only fosters client loyalty but also enhances employee performance in customer service, leading to higher revenue and improved client retention.

Identifying Your Company’s Unique Culture

There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to company culture. Here are some pointers for defining culture in the workplace that will assist you in creating your own unique cultural blueprint.

Observe daily interactions

Begin by observing the everyday interactions within your business. You’ll notice the essence of “culture” reflected in employee communication, the way they commend each other’s contribution, and in all aspects of daily interactions and workflow. That includes management practices, recruitment, terminations, promotions, employee recognition, resolving conflicts, and interactions across various organizational levels.

Consider how management acknowledges the team’s achievements when monthly targets are met. Additionally, observe how teams engage with one another. These interactions offer insight into the level of support and positivity within your work environment, contributing to the definition of workplace culture.

Evaluate employee behavior

Another effective method for defining culture in the workplace is through employee behavior, which can be gauged through metrics such as employee engagement and employee retention rates. Conduct regular employee engagement surveys to evaluate employee engagement levels and identify areas of improvement.

This aspect also intersects with the previous one, as observing daily interactions provides insights into employee behavior. For instance, high levels of absenteeism may indicate a disengaged work environment.

Review company values and mission

Company values and mission play an important role when it comes to defining culture in the workplace, as culture serves as a means through which these values and missions are communicated and achieved. Mission statements articulate the organization’s purpose and goals. Since they are typically documented, it is also easily accessible by employees.

For instance, if transparency is a core value in your company, it may manifest as open communication between employees and the management team. Consequently, this transparency will be reflected in honest marketing practices for your products and services, thereby solidifying client trust.

Read next: How Company Values Shape Your Corporate Culture

Collect employee feedback

We previously mentioned the importance of gathering employee feedback through employee satisfaction surveys. Another way of defining culture in the workplace is by directly asking for feedback from team members.

For example, employees may express sentiments that confirm the presence of a supportive company culture, such as:

“I feel comfortable asking for help.”
“I’m satisfied with my career growth here.”

In contrast, they might give feedback that signifies a less engaging work environment, such as:

“I feel stuck in my career.”
“It doesn’t feel the same anymore.”

Be sure to employ various methods to gather employee feedback and see how they describe your company culture.

Learn more: 15 Employee Engagement Ideas for Company Culture

Analyze physical workspace

The physical workspace refers to elements like size, location, layout, and furnishings. From the office floor plan to the lounge area and even the plant by the window, every aspect contributes to defining culture in the workplace.

The idea revolves around whether your workspace is welcoming, as it directly influences employee well-being, a key factor in defining culture in the workplace. To illustrate, open-plan offices create a collaborative culture, whereas closed-office plans offer more privacy.

Strategies for Establishing Workplace Culture

Having gained insight into your company’s unique culture, the next step in defining culture in the workplace involves determining which aspects to retain or discard. Consider the following strategies to enhance and strengthen your cultural building process.

Define core values

What are the core values, mission, and vision that define your organization? What is its purpose? These are the basics of culture building, outlining your business objectives, methods of achieving them, and principles to follow throughout the process.

Define them as a team to ensure these values align with team goals and resonate with others. Bear in mind that this is a continuous process, as your values may shift and develop over-time. Utilize regular cultural assessments to stay attuned to these changes.

Lead by example

Embodying the core values and leading by example is key to defining culture in the workplace. Demonstrate to your employees how they can embody these values through your interactions with them.

For example, if you aim to foster a culture of diligence, begin by committing fully to your individual tasks. When colleagues observe your dedication, they may feel compelled to uphold their own standards, creating a positive ripple effect throughout the workplace.

Encourage open communication

Open communication is at the heart of culture building. Observing teams with strong communication and collaboration fosters a thriving work culture.

Clearly and consistently communicating your values and mission throughout all levels of the company hierarchy is pivotal. This communication shapes employee behavior within the evolving culture and reinforces community bonds.

It’s important to offer employees opportunities to provide feedback, practice active listening, and provide prompt responses. Utilize internal communication methods such as company newsletters, communication apps with diverse channels, and regular check-ins, particularly beneficial for remote workers, to enhance communication.

Establish clear expectations

Get everyone on the same page by establishing clear performance expectations. What do you need from them in terms of culture building? Address how work is accomplished, the reasons behind tasks, and the expected interactions among team members. These expectations should align with the company mission and core values, defining culture in the workplace.

To exemplify, you might aspire to foster a laid-back atmosphere with work-life balance as a core value. Alternatively, you may aim to cultivate a high-performance culture suited for ambitious individuals willing to invest extra hours. Clear communication of these expectations is key in both scenarios.

Foster team building

Culture thrives with teamwork, yet team-building activities shouldn’t be mandatory. How else can you promote teamwork or collaboration? Consider arranging engaging competitions, off-site retreats, investing in collaborative software tools, and initiating cross-functional projects to encourage cooperation among departments.

Recognize and reward desired behaviors

When employees excel or behave in a way that’s in line with your desired company culture, it is important to recognize and reward them. By doing so, team members are encouraged to repeat such behavior and with others joining it, a positive ripple effect is obtained which helps in defining culture in the workplace.

Wondering how you can craft an effective employee recognition program? Consider implementing reward systems such as “Employee of the Month” initiatives, publicly celebrating exceptional employees in newsletters or weekly gatherings, and utilizing platforms to facilitate peer recognition.

Get inspired: 12 Employee Recognition Examples to Keep Your Team Engaged All Year

Invest in employee development

Providing employees with opportunities for career advancement significantly enhances their commitment to the company, fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement.

To support employee growth, provide a range of technical and non-technical skill programs, courses, training, and mentorship opportunities. Also, consider recommending qualified team members for promotions when positions become available. Last but not least, develop customized learning plans tailored to each employee’s career trajectory.

Useful Tools for Defining Culture in the Workplace

HRIS

By streamlining your administrative HR tasks with HRIS, HR professionals can allocate more time to culture building activities, enhancing employee value and engagement.

An example of how HRIS can help with defining culture in the workplace is through the automation of employee onboarding. During employee onboarding, streamlined paperwork and administrative tasks facilitate the People team in instilling your business’s core values and welcoming new hires efficiently.

Employee Feedback Tools

Utilizing employee feedback culture building tools that include sentiment analysis, automated reporting and data visualization can help you collect and analyze employee opinions on their work experience.

Another added benefit of empowering team members to submit feedback anonymously is encouraging openness and honest opinions. This aids in defining culture in the workplace by providing insights into the current work environment and assisting in its improvement.

Collaboration and communication tools

Online collaboration tools for internal communication should support real-time communication and user experience. Video conferencing apps and online forums that allow everyone to share their perspectives can boost employee engagement, aiding in culture building and defining culture in the workplace, regardless of where your team members are geographically located.

Performance management software

Performance management software supports goal setting and regular check-ins, analytics generation, quarterly reviews and assessment of employee performance using Objective and Key Results (OKRs). This enables rewarding outstanding performance and re-engaging disengaged employees, contributing to culture building.

Furthermore, it establishes workplace culture centered on continuous career development, allowing you to create a personalized career plan for your team.

Culture Survey Platforms

Last but not least, culture survey platforms fall under the category of employee feedback tools. They play a crucial role in defining culture in the workplace by enabling employees to express their sentiments about their work environment.

Conducting a culture survey gives you an understanding of your employee satisfaction with the work culture, which informs your culture building strategy. Sample questions may include:

Are you satisfied with the current work culture?
Which aspects of the work culture should be improved upon?
Do you feel safe in this work environment?
Do you feel that management acts upon your feedback?

Empowering Teams for Health and Wellbeing

A strong culture nurtures a fulfilling atmosphere where employees are satisfied and fully involved, resulting in increased productivity and favorable results. The optimal focus for defining culture in the workplace lies in the employee onboarding process, with HR solutions like Omni serving as the ideal tool.

Omni’s all-in-one employee management software unifies the tools, workflows, and data you need to streamline your HR functions while you build an award-winning culture.

Omni offers a solution that combines people and performance management and workflow automation to manage the end-to-end employee lifecycle. Wherever you are in your journey, Omni has a module that suits your needs. With our customer care supported implementation process, you can tap into increased engagement levels for your new hires, setting the stage for their long-term success within your organization while receiving world-class support from our attentive support team.

Discover How Animas Utilizes Omni to Enhance Employee Satisfaction

Let Omni help you build a culture that increases productivity and drives impactful business outcomes. Book a demo with our team to learn more.

While researching for the right HR software for your organization, you may come across these two primary systems: the Human Resources Management System (HRMS) and the Human Resources Information System (HRIS).

These terms are often used interchangeably, causing confusion and frustration among HR professionals regarding which one is truly necessary for their HR responsibilities. In this article, we will deep dive into the differences between HRMS and HRIS and guide you towards selecting the most suitable solution for your organizational needs.

But before we go into that, it’s important to understand what HR software entails and what functionalities you can expect from adopting one for your organization.

What Is An HR System?

An HR system is a software solution designed to help you streamline and automate your various functions within an organization.

By centralizing and organizing processes and employee records, it empowers your team to operate with increased efficiency and productivity. This tool also serves as a centralized hub for managing tasks such as payroll, employee onboarding, performance management, benefits administration and compliance tracking.

Main Advantages Of Using An HR System

Implementing an HR system brings about numerous advantages for organizations seeking to optimize their operations. Some main benefits of using an HR system include:

Streamlined HR processes

An HR system streamlines and automates the various time-consuming and repetitive tasks that your HR team handles manually, such as performance management, employee data administration, and payroll processing.

This consolidation minimizes the likelihood of manual errors, thereby preserving valuable time that HR professionals can redirect towards more strategic initiatives.

Check out how Omni streamlines HR Operations for Unravel Carbon

Improved Data Accuracy

Another benefit of using an HR system is its immediate improvement of data accuracy within your organization. Manual data entry stands as the biggest source of data errors. Therefore, implementing software to automate data collection and storage logically reduces the frequency of such errors.

By leveraging an HR system, organizations can rely on more precise and reliable data, leading to better-informed decision-making processes and overall operational efficiency.

HR Scalability

As the demands of your organization evolve, it is important that your HR software grows alongside it. Whether it’s adapting to changes in recruitment practices, enhancing performance management processes, or refining compensation strategies, your HR software should be flexible enough to accommodate these shifts.

By facilitating seamless transitions in various HR functions, the software ensures that HR departments are future-proofed, maintaining alignment with the overarching objectives of business growth and development. This adaptability not only enhances operational efficiency but also empowers HR professionals to support the evolving needs of the organization.

Reporting And Analytics

HR software also provides your team with valuable insights in ways that surpass what a manual set up can offer. For instance, you can track comprehensive HR metrics, identify skill gaps in your workforce, and monitor the performances of your employees.

Such capabilities empower you to make data-driven decisions that optimize your organization in the areas of recruitment strategies, employee engagement initiatives, and employee retention efforts.

Read next: The HR Tools Growing Teams Need in 2024

What Is An HRIS?

HRIS stands for Human Resources Information System. It is a type of HR solution that primarily serves as a central source of information for your employee management needs.

Functions Of An Human Resources Information System

The primary goal of an HRIS is to provide you with streamlined access to information related to people at your organization. This involves the collection and storage of your employee records such as employee name, addresses, payroll details, benefits information, and so on.

HRIS serves as the foundation you need to carry out other HR tasks such as onboarding, payroll processing, applicant tracking, and generating reports.

Essentially serving as a digital repository for employee data, HRIS negates the reliance on paper-based documentation, which in turn cuts down the likelihood of human errors and enhances overall team efficiency.

Main Features And Benefits Of An Human Resources Information System

It’s clear that HRIS is a useful tool for businesses looking to optimize their operations. However, it is pivotal to understand the features and benefits of HRIS to ensure that it aligns with your organizational needs. These includes:

Onboarding

A seamless onboarding process sets the relationship between your new hires and the organization up for success. HRIS contributes to this by ensuring that you can track candidates’ information and resumes, allowing you to process new hires quickly and efficiently.

If your organization has a particularly high turnover rate, HRIS onboarding becomes invaluable because you can improve your hiring practices by harnessing the data analytics and reporting function it offers. By leveraging HRIS, you can gain deeper insights into various aspects of your onboarding process, such as time-to-productivity metrics, engagement levels of new hires, and areas of improvement.

These insights empower HR professionals to refine existing recruitment strategies, tailor onboarding experiences, and ultimately reduce turnover rates without necessitating significant resource investments.

Payroll Automation

In addition to streamlining onboarding processes, HRIS systems offer significant benefits in automating payroll calculations, ensuring an accurate and timely processing of payroll. This reduces the risks of manual errors and contributes to enhancing overall employee engagement in the workplace. By ensuring that employees receive accurate and timely compensation, HRIS systems contribute to a positive work environment and bolster employee morale.

Beyond payroll processing, HRIS also provides data on employee salaries and benefits. This wealth of information enables the finance team to generate comprehensive profit and loss statements concerning payroll expenditures. With these detailed insights into salary structures, benefit packages, and related expenses, HR and finance personnels can effectively manage future HR budget allocations and optimize financial planning strategies.

Employee Data Management

HRIS also serves as a central database of employee information. This ensures seamless maintenance and updating of accurate records, eliminating the need to navigate between multiple platforms or rely on paper-based documentation.

By consolidating necessary information within one accessible interface, HRIS streamlines administrative processes and enhances data integrity. This centralized approach not only saves time but also reduces the risk of errors associated with manual data entry or separate record-keeping systems. Overall, HRIS empowers organizations to efficiently manage employee information, and uphold compliance standards with ease.

Employee Self-service

In addition to core HR functions, HRIS systems offer employee self-service portals, enabling employees, managers, and even potential candidates to access and manage information, complete necessary forms, and engage in various HR-related activities.

These portals significantly reduce the administrative burden on HR teams by empowering employees to handle routine tasks and inquiries such as updating personal information, submitting time-off requests, or accessing company policies independently with ease.

Additionally, self-service portals facilitate seamless communication between employees and their managers, fostering a collaborative and transparent work environment. By providing easy access to essential resources and enabling efficient interactions, employee self-service portals enhance overall organizational productivity and employee satisfaction.

Reporting and Analytics

Last but certainly not least, HRIS systems incorporate reporting and analytics capabilities, enabling the tracking of key metrics such as HR cost per hire and turnover rate. These features enable HR professionals to showcase their impact within the organization by providing important insights into workforce dynamics and trends.

By leveraging data-driven analytics, HR teams can make informed decisions regarding strategic functions such as workforce planning, recruitment strategies, and performance management initiatives. This ability to access and analyze relevant metrics enhances HR’s effectiveness and strengthens their role as strategic partners in driving organizational success.

What Is HRMS?

HRMS, or Human Resources Management System, serves as a comprehensive solution for overseeing HR processes within an organization.

It encompasses all the functionalities typically found in an HRIS but goes a step further by offering customization options to cater to the specific requirements of each organization.

So what sets HRIS apart from the Human Resources Management System?

While the primary function of HRIS is to act as a centralized repository for employee information, the Human Resources Management System (HRMS) consolidates various HR functions into a unified platform.

Despite the distinction however, these terms are often used interchangeably due to the emergence of HR systems that integrate both HRIS and HRMS features. This convergence enables organizations to leverage a comprehensive solution that addresses their diverse HR needs efficiently.

Functions Of A Human Resources Management System

A well-developed Human Resources Management System streamlines various HR tasks, automating processes such as onboarding, payroll processing, and compliance management. This reduces the time and resources traditionally required for these tasks.

Additionally, adopting a Human Resources Management System leads to a reduction in the number of applications needed to manage HR functions. By consolidating these tasks into a single, integrated platform, organizations can achieve cost savings and enhance team efficiency significantly.

Features And Benefits Of Human Resources Management System

Contrasting to HRIS, the Human Resources Management System comprises a comprehensive suite of tools designed to manage various aspects of HR operations. The key features of an HRMS include:

Benefits Administration

Managing various employee benefits and accurately tracking them for payroll processing can be extremely time consuming. Fortunately, the Human Resources Management System provides a dedicated benefits module, which helps automate this process and alleviate administrative burdens.

By automating tasks such as enrollment, eligibility verification, deduction calculations, HRMS enhances efficiency and ensures compliance with benefit regulations. Moreover, the module’s reporting capabilities offer valuable insights into benefit utilization trends, enabling HR teams to make informed decisions and focus on strategic benefit initiatives and employee engagement efforts.

Payroll Integration

The Human Resources Management System also extends to assisting in payroll management. Many HRMS platforms incorporate a time off and attendance module, seamlessly integrated with payroll processes.

This integration ensures accurate calculation of employee salaries by capturing and consolidating attendance data, including working hours, leave balances, and overtime hours. Moreover, it allows payroll systems to retrieve real-time data, facilitating timely and accurate payroll processing cycles.

Overall, leveraging the payroll function within an HRMS platform streamlines payroll administration, optimizes resource allocation, and ensures compliance with regulatory requirements.

Real-time Reporting

In addition to its other functions, your HRMS platform should also allow you to access and download customizable reports derived from your data. These reports serve as invaluable insights for informed decision-making, enabling you to analyze trends, identify areas for improvement, and track key performance indicators.

By leveraging the insights gained from these reports, you can implement targeted strategies to optimize various aspects of your organization’s operations, ultimately driving enhanced performance and competitiveness in the marketplace.

Paperless Documentation

Heavily relying on paper-based documentation for distributing essential communications such as employment contracts, tax forms, or benefits administration can prove inefficient and prone to errors.

Top Human Resources Management System platforms offer paperless solutions that promote environmental sustainability and also enhance security and cost-effectiveness. By transitioning to digital communication channels, organizations can streamline document management processes, ensure data integrity, and reduce the risk of document loss or misplacement. Additionally, paperless solutions minimize printing and postage expenses, leading to significant cost savings in the long run. Integrating e-signature capabilities further expedites the document signing process, facilitating efficient workflows and reducing administrative burdens.

Embracing a paperless office through HRMS platforms aligns with modern business practices, fostering efficiency, security, and environmental responsibility.

Read next: Your Guide To Successfully Pitching HR Software To Leadership

Choosing the Right HR System for Your Organization

While HRIS and HRMS serve overlapping functions, they differ in scope and capabilities. To select the most suitable solution for your business, consider factors such as the size of your organization, your industry requirements, and the complexity of your HR processes.

By evaluating your business needs, researching and trying out different solutions, finding the perfect HR system for your business needs does not have to be intimidating. Affordable, functional, and suitable for modern businesses — Omni is an HR software that HR teams can count on.

With Omni, you gain access to data-driven insights that empower informed decision-making, as well as seamless integrations that effortlessly connect with your existing employee favored systems, making your entire engagement process more efficient and modern.

Our full suite of modules provide support for every aspect of your business through an intuitive and fully customizable platform that integrates with your team’s favorite tools for a seamless and timely adoption.

Powering Asia’s fastest-growing, modern companies, Omni scales alongside your company so you can customize and leverage the system to meet your business exactly where you are — as well as where you’re going. To join the 83% of Omni customers who have unlocked new, actionable insights after using our modern HR software solution,

start your 7 day free trial today!

A Gartner report states that 47% of HR leaders intend to boost their 2023 budgets, focusing primarily on investments in recruiting and HR technology. This is no surprise as HR technology, like HRIS solutions, has consistently adapted to meet the growing challenges in the field, including tax filing complexities.

With the income tax 2023 deadline approaching, many Malaysian business owners and HR leaders are swamped preparing for tax file reporting. However, tax season can pose an issue if you are not aware of these common challenges. Read on to discover the top 5 challenges of Malaysia’s Tax season and how HRIS solutions can help you make the tax season less overwhelming.

When is the Tax Season in Malaysia?

The tax season in Malaysia is the period leading up to 30 April for individuals who are filing Forms BE in the following calendar year. There’s a 15-day leeway for e-Filing, which gives you until 15 May. However, some forms must be delivered as early as 29 February, so the exact deadline depends on the type of form you are filing.

Learn more: Your Guide to Payroll Malaysia

What is Included in Malaysia’s Tax Season?

With the numerous form types and procedures that could be overwhelming, let’s review all necessary filings and tasks done before the income tax 2023 deadline Malaysia.

Individual Income Tax

According to PwC, “an individual, whether tax resident or non-resident in Malaysia, is taxed on any income accruing in or derived from Malaysia. Resident individuals are also subject to tax on foreign-sourced income received in Malaysia.”

In other words, individuals who receive income in Malaysia are required to file for individual income tax or Form BE by the deadline of 30 April 2024 or 15 May 2024 for e-Filing.

Corporate Income Tax

Regarding corporate income tax, PwC explains that corporate income tax (CIT) applies to both resident and non-resident companies on income generated within Malaysia. Resident companies are additionally taxed on foreign income received in Malaysia.

This tax obligation pertains to Malaysian business owners, requiring filing 30 days before the start of the basis period, which represents the annual tax-paying timeframe for sole traders or partnerships.

Goods and Services Tax/Sales and Services Tax

The Malaysian government introduced the Sales and Services Tax (SST) to replace the Goods and Services Tax (GST), reforming the tax system. The goal was to increase buying power, especially among middle and lower-income earners.

The Sales and Services Tax is a tax return on the importation of taxable goods in Malaysia by registered manufacturers. You must file it every two months (the taxable period).

Employee Compensation Reporting

Employee income is subject to taxes if your employee:

Is employed in Malaysia
Is on paid leave from employment in Malaysia
Is a director of a company based in Malaysia or working on an aircraft or ship by a Malaysian resident
Is working outside Malaysia for the benefit of employment within Malaysia

Form E is a statement of payments that your employees receive. It includes the number of employees, new hires, employee and employer details, and payment details, such as allowances, wages, salaries, bonuses, and incentives.

As an employer, you must submit Form E to the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (IRBM), also referred to as Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri (LHDN).

Tax Planning and Compliance

Tax planning involves leveraging tax law knowledge to minimize tax payments. Ensuring your business is tax-efficient is crucial before the income tax 2023 deadline Malaysia. This involves analyzing income timing and size and implementing strategies such as tax gain-loss harvesting.

Typically, compliance with the income tax 2023 deadline Malaysia entails paying taxes punctually and in full, while completing all necessary forms. Due to their complexity, some entities may choose to opt to outsource compliance duties.

Challenges that Malaysian Corporates Face During Tax Season

As the saying goes, awareness is the first step in solving a problem, here are the top challenges that you should be aware of before the income tax 2023 deadline Malaysia.

Complex Tax Regulations

Over 80% of respondents in the Asia Pacific Tax Complexity Survey by Deloitte claim that the tax compliance and reporting obligations in the countries they operate in aren’t simple.

As a result, many businesses devote big portions of their resources to understanding tax regulations and complying with them. It’s even more challenging to maneuver them when you’re operating in different geographical regions (aside from Malaysia) and have to comply with multiple legislations.

Tax regulations are complex because they aim to raise revenue and uphold values like fairness, efficiency, and practicality, simultaneously. Balancing these objectives make them complicated. On top of that and the constant changes in provisions, it is no surprise where the majority of HR leaders are overworked during the income tax 2023 deadline Malaysia.

Deadline Pressures

It is understandable if you feel overwhelmed by keeping up with tax deadlines. Balancing responsibilities like filing tax forms such as Form E and Form BE for all employees in your medium-sized business can be challenging. On top of that, ensuring accurate payments and meeting the income tax 2023 deadline Malaysia, which varies based on the form type, adds to the pressure.

Data Accuracy and Documentation

According to the Employment Act, you must keep most employee records for at least six years. You might also need to put together these documents and ensure all their data is accurate before the income tax 2023 deadline Malaysia. Accurate documents serve as evidence of your position during an audit or dispute with tax authorities.

The changing tax requirements make employee data sourcing, financial and personal, more challenging. Not to mention, financial data comes with different required levels of detail for the purpose of tax disclosures, which you need to keep in mind.

Employee Tax Compliance

Completing personal tax returns can be tedious, but managing taxes for an entire organization before the income tax 2023 deadline Malaysia presents a significant challenge. This includes payroll tax compliance, income tax compliance, determining taxable income, and navigating legal ambiguities. Failure to comply results in penalties, which can have financial and reputational consequences for you as a business owner in Malaysia.

ADB states that most revenue bodies admit to having compliance risk management processes, which are integral to their strategies. These processes are further proof of the difficulties that tax compliance brings about.

Adapting to Regulatory Changes

Tax regulations undergo frequent updates to adapt to evolving circumstances or improve existing ones. It’s essential to stay abreast of these changes and ensure your tax filing aligns with them before the income tax 2023 deadline Malaysia. Recent factors driving such changes include the COVID-19 pandemic and the increasing prevalence of remote work and digitalization of processes.

As outlined in the Asia Pacific Tax Complexity Survey, governments introduced measures such as tax filings, payments, and reductions/deferrals in response to the pandemic. While beneficial, these adjustments can be challenging to navigate.

Furthermore, regarding digitalization, Malaysia as a member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), adopted the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) framework, including Pillar One and Pillar Two in 2020. Among its objectives, these tax regulations address the taxation of automated digital services.

In Malaysia, changes introduced in the Finance (No. 2) Act 2023, effective from 30 December 2023, include the imposition of a capital gains tax (CGT) on profits derived from the disposal of specific shares and assets. Implementing such alterations in your records before the income tax 2023 deadline Malaysia can pose certain challenges.

How Implementing an HRIS Can Help

According to the Asia Pacific Tax Complexity Survey, respondents were asked about their strategies for handling tax affairs and risks. While 25% indicated that tax digitalization was part of their plans, 70% expressed willingness to adopt such measures if budget constraints were not a concern.

Before investing in digital solutions such as HRIS, it’s crucial to understand how effectively they can resolve the challenges you will encounter before the income tax 2023 deadline Malaysia.

Automated Payroll Processes

Since payroll taxes complicate compliance, automating these processes via HRIS is just what you need. Some software options generate tax forms for compliant payroll and benefits administration. This way, tax filing is easy, quick, and error-free. Not to mention, it frees you up for other integral tasks before the income tax 2023 deadline Malaysia.

Document Management

HRIS models give you a centralized database of employee records, pulling from separate files and sheets. With such a system, you can easily access, update, and share data with the rest of your HR team.

This feature facilitates record keeping and reduces errors so that it’s easy for you to retrieve any data for tax filing, audits, or disputes with tax authorities around the income tax 2023 deadline Malaysia.

Learn more: 5 Ways Employee Database Software Elevates Your Business

Real-Time Reporting

Unlike traditional on-premises software and manual reporting systems, cloud-based HRIS solutions give you real-time access to data and reports. They regularly update documents, automatically synchronize changes, and promptly generate reports using imported data.

In essence, utilizing these solutions guarantees accurate, updated, and swift reporting. This enables you to meet the income tax 2023 deadline Malaysia and successfully avoid tax-related stress and penalties.

Compliance Alerts and Updates

HRIS service providers in Malaysia ensure they are abreast of tax regulations, automatically updating their systems accordingly. Some may even provide alerts when compliance requirements change. However, configuring the HRIS system to facilitate updates is necessary during implementation.

By receiving timely updates, your business can easily adapt to frequent changes such as those introduced by the Finance (No. 2) Act 2023, OECD rules, and any future regulations. This streamlined process helps mitigate tax compliance risks.

Employee Self-Service Portals

Most HRIS solutions provide employee self-service portals (ESS) which allows employees to gain quick and easy access to HR-related actions and services that HR personnels would otherwise have to provide.

As the income tax 2023 deadline Malaysia approaches, certain HRIS solutions offer features to alleviate the workload of the tax season. This includes delegating specific tasks to employees, such as tax-saving declarations, setting submission deadlines, and providing notifications to those employees.

Read next: Your Guide To Successfully Pitching HR Software To Leadership

Omni Supports Malaysian Businesses Through Tax Season (and Beyond)

Tracking and calculating hours, managing employee records, and administering payroll for income tax 2023 deadline Malaysia requires a clear, secure, and accurate system to ensure compliant and timely payouts for your employees.

Our comprehensive payroll solution is tailored to Malaysia’s specific requirements. With features like support for MYR, automated tax calculations, and instant payroll reports, Omni can help HR teams simplify their preparation process for income tax deadline 2023 Malaysia while ensuring compliance.

Start your free trial today and see how Omni can simplify the intricacies and complexities of preparing and submitting for income tax deadline 2023 Malaysia and minimize the costs associated with common errors.

The Philippines is quickly cementing itself as a leading commercial hub in Asia, thanks to its business-friendly laws and large English-speaking workforce. While it is undoubtedly a great country to have a business in or hire remotely from, you need to consider the relatively intricate payroll taxes system in the Philippines.

From social security contributions, to housing subsidies, there are many different taxes employers need to consider, with more than a few exemptions on top. Remaining compliant to these regulations needs to be top priority, so that legal challenges and fines don’t eat into your bottom line.

Here’s everything you need to know to navigate the intricacies of payroll taxes in the Philippines:

How is Payroll Calculated in the Philippines

In the Philippines, calculating payroll is a fairly meticulous process. Many factors are considered, reflecting the country’s specific regulations and requirements. Payroll calculation encompasses not only the basic salary but also allowances, deductions, and statutory contributions. The simplest way to express this calculation is take your employees’ gross pay, and add to it the entirety of the payroll taxes you must contribute on top (which we’ll get into further down).

Understanding the local tax landscape is necessary as it directly impacts an employee’s take-home pay and your company’s compliance with the law. From the intricacies of income tax to the nuances of mandatory deductions, a comprehensive grasp of how payroll is calculated will give you the tools and confidence you need to manage it successfully.

What are the Payroll Taxes in the Philippines

Payroll taxes in the Philippines are a primary source of revenue for the government, and are taken seriously due to the value they bring to the country and its people. These taxes are levied on employees’ income and play a fundamental role in funding public services and initiatives.

Like most places, the Philippine government operates with a tiered tax system, where the rate of taxation increases with income. This helps distribute the tax burden fairly, helping to create a fair and sustainable method.

In the Philippines, employers are responsible for deducting payroll taxes from their employees’ salaries, reflecting the goal for a collective contribution to national development. Payroll taxes in the Philippines serve as a financial foundation for essential government functions, and employers play a major role in helping that revenue stream flow smoothly.

Key Components of Payroll Taxes

As mentioned above, the payroll taxes in the Philippines encompasses a few key components. This will help you and your employees know why money is being deducted, where it’s going, and ensure everything is paid in full.

Taxable Income and Exemptions

In the Philippines, determining taxable income requires a thorough and nuanced assessment of an employee’s earnings, considering things like basic salary, allowances, bonuses, and benefits. Basically, employers need to consider their workforce’s entire earnings, not just the recurring salary they make.

There are several exemptions, including for dependents, certain allowances (such as the 13th Month Pay which serves as a form of recognition for employees’ contributions throughout the year is often untaxed up to a certain amount), and specific benefits (like small-value uniform or rice allowances, called De Minimis Benefits). Just like employers need to ensure they are deducting enough tax, they also have to make sure not to miss income or allowances that are exempt.

The Social Security System in the Philippines is a comprehensive program designed to provide financial protection to employees and their beneficiaries. It encompasses contributions for retirement, disability, sickness, maternity, and even death benefits. Employers and employees contribute specific percentages of the employees’ monthly salary to the SSS fund. Understanding the intricacies of these contributions is vital for both employers and employees, ensuring comprehensive social security coverage.

PhilHealth Contributions

PhilHealth, the national health insurance program, mandates contributions from both employers and employees to maintain national health-related benefits. The contributions are calculated based on a percentage of an employees’ monthly salary, with a set income ceiling.

These funds are a major pillar of support for the healthcare needs of employees and their dependents, which is why accurate and timely PhilHealth contributions are so important.

Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG) Contributions

The Pag-IBIG Fund, managed by the Home Development Mutual Fund, focuses on providing housing loans and financial assistance to its members. Both employers and employees contribute to this fund, which for many, plays a major role in helping them afford adequate housing.

It is a good idea to take the time and help your employees understand how they can access housing-related benefits, which can be a major contribution to their well-being and appreciate the taxes they pay.

Challenges in Complying with Payroll Taxes in the Philippines

It’s clear that payroll taxes in the Philippines aren’t exactly simple to understand, with many different kinds of deductions and exemptions. Here are some key challenges you can expect to face, and how to overcome them:

Changing Payroll Taxes Regulations

Like elsewhere, the tax rules in the Philippines is an ever-evolving system. Frequent changes in tax laws, amendments, and updates require an agile and consistent approach to ensure you remain compliant.

Staying up to date with these changes requires dedicated efforts to interpret and implement new regulations accurately. You should establish a process, or dedicated personnel for monitoring updates and have plans in place to swiftly automate and adapt your payroll processes to remain compliant, and avoid any legal complications or fines.

Complex Payroll Taxes Calculations

The complexity of calculating payroll taxes, considering various components such as taxable income, exemptions, and contributions to SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG, adds another layer of intricacy to the compliance process.

Manual calculations are prone to errors, and the risk increases with the complexity of the tax structure. Investing in advanced payroll software and ensuring that your employees who are responsible for tax computations are well-trained can help to mitigate this challenge.

Read next: Your Guide to Successfully Pitching HR Software to Leadership

Implementing Robust Record-Keeping Systems

Robust record-keeping systems are essential for ensuring accurate payroll tax compliance. Employers should invest in digital record-keeping solutions that efficiently capture and organize relevant payroll data. These systems should enable easy retrieval of records, regardless of age, ensuring that your organization can provide the necessary documentation if you ever face an audit or inquiry.

Regular internal audits of record-keeping practices help identify discrepancies or gaps in data, allowing you to address issues proactively. Consider cloud-based storage solutions that offer accessibility and security, making sure that records are not only comprehensive but also protected from potential data loss.

Regular Audits and Internal Controls

Conducting regular internal audits is an important proactive step you can take to identify and fix potential issues in payroll tax compliance. Internal controls should be established to monitor the accuracy of your payroll calculations and tax deductions. These controls should include periodic reviews by designated employees.

Internal audits provide an opportunity to take a look at the effectiveness of your payroll procedures, identify areas for improvement, and confirm that you remain compliant with tax regulations. By establishing a culture of continuous improvement through regular audits, your organization can fortify their payroll tax compliance framework, and stay resilient to change or challenges that might come down the road.

While these steps cannot account for every single challenge that could arise from administering payroll taxes, each one is a major step towards streamlining your process and reducing errors. This isn’t just useful from an efficiency standpoint—following these steps should reduce overall workload, avoid fines, and ultimately benefit your business’ bottom line.

Payroll Taxes in the Philippines Made Simple

Managing payroll taxes in the Philippines is a complex and detail-oriented task that demands a deep understanding of the region’s unique legal requirements and a commitment to accuracy and compliance. That’s why it’s important to have the right technology on your side.

Omni offers a comprehensive payroll solution tailored to Philippines specific requirements. With features like support for Philippine peso, automated tax calculations, and managed SSS, PhilHealth and PAG-IBIG contributions, Omni can help HR teams simplify their payroll processing and ensure compliance with ease.

Omni’s suite of features makes the requirements for running a compliant and efficient payroll system and taxes in the Philippines easy. With secure and centralized employee records, HR teams can swiftly access employment contracts and essential documents that support payroll practices.

Our time and attendance features empower teams to automate data and produce accurate reports in minutes, making payroll calculations seamless and accurate. And with payroll solutions that support Philippine peso and pay schedules, Omni offers an entire suite of solutions to make your payroll taxes in the Philippines seamless.

If you’re ready to take your payroll taxes management to the next level,

book a demo with us today.

We’ll walk you through the platform’s capabilities and demonstrate how Omni can transform your payroll processing, saving you time, reducing administrative burdens, and enhancing overall efficiency.

The role of HR leaders has expanded greatly since the pandemic. A Gartner survey found that ‘70% of HR leaders say they have more opportunities for impact and 58% report they have more authority to determine strategic priorities.’

How does this translate to your business? The changing landscape requires a change in resources and tools in order to adapt and empower your HR team, which leads us to modern HR software. However, such technology should embody certain functions and features that are suitable and can grow alongside your needs. This article will deep dive into what an HR software is and the key features that it should encompass to meet your needs and empower your team.

What is HR Software?

HR software is a digital system set in place to optimize the performance of employees and managers.

A human resources information system (HRIS), often used interchangeably with HR software, focuses on HR processes and data management. In short, you can turn it into a main source of information fulfilling your employee and management requirements.

Learn more: 5 Reasons to Switch to an All-In-One HR Software

Determining Your HR Needs

Understanding your HR needs is critical for pinpointing the key software features and discovering the most fitting HR solution for your team. This, in turn, leads to higher performance and employee satisfaction levels.

Firstly, assess your current HR system and ask the following questions:

In which ways is it working?
In which ways is it not working?

This evaluation will help you identify the strengths and weaknesses of your current HR solution, which offers you valuable insights into the process of choosing another.

Secondly, identify your must-have features. You already know the beneficial features and unmet needs of your current HR software. So, ask yourself: which features can address these pain points? Also, think of your HR goals, and identify which features can help you reach them. This way, you can personalize your must-haves in an HR software tool.

Thirdly, before you search for modules, you need to determine your budget so that you are realistic about your expectations. For this decision, consider various factors including company size, pricing modules (subscription-based plans or perpetual licensing), and required features.

Your HR Software Features Checklist

If you are unsure where to start, refer to our checklist below to choose the features you need in an HR software. This ensures that your investment is optimized for employee satisfaction, productivity, and informed business decisions.

Core HR

As opposed to optional add-ons, core functions are the basic operations or HR responsibilities in HR departments, such as:

Payroll processing
Benefits administration
Employee recruitment scheduling
Employee training
Internal relations
Safety and compliance

A core HR solution manages and streamlines these essential HR functions, acting as a central hub for HR processes and employee database. In short, it becomes the backbone of your business.

Onboarding and Offboarding

As the saying goes, ’first impressions last’, which is why a smooth onboarding process matters. The appropriate HR software ensures new hires have access to important information, including onboarding tasks, employment contracts, and automated software account creations, fostering a seamless onboarding experience.

Additionally, the right HR software plays a valuable role in both onboarding and offboarding by generating paperwork with e-signature options and managing the setup or decommissioning of employee devices, automating the transition process. This ensures employees can quickly focus on their responsibilities, leading to enhanced performance levels, and facilitates a complication-free conclusion to their tenures.

Learn more: How to Evaluate and Choose Employee Onboarding Software in 2024

Performance Management

Modern HR software incorporates performance management modules, which indicates employee performance with data reports, analytics, and annual performance reviews. Aside from traditional annual reports, modern HR software can also support consistent check-ins, templates for performance ratings, and coaching resources for managers.

Effective performance management allows you to effortlessly assess whether employees are efficiently meeting business goals with a simple click. In cases where they may not be, you gain the insights necessary to proactively address potential workflow disruptions.

As modern HR software utilizes key performance indicators (KPIs), this allows for an unbiased method of evaluating employees. Through fair and precise performance reviews, you can determine areas of improvement, administer rewards, and establish performance-based pay systems. By doing so, reap the tangible benefits of performance management in fostering employee development and improving employee engagement.

Employee Self-Service

Modern HR software often incorporates employee self-service (ESS) portals, a highly favored feature. These ESS portals empower employees to conveniently access various information, including payroll information and up-to-date time off and attendance records.

Subsequently, employees can efficiently manage this information by submitting time-off requests, downloading tax forms, adjusting their schedules, or updating personal details – all achievable through various devices, including smartphones.

This not only grants employees flexibility but also alleviates your HR team from the burdens of routine administration, saving time and effort while ensuring the accuracy of employee data.

Payroll and Time Off Management

Your HR software may also double as a payroll management program, relieving your HR team of the administrative burden. It may integrate with your preferred payroll solution or even substitute it entirely. The automation of payroll processing means accurate payroll calculations, automated tax forms, error detection, and error-free financial records, including salaries, benefits, incentives, bonuses, tax liabilities, and deductions. Additionally, employees can log in to view their year-end tax records with ease.

As mentioned previously, employee self-service portals enable employees to request time off directly. The system then registers the request and type of leave (such as annual leave, sick leave or maternity leave), calculating the expected date of return and keeping track of total PTOs to avoid abuse of policies.

Check out how iXS achieved 100% time-off visibility with Omni!

Centralized Database

An HR software system with a strong employee record enables HR staff to store as much data as needed via ready-made or customized forms. This database constantly collects and updates all relevant information from spreadsheets, individual documents, and other sources, creating a central source of truth for employee data and records.

This information center can also interact with other features and third-party integrations, further streamlining HR functions. Not to mention, the centralized database facilitates quick and accurate data entry, fast audits, and easy procurement of data, which saves both time and effort, allowing HR teams to focus on other business needs.

Workforce Analytics

Although analytics and reporting are some of the less available features in HR modules, they remain crucial building blocks in HR systems. Fortunately, modern software solutions mitigate this through the use of KPIs and data visualization. These systems leverage data from payroll and performance management modules, and third-party platforms to obtain crucial information and provide a workforce analysis.

With this information, it enables you to precisely evaluate a comprehensive range of aspects, including performance, goals, attendance, employee history, engagement, skill gaps, and turnover rates across all levels of the company hierarchy. As a result, HR teams are able to make informed, data-driven decisions for the betterment of the organization.

Compliance

Choosing an HR software that prioritizes compliance ensures your business aligns with applicable local, state, federal, and international regulations, providing peace of mind and safeguarding against legal complications and penalties. It’s important to note, however, that compliant software is not a replacement for legal or tax expertise.

Modern HR softwares has the capability to generate compliance reports and store documents, like tax forms, for regulatory purposes. If the HR module includes benefits management, it will alert you about the compliance status of your current benefit offerings, ensuring conformity with relevant laws in local or national databases.

Attendance Tracking

If your aim is to enhance productivity, and your HR team is struggling to monitor attendance, opting for software equipped with attendance tracking features can simplify the process. The advantages of using an HR software, including improved data management, streamlined recruitment processes, and enhanced decision-making capabilities, further empower organizations to tackle such challenges effectively.

For example, by integrating attendance tracking software, you may discover patterns such as an employee rarely taking time off, leading to burnout and diminished work ethic, or another employee exploiting the PTO policy and consistently falling short of monthly goals. With this readily available information, you can formulate a strategy to address the issue and subsequently elevate productivity levels.

Which HR Software Features Are Important?

There is no one-size-fits all when it comes to choosing an HR software for your needs. The most important features are the ones that address the main pain points for your HR team, so take it up with them! What are they struggling with? What are your company’s top objectives? Which tools can help you achieve them?

If your aim is to enhance productivity, and your HR team is struggling to monitor attendance, opting for software equipped with attendance tracking features can simplify the process. For example, by integrating attendance tracking software, you may discover patterns such as an employee rarely taking time off, leading to burnout and diminished work ethic, or another employee exploiting the PTO policy and consistently falling short of monthly goals. With this readily available information, you can formulate a strategy to address the issue and subsequently elevate productivity levels.

Omni tip:
Check out those user reviews and take advantage of free trials offered by HR software programs to estimate their suitability for your business!

Read next: Your Guide to Successfully Pitching HR Software to Leadership

Navigate Modern HR Challenges with Omni

By evaluating your business needs, researching and trying out different solutions, finding the perfect HR solution for your business needs does not have to be intimidating. Affordable, functional, and suitable for modern businesses — Omni is an HR software that HR teams can count on.

Omni’s fully automated HR platform allows HR teams and managers to create customizable templates that grow alongside your business, molding to each employee’s unique needs and reducing the administrative burden that comes with managing the employee lifecycle. Set up training modules, send automatic reminders, and build personalized communication practices to keep your employees engaged and supported during and beyond their onboarding experience.

To join the 83% of Omni customers who have unlocked new, actionable insights after using our modern HR software solution, book a free demo today.

Lunar New Year is just around the corner! While you might still be packing up the last mistletoe from Christmas decorations, it is time to start thinking about spreading the Lunar New Year cheer around the office! If you’re in need of some inspiration, here are eight auspicious and joyful ideas on how to celebrate Lunar New Year at work.

Access 12 months of employee engagement activities and ideas, download our HR Calendar 2024 for inspiration!

What is the Lunar New Year?

Lunar New Year is a festive season celebrated by billions of people primarily across East and Southeast Asia, marking the beginning of a new year on the lunar calendar. It’s a joyous 15-day celebration filled with traditions, family reunion, and welcoming new beginnings!

In the vibrant tapestry of Chinese culture, the 12-year cycle of the Chinese Zodiac reigns supreme. Each year, the spirit of an animal reigns throughout the entire year and 2024 marks the Year of The Dragon, symbolizing power, nobility, honor, and luck in Chinese culture. This ancient system weaves traditions, legends and even a dash of fortune-telling into a fascinating way to understand ourselves and those around us. The question of how to celebrate Lunar New Year at work, is one that will help you honor the Chinese culture and create memorable moments for your team.

Why Should You Celebrate the Lunar New Year in the Workplace?

Celebrating Lunar New Year in the workplace is a fantastic way to foster diversity, inclusion and team spirit, enriching your company culture in many ways. Before diving into how to celebrate Lunar New Year at work, let’s take a look at the various ways incorporating festivities can boost your company culture.

Embrace cultural diversity and build bridges

Acknowledging and appreciating the cultural heritage of employees who celebrate Lunar New Year demonstrates respect and inclusivity, making everyone on the team feel valued and welcomed. Aside from that, educating the team on traditions and significance through presentations and decorations can spark curiosity and break down cultural barriers within the workplace.

Boost team spirit and morale

Lunar New Year is a festive occasion filled with joy, optimism and fresh beginnings. Celebrating it at work can translate into a positive and energetic atmosphere, boosting morale and fostering a sense of camaraderie. Furthermore, Lunar New Year team-building activities can be a fun and engaging way to break down silos, encourage collaboration and build stronger relationships between team members, ultimately enhancing employee engagement.

Enhance employer branding and attract talent

Showcasing your company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion through Lunar New Year celebrations can send a powerful message to potential employees. This can attract a wider talent pool and help your company stand out as an employer of choice!

Last but not least, positive word-of-mouth from employees who feel valued and appreciated for their cultural heritage can go a long way in attracting top talents and building a strong employer brand.

Joyful Ideas for How to Celebrate Lunar New Year at Work

Now that we’ve covered the ‘why’, let’s dive into exactly how to celebrate Lunar New Year at work for both in-person and remote teams.

For Office Teams

Spring cleaning and decorating the office

Spring cleaning for Lunar New Year in the workplace is one of the best ways to usher in good luck, prosperity and fresh beginnings along the new year. This is an opportunity to boost team spirit, celebrate diversity, and create a vibrant, welcoming environment.

With a clean, fresh slate, it’s time for decorations! The quickest and easiest way to kickstart the festive atmosphere is by transforming your workspace with vibrant red lanterns, paper cuttings, auspicious symbols and photos representing different zodiac animals.

Omni Tip for how to celebrate Lunar New Year at work:
Get the whole team involved by hosting a red envelope (Hong Bao) origami competition and hang the finished products around the office for a unique and personalized festive feel.

Lunar New Year team luncheon

As the saying goes, ‘food brings people together’, teams that dine together tend to forge stronger bonds, and gathering around cuisine is a great hack for how to celebrate Lunar New Year at work. Encourage team members to bring dishes from their cultural backgrounds related to Lunar New Year traditions. This is a delicious way to learn about different cultures and share a meal together.

If your workspace offers a kitchen setup, take it a step further and host a dumpling making session. In Chinese culture, dumplings symbolize wealth and prosperity as they resemble the Chinese ingots used as a form of currency during the Ming dynasty. An alternative option for how to celebrate Lunar New Year at work with food is an in-person or virtual cooking class, and have an expert guide you through the tedious step of dumpling folding as a team-building activity!

Another must-have on the menu is the Yee Sang which comprises raw fish strips (traditionally salmon or tuna) and shredded vegetables, along with a variety of sauces and condiments. Gather the team around and toss the salad together, a practice known as Prosperity Toss. The aim is to toss higher each time while wishing each other good fortune of the year. It is believed that the blessings are woven into the salad with each toss, before being enjoyed by all.

Finally, end the Lunar New Year team luncheon with fortune cookies! Crack open fortune cookies together and discuss the meaning of your messages. Feel free to insert some cheeky liners for a fun and lighthearted moment together.

Exchange lucky red envelopes

Another joyful tip for how to celebrate Lunar New Year at work is by exchanging lucky red envelopes.

A red envelope (Hong Bao) is a gift of money inserted into an ornate red pocket of paper, which is given during important occasions such as Lunar New Year, birthdays, and weddings as a way to send good wishes. The color red symbolizes energy, happiness, and good luck in Chinese culture.

Exchanging red envelopes within the team can serve as an excellent means to promote cultural understanding and inclusion. It not only enhances team spirit but also spreads good luck and well wishes. However, be mindful of diverse cultural backgrounds, ensuring that everyone feels included without any sense of obligation. Additionally, establishing a fixed or maximum amount for the contents of the envelopes is important to prevent unintended discomfort arising from comparisons. Take into account logistical challenges and the potential for unequal participation during the exchange as well.

Omni Tip for how to celebrate Lunar New Year at work:
Swap out money for compliments or written well wishes inside your Hong Bao. Educate the team on the tradition but take a work-friendly approach by replacing the monetary exchange.

Lunar New Year Trivia

Next up on how to celebrate Lunar New Year at work is hosting Lunar New Year trivia. This is also a great opportunity to share interesting facts, stories and customs associated with Lunar New Year.

To make things easier, consider platforms like kahoot, Mentimeter and Quizlet when creating and hosting your trivia as it allows for automatic score calculations and theme customizations to fit the theme.

Lion/Dragon Dance performance

Another great idea for how to celebrate Lunar New Year at work is to hire a Lion or Dragon Dance to perform at the office building.

The historical background of the Lion Dance can be traced back to the Han Dynasty. According to the legend, Nian was terrorizing villagers for years until one day, a lion came and defeated Nian, chasing him away. Since then, villagers would dress up as a lion to scare Nian away. Thus, the Lion Dance was born.

Throughout the years, this performing art has evolved to have its own unique twist all over Southeast Asia. In Chinese culture, the lion symbolizes power, wisdom and superiority. People perform lion dances at Chinese festivals or big occasions as a way to bring good fortune and chase away evil spirits. The Lion Dance is considered one of the most important traditions in celebrating Lunar New Year. It is performed to bring prosperity and good luck for the upcoming year. Not only that, the Lion Dance is also a way to create a festive atmosphere and bring happiness.

Similarly, the Dragon Dance is also an important part of the Lunar New Year celebrations. From the start of Lunar New Year to the last day, known as the Lantern Festival, dragon dances can be seen in many places around the world. They are believed to be a way to scare away evil spirits and bring about good luck to the people. It is considered lucky if one is touched by the dragon during the dance!

For Remote Teams

As remote work becomes more prevalent, maintaining employee engagement during festive seasons can pose a challenge. Nevertheless, here are three great suggestions on how to celebrate Lunar New Year at work, even when the team is miles apart.

Learn more: Navigating the Digital Divide: Enhancing Remote Team Communication

Global Lunar New Year playlist

For remote teams scattered around the globe, celebrating Lunar New Year can feel like a fragmented experience. With different time zones, cultural variations, and individual preferences, it can be challenging to navigate how to celebrate Lunar New Year at work in a way that fosters a sense of shared joy and connection.

According to the Association for Psychological Science, the right music can bring teams together. This is where a global Lunar New Year playlist comes in, weaving a harmonious thread of festive music to engage and unite your remote team during this festive season.

Create a playlist that celebrates the rich tapestry of cultures that observe Lunar New Year. Be sure to include traditional tunes from the different countries and cultures of your team, offering a multicultural musical experience.

Once the playlist is curated, schedule virtual jam sessions during work hours or create a collaborative playlist platform where team members can contribute their own picks and share their own favorites with their colleagues. This interactive approach fosters connection while celebrating individual preferences.

Zoom costume contest

Another cheeky and fun idea for how to celebrate Lunar New Year at work while being remote is by hosting a Zoom costume contest.

A Lunar New Year-themed Zoom costume contest ignites imagination and encourages everyone to embrace their inner fashionista. Participants can dress up as zodiac animals, embody auspicious Lunar New Year symbols, or even showcase their cultural attires. This lighthearted competition breaks the ice, sparks laughter, and is sure to create a joyful atmosphere that lasts! Be sure your team understands the nuances of cultural appreciation vs appropriation, to ensure this activity remains respectful.

Add a layer of excitement with a virtual awards ceremony. Come up with a few categories such as ‘Most Creative’ or ‘Most Colorful’ and crown the winners after a team vote. Prizes can be virtual like gift cards or bonus coffee credits, or even a fun team lunch for your next meet in person.

Omni Tip for how to celebrate Lunar New Year at work:
Encourage your team to explore their creative side by using props, make their own costumes or even create team-themed costumes! This adds a personal touch and injects even more fun into the occasion.

Lunar New Year movie watch party

Last on our list on how to celebrate Lunar New Year at work is to host a Lunar New Year movie watch party.

Choose a Lunar New Year- themed movie to watch together virtually. This could be a heartwarming family comedy such as “Over the Moon”, a thrilling martial arts film like “Ip Man”, or even classics including “Kung Fu Hustle” and “Shaolin Soccer”. Make it interactive by setting up live chat rooms where everyone can share their thoughts, reactions and laughter throughout the film. This creates a sense of shared experience and fosters real-time connections.

Take the movie watch party to the next level by hosting a virtual snack potluck. Encourage the team to bring their favorite Lunar New Year treats, like dumplings, spring rolls or sweet rice cakes, to share virtually and enjoy the diverse flavors together! Alternatively, consider organizing a fun trivia session related to Lunar New Year traditions, symbolism or even the movie itself. This encourages learning and cultural exchange, making the experience more enriching and memorable.

Omni Tip for how to celebrate Lunar New Year at work:
Choose a movie with subtitles or dubs in different languages to cater to the diverse backgrounds of your team and make the experience an inclusive one for everyone!

Deepen Employee Engagement With HR Tools

Dive into your Lunar New Year festivities with these eight auspicious and joyous celebration ideas for how to celebrate Lunar New Year at work.

Stay on top of every upcoming festive celebration with Omni’s customizable dashboard which allows your teams to set and manage calendars pre-loaded with country or region specific holidays and timezones. Book a demo with our team to learn more about how Omni can support your international workforce.

Want more employee engagement ideas for the year? Download our HR Calendar 2024 for inspiration