Employee financial wellness is important as employees are every business’s most valuable asset. They keep things running and contribute to organizational growth. Hence, employers should strive to create a supportive work environment and improve employee well-being.

The 2024 Wellness Barometer Survey highlighted that an astonishing 91% of employees are stressed about finances. However, not many leaders are aware nor mitigating this. This is further supported where 92% of leaders believe their company’s financial support or resources is satisfactory but in reality, 76% of employees think otherwise. There is a significant gap between employees’ financial wellness and resources provided.

Therefore, the solution is to develop effective employee financial wellness programs that enhance workers’ lives and reduce financial stress. In this article, we’ll explore the concept of workplace financial wellness, why it matters, and how to create employee financial wellness programs.

What is employee financial wellness?

Employee financial wellness refers to an employee’s ability to make financial decisions, and manage their wealth without worrying about cost of living or economic downturns. In essence, it assesses an employee’s overall financial health. It covers various money habits, such as budgeting, spending, saving, investing, managing debt, and setting financial goals. 

Workplace financial wellness is critical to developing a healthy company culture. It helps employees feel empowered knowing they can pay their bills and shoulder unexpected expenses while looking forward to a healthy financial future. 

Healthy finances begin with adequate financial education, which National Financial Awareness Day on 14 August seeks to achieve. Many organizations leverage this day to remind employees to improve their financial literacy while making better money decisions.
When employees are financially secure, they’re less likely to be anxious over financial commitments. Instead, they can focus on the task at hand, increasing efficiency and productivity.

Finding more ways to engage with your employees?

Why is workplace financial wellness important?

PwC’s Employee Financial Wellness Survey reported that financial stress and money worries have harmed workers’ sleep, physical and mental health, self-esteem, and interpersonal relationships. 

To worsen the case, one in three full-time employees says money issues have affected their productivity at work. Brightplan’s report corroborates this, stating that 78% of leaders say their employees’ financial stress led to higher turnover last year. 

This issue sets a dire need for workplace financial wellness. This helps employees better manage their finances and reduces anxiety. In return, you can foster a positive work environment where employees are physically, mentally, and financially healthy to contribute to the company’s success. It also reduces attrition rate and employee absenteeism, boosts motivation and productivity, and improves retention. 

Furthermore, fostering employee financial wellness is an excellent strategy for developing team efficacy. This aligns with the priorities of 60% of HR leaders who aim to build team effectiveness to improve the future of work in 2024. 

What are employee financial wellness programs?

Employee financial wellness programs are initiatives employers implement to enhance workers’ overall financial well-being. These programs help workers manage their finances better, improve employee financial literacy, and reduce stress. 

Furthermore, these programs educate employees through counseling, coaching, and resources on specific monetary topics like debt, spending, budgeting, saving, investment, etc.

Financial wellness programs assist workers in achieving long-term financial security. Examples include workshops, financial wellness software, investment advice, emergency relief, tax education, retirement programs, healthcare benefits and education.

How can financial wellness programs benefit the organization?

Workplace financial wellness offers mutual benefits to both employees and employers. Let’s look at them in detail:

For employers

Increase employee satisfaction

Financial burdens are often a major source of stress for employees. This is often driven by inflation, economic downturn, high cost of living, high interest rates, and market volatility.  

However, when employers provide resources and opportunities to help employees manage finances better, it alleviates anxiety and helps improve employees’ physical and mental health. In essence, employee financial wellness programs fosters a positive workplace environment, making employees feel seen, valued, and supported. 

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Improve employee retention

A survey by Bankrate found that 56% of the U.S. workforce plan to find a new job in a year. One of the main contributing factors is the lack of job satisfaction. 

Investing in employee financial wellness programs can be a great way to boost employee satisfaction. According to Talent LMS’s report, 68% of employees tend to stay longer at their current jobs if their employer offers workplace financial wellness programs. 

These initiatives show you care about your employees’ well-being. When employees feel valued and satisfied with their jobs, they tend to stay with the company longer. Ultimately, implementing these programs leads to higher talent retention and loyalty, and reduces turnover costs.

Enhance employer brand

By offering employee financial wellness programs through benefits and training, employers demonstrate care for employees’ overall well-being. This shows that you’re interested in your employees, not just their work performance. 

Consequently, employees who enjoy working in the company will recommend your organization to their network, promoting a positive employer brand image and attracting top talent.

For employees

Improve financial literacy and security

Employees will learn more about managing their finances through workplace financial wellness programs. They’ll become better at budgeting, saving, investing, and planning for retirement. 

These acquired financial education and skills will empower them to make informed monetary decisions and secure their future.

Increase productivity and focus

Struggling with finances can be a stressful distraction. According to a 2023 PWC survey, 47% of employees are stressed about their finances, leading to negative impacts on mental health, sleep quality and self-esteem. In such cases, an employee might find it difficult to concentrate on tasks, leading to a decline in work performance. 

By establishing an employee financial wellness structure, you can help reduce overall stress levels and improve mental health. With financial stressors handled, employees can focus on tasks at hand, increasing efficiency.

Boost morale and engagement

Employees working for companies with financial wellness programs feel engaged and happy with their jobs. This is because these programs aim to reduce their financial burdens and empower them to make informed financial decisions.

Furthermore, financial wellness programs also eliminate money-related fears that can negatively impact physical and mental health.

Therefore, employee financial wellness programs can help increase employee morale, reduce absenteeism, and motivate employees to perform at their best.

6 Tips for Developing Effective Financial Wellness Programs

Brightplan reports that 76% of employers admit their company places more importance on profits rather than employee well-being. This is a huge problem that can affect organizational success and longevity.

With the benefits that employee financial wellness bring about for employee wellbeing and company productivity, here’s some tips on developing an effective financial wellness program: 

1. Identify employee needs

Everyone has different financial wellness and needs. To ensure you’re on the right track, seek feedback from employees on what they’d like to gain from financial wellness programs. 

An excellent way to do this is to conduct employee surveys or assessments. These tools will help you understand employees’ financial challenges and goals. The questions asked should reveal insights into employee’s budgeting knowledge, saving practices, and areas where they require assistance.

After conducting the survey, analyze your results and develop your employee financial wellness program to suit your team’s needs. Furthermore, findings from assessments can help identify gaps between your company’s current offerings and unaddressed employee needs. 

Aside from employee surveys, communicating with managers and HR teams is also a great way to gain insights into employees’ financial needs.

Learn more: 20 Strategic Employee Engagement Survey Questions

2. Provide multiple delivery formats

Once you’ve developed your financial wellness program, ensure it is delivered in multiple formats. This can be through in-person coaching sessions, interactive online courses, webinars, financial wellness apps, handbooks and guides, newsletters, literacy games and group workshops. This is necessary to ensure easy access for employees to participate in workplace financial wellness programs. 

3. Promote program effectively

Aside from providing multiple delivery formats, it’s important to effectively promote your financial wellness program. You can do so through the company’s communication channels, including emails, memos, Slack messages, and meetings. 

Ensure all promotional materials and messages are clear, engaging, and tailored to suit different aspects of your workforce.

4. Create culture of financial wellness

As financial wellness takes up a huge part of an employee’s life, consider integrating employee financial wellness as part of your company culture. Besides offering retirement plans, health benefits, and educational measures, think of ways to make it a part of employees’ lifestyle.

For instance, incentivise employees who complete their financial education courses or achieve certain monetary milestones. Also, set up financial well-being challenge ideas such as monthly savings goals or debt cleansing exercises and reward best performing employees. Doing this encourages employees to partake in the programs and take action.

5. Seek employee feedback

To ensure your employee financial wellness programs run smoothly and produce results, it’s important to seek employee feedback as you go. Find out what works and what doesn’t. 

Gathering employee feedback and performance metrics helps you gain insights into improving your financial wellness programs. It also identifies possible reasons for low or high adoption, such as communication gaps or lack of interest. Furthermore, it helps your company stay abreast of the latest trends in employee financial wellness, which will enhance success.

Read next: The Best 360 Feedback Tools for Employee Engagement

6. Track program usage and impact

After building your wellness program, setting metrics for measuring success is vital. This can be the number of employees who complete counseling programs, attend workshops, participate in retirement or savings plans, interact with online tools, or invest in health savings accounts. 

Furthermore, KPIs such as employee engagement levels, participation rates, financial behavior changes, employee satisfaction, and more can be established for easy tracking. Conduct assessments before and after employees participate in the programs to measure changes in their financial wellness and habits. Also, consider adopting HRIS or HR tools that integrate employee financial wellness data for a holistic analysis.

Tracking program participation rate and impact is essential for evaluating the efficacy of your company’s employee financial wellness programs and making necessary improvements. 

Build Financial Security and Employee Wellbeing with Omni

Undoubtedly, financial wellness and security is a crucial component for employee wellbeing. It affects every aspect of your organization, from culture to morale, productivity to innovation. Hence, investing in your employees’ financial wellness is a sure fire way to improve your business functions and drive growth.

Powering Asia’s fastest-growing, modern companies, Omni’s document management scales alongside your company so you can customize and leverage the system to store important documents for your employee financial wellness programs. 

On top of that, Omni also offers real-time graphs and easily exportable reports, streamlining performance reporting and reducing calculation times and errors. These tools empower HR teams to monitor employee financial wellness trends over time, compare results across various departments, and proactively identify areas for improvement.

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

To free up HR staff to perform their more strategic role and to ensure employees receive the information they require, many of the operational tasks related to information provision activities are now performed using human resource information systems (HRIS).

An employee self-service portal (ESS) is a system that enables employees to access HR information from their end, reducing the range of administrative tasks performed by modern HR teams.

While employee self-service portals streamline information access and reduce HR workload, their benefits extend far beyond mere efficiency. These portals can improve employee engagement, creating a more connected and productive workforce. In this article, we explore the potential of employee self-service portals as a key to unlocking employee engagement. We delve into their functionalities, benefits, and how they can empower your employees.

Understanding the Employee Self-Service Portal

An employee self-service portal is a software that provides a means for a company’s employees to access its HR services and information.

With an ESS portal, employees can perform various tasks and transactions using the data stored in the HRIS system. Besides updating personal and banking information, employees can manage other aspects of their employment, such as benefits and time off, through the platform.

These portals can range from simple websites that allow employees to access static HR policies, such as safety requirements, to sophisticated softwares that allow employees to access and edit their individual information.

Functions of Employee Self-Service Portal

Employees use the HRIS system on a self-service basis to obtain personal information. For instance, they can look up paycheck information or check to see how much vacation time they have available. Training programs can be advertised via an employee self-service portal. They can enroll in any program of their choice and gain access to internal and external courses.

ESS portals are also used to bring HR tools and information to remote workforces. This enables organizations to ensure that recruitment selection, performance management, leave management and other HR activities are conducted in line with the organization’s policies and practices, irrespective of the location at which these activities are taking place.

Through an employee portal, employees can submit requests for vacation, sick leave, and other forms of time off, as well as track their remaining time balances. The portal can serve as a central hub for receiving and managing job applications, allowing candidates to easily submit their resumes and cover letters online. This eliminates the need for manual application processing and saves time for HR teams.

Employee self-service portals benefit both employees and employers. Employees can manage their work lives with more autonomy and convenience, while employers can benefit from increased efficiency, reduced administrative costs, and an empowered workforce.

Benefits of Employee Self-Service Portals for HR

Reduce administrative burden

An employee self-service portal streamlines all your processes and reduces the workload for your HR department. For example, managers and HR leaders can save time and reduce frustration by avoiding scheduling issues, time off requests, and open enrollment questions. You can easily communicate employee handbook policy changes or other updates to employees, this improves communication and collaboration at all levels.

Additional resources: Welcome new hires effectively with our free Employee Handbook template!

Improve data accuracy and compliance

ESS portals allow employees to review and update their personal information. This reduces the time HR spends doing data entry and further simplifies the process. By allowing employees and managers to enter their information, data entry errors and mistakes can be avoided. They can regularly review their data through the portal and identify any mistakes, which further heightens data accuracy.

Provide better insights for decision making

Employee self-service portals can collect data on employee leave usage, training completion, and performance reviews. HR can then analyze this data to identify trends, optimize staffing levels, and make informed decisions about benefits and training programs. The use of an ESS allows HR teams to create HR strategies that play a more significant role in strategic business decision-making.

Importance of Employee Engagement

An engaged workforce is one of the major drivers of organizational growth and profitability, and an employee self-service software portal could be a tool for facilitating the employee engagement process.

Highly engaged employees tend to:

Be more productive and efficient. When employees derive greater satisfaction at work, they perform better and your business grows.

Show greater creativity and innovation. Engaged employees are more likely to think outside the box, be creative, and come up with innovative ideas.

Provide better customer service. Organizations with highly engaged employees boast 10 percent higher customer metrics than those whose employees are less engaged.

Stay with the company longer. When people are engaged in their work, they’re also more likely to work hard, get better at their jobs, and stay longer at the company, reducing attrition rates and absenteeism.

Be stronger ambassadors for the company. Engaged employees are more likely to speak positively about the company culture and company mission to others, acting as brand advocates and attracting top talent during recruitment.

Foster a more collaborative and positive work environment. Their enthusiasm and dedication can be contagious, creating a ripple effect of positive energy and collaboration within teams. This positive environment further enhances engagement and organizational well-being.

Overall, your company’s bottom line depends on the satisfaction and happiness of your workforce.

Impact of ESS on Engagement

An employee self-service portal (ESS portal) can significantly impact employee engagement in several ways:

Empowerment and ownership

Increased autonomy: Employees can complete tasks and access information without relying on HR or managers, increasing their autonomy and control over their work. This software portal makes employee’s lives easier. Giving employees efficient tools to work with, reduces their dependence on laborious and manual processes, which improves their experience. More engaged employees tend to be more loyal to their company as well as more productive.

Easy access to information: Having direct access to the right information improves employee satisfaction and engagement. Benefits information, company policies, training materials, or any other resources they might need can be accessed at a time convenient to the user, without the employee coming to the office. This saves time and frustration, leading to a more positive and engaged workforce. They can also see information regarding opportunities, training and advancement, which will give them more control over their careers. Many seek out opportunities to improve themselves and their skills, making them more valuable employees and helping to reduce employee turnover.

Improved communication and collaboration

Centralized platform: An employee self-service portal is a digital hub that centralizes various functionalities and resources for employees. It acts as a central location for them to manage personal information, view and manage benefits information, check their leave entitlements, pay records, performance assessment, and professional development plans. The portal also streamlines communication by keeping employees informed about company updates and policies. This fosters transparency and trust within the organization.

Increased transparency and recognition

Performance feedback: The portal can be used to conduct training and knowledge transfer. With a directory filled with training materials, tools for acquiring new skills and internal and external courses, an employee portal helps employees become better at their jobs which improves their performance, reduces performance gaps and makes them work efficiently.

Recognition programs: Employees are no longer content with having a ‘middle man’ that speaks for them. As companies grow, it can be difficult for each voice to be heard, and accomplishments to be recognized. An employee self-service portal can be used to implement and manage recognition programs, publicly acknowledging employee achievements and contributions, which boosts morale and engagement.

Read next: 12 Employee Recognition Examples to Keep Your Team Engaged All Year

Enhanced user experience

Personalized experience: Depending on the features and functionality of an ESS software, some portals can be customized to meet individual needs and preferences, providing a more relevant, and engaging experience for each employee. For example, employees can create their personal experience by selecting from a menu of options including the display of key performance indicators (KPIs) and objectives and key results (OKRs) relevant to their role, or gain quick access links to information and tools they use frequently, and personal items such as news, internet search tools and more.

Gamification elements: Gamification elements make completing tasks within the portal more enjoyable and interactive, leading to increased usage and employee engagement. Points, badges, and leaderboards in games have positive effects on learning. Trainees may be motivated by the goal, leading to higher engagement, increased attendance, and participation. Integrating gamification elements into your employee self-service portal is a great tactic to entice employees to engage, learn and grow.

Revolutionize Your Employee Engagement with HR Tools

Employee self-service portals make it a breeze for employees to tackle their HR tasks with ease. These portals not only simplify administrative tasks but also serve as catalysts for fostering a culture of transparency, open communication, and accountability within the organization.

Omni’s employee self-service portal empowers employees to submit their time off requests, which automatically routes to the appropriate manager thanks to customizable approval workflows. To make things easier, Omni seamlessly integrates with your team’s favorite work tools such as Slack, enabling managers to receive and manage time off approvals directly within the messaging platform, removing time-consuming steps from leave management with a quick 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.

Book a demo with us today to learn how leveraging Omni’s powerful automation and ESS portals can create a more engaged and productive work environment, leading to improved employee retention and overall business success.

A Gallup survey found that when it comes to enforcing change in the workplace, 41% of respondents want to improve engagement or culture at work, 28% are focused on pay and benefits, and 16% prioritize wellbeing. This comes as global employee engagement has reached a record high of 23% globally. 

Employees are still keen on improving the engagement and culture in the organization. That’s where monitoring employee engagement and satisfaction levels becomes instrumental. The eNPS score serves as a metric to gauge these levels, allowing organizations to take relevant steps before the situations worsen and lead to employee turnover. 

Employee stress levels are also at an all-time high, which is concerning. As much as employees might love their jobs and the culture, excessive stress and employee burnout can diminish their likelihood of recommending the organization as a great place to work. To help you keep these areas in check, here’s a guide to calculating eNPS and using it to make your organization a place employees want to vouch for.

What is an Employee Net Promoter Score?

The Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) is a crucial metric for organizations to monitor the satisfaction and engagement level of employees. It goes beyond mere employee satisfaction surveys by focusing on whether employees would actively advocate for their company, recommending it to their acquaintances, friends, family, or even strangers inquiring online. The score reflects on employees’ underlying sentiments and loyalty towards their organization. 

One of the most critical advantages of eNPS lies in its ability to serve as an early warning system. Early identification of a low eNPS score can help you address underlying issues proactively before they escalate. Such quick measures towards these issues retain employees and mitigate potential risks to the company’s reputation and productivity. 

How To Calculate eNPS?

To calculate eNPS, you need employees to openly and honestly answer one crucial question—“On a scale of 0-10, how likely are you to recommend this company to your friends, family, or people you know?” 

Based on the responses, you divide employees into three categories: 

• Promoters(9-10): enthusiastic about your brand, employees readily recommend your company.

• Passives(7-8): content with the company but may not actively endorse it.
• Detractors(0-6): unhappy with the company and may spread negative word-of-mouth.

While promoters would go above and beyond to get top talent in the organization, it’s the detractors we need to keep in check. Once you categorize employees, calculate the eNPS score using the following formula:

eNPS: (percentage of promoters) – (percentage of detractors)

The eNPS score can be anywhere between +100 to -100. 

Let’s say you are surveying 300 employees. Prepare the survey around a key question: the likelihood of recommending the organization. Include an open-ended question to gather qualitative feedback on the reasons behind employees’ likelihood or reluctance.

Out of 300 respondents: 

• Promoters: 150 or 50%

• Passives: 100 or 33.33%
• Detractors: 50 or 16.67%

eNPS = 50% (percentage of promoters) – 16.67% (percentage of detractors) = 33.33

In this example, the eNPS score is +33.33, indicating a positive sentiment among employees. 

How to Interpret eNPS Results?

Once you’ve calculated your eNPS score, it’s time to interpret the results and create an actionable strategy to tackle dissatisfied employees. Here’s how:

1. Calculate the score

Calculate the eNPS score by subtracting the percentage of detractors (those rated 0-6) from the percentage of promoters (those rated 9-10) in the survey responses. For example, if 30% of respondents are promoters and 15% are detractors, the eNPS score would be 30-15 = 15. 

Instead of calculating eNPS for the entire organization, you can calculate it for specific departments or teams within the company. For instance, your tech department has an eNPS of +50, indicating high employee satisfaction and loyalty. 

At the same time, the marketing department has an eNPS of -20, demanding immediate improvements. This approach will lead to targeted interventions and a better understanding of the employee sentiments in different departments. 

2. Understanding the range

As mentioned earlier, eNPS scores can range from -100 to +100, with positive scores indicating a higher proportion of promoters relative to detractors and negative scores suggesting the opposite. A score above 0 is generally considered positive, while a score below 0 indicates more dissatisfied employees. 

An eNPS score ranging from 10-30 is considered satisfactory. Scores exceeding +50 are typically regarded as excellent, indicating that employees are thriving under the current work setup and practices. Conversely, if the score falls to -50 or below, it is a cause for concern and suggests significant organizational issues. 

eNPS score range: 

Below Zero: alarming; more dissatisfied employees

0: neutral

10 to 30: satisfactory

Above 50: excellent; employees thriving

3. Analyze responses

eNPS scores are often interpreted alongside qualitative feedback provided by respondents to understand the strengths and underlying issues. Analyzing this feedback involves identifying common themes or patterns in the responses, such as references to leadership, work environment, communication, or career development. 

4. Creating benchmarks

Analyzing responses is crucial for understanding the current situation. To establish benchmarks, compare your organization’s eNPS score to industry averages or competitors’ scores. 

Perceptyx benchmark research, based on data from over 15 million employees in global organizations, shows that the global eNPS benchmark increased from 13.8 in 2021 to 14.9 in 2022. The current average eNPS score across all companies measuring eNPS is 14. Here’s an industry-wise breakdown to assist you in benchmark setting.

Industry: eNPS score

Professional Services: 28

Healthcare: 23

Manufacturing: 17

Retail trade: -1

Finance and insurance: 22

Omni Tip on eNPS score:
Conduct your own research and benchmark against organizations of similar size and type to get meaningful comparisons and deeper insights into typical eNPS ranges within your industry!

5. Taking action  

Once you have analyzed the data and established benchmarks, develop actionable strategies to address identified issues. Prioritize these issues based on their severity and impact, focusing on high-priority areas with the greatest potential to positively impact employee satisfaction in the short term.

For example, if employees are highly dissatisfied with current leadership tactics, prioritize conducting leadership development programs or coaching sessions to improve managerial skills.

Similarly, if collaboration appears to be a problem, create opportunities for employees to interact outside of their immediate work teams. The goal is to take action to improve the situation before it escalates.

Why Should HR Leaders Advocate for eNPS?

A Gartner survey found that over 75% of employees now value manager support even more, even as managers tackle 51% more responsibilities than they can handle. This shows the need for HR leaders and managers to proactively demonstrate care for employees’ expectations, growth, and well-being. Here are additional reasons why advocating for eNPS is essential:

Obtain data-driven insights

eNPS offers HR leaders with data-driven insights into employee engagement, satisfaction, and sentiment. For instance, if many employees rate the company poorly on work-life balance, HR can investigate further to uncover underlying issues, such as heavy workloads or inflexible scheduling. It’s crucial to note that survey results are just the beginning of a deeper exploration into the root causes of employee dissatisfaction. 

Improve employee engagement

Analyzing eNPS surveys can reveal varying levels of engagement among different departments or teams. For instance, HR leaders may find that the marketing team has lower eNPS scores compared to the sales team. This insight allows HR to develop personalized engagement strategies tailored to each department’s unique needs. For example, they might organize team-building activities for the marketing team to enhance collaboration and morale. 

Additionally, if employees feel undervalued or unappreciated, HR can implement rewards and recognition programs. To illustrate, a peer-to-peer recognition program where employees nominate their colleagues for recognition. This approach helps HR identify ways to provide employees with what they need to feel more engaged and satisfied in the organization.

Want to take your employee engagement initiatives to the next level?

Reduce employee turnover

A report found that nearly six in ten employees are psychologically disengaged from work, showing up but feeling clueless and disconnected. These employees are essentially “quiet quitting”, often leaving organizations due to a perceived lack of growth opportunities. 

High attrition rates result in additional costs for recruitment, onboarding, and lost productivity. eNPS surveys can assist HR leaders in identifying reasons for turnover, such as dissatisfaction with leadership, limited growth prospects, or poor work-life balance. Proactively addressing these issues can help retain top talent and reduce turnover rates, saving valuable time and resources for other organizational aspects. 

Strengthen company culture

eNPS surveys highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the company culture. Positive feedback about the collaborative environment indicates a strength, while concerns about diversity and inclusion point to a weakness.

These surveys also help HR leaders gauge if the company lives up to its company values. For example, if the organization promotes integrity and innovation, eNPS feedback reveals if employees perceive these values in daily operations. If there’s a disconnect between words and actions, HR can bridge the gap and reinforce the desired cultural norms.

Relevant reads: Strategies and Tools for Defining Culture in the Workplace

Continuous improvement

eNPS surveys are conducted periodically to track trends in employee engagement and satisfaction. For example, if the initial survey shows a low score in career development opportunities, you can introduce training programs to address this.

Subsequent surveys help track the impact of these programs, highlighting whether satisfaction in this area has been improved. This allows HR to identify areas of progress and those needing further attention. 

How can eNPS Increase Employee Engagement?

eNPS scores highlight factors that hinder employee engagement. Understanding these dissatisfactions and disengagements enables you to take necessary actions to improve the situation.

Identify areas of improvement

eNPS surveys allow employees to share feedback anonymously. By gathering feedback alongside the score, organizations can identify patterns and areas of improvement. For example, if the survey consistently identifies unrealistic deadlines and overwork, changes are necessary. Implementing mental health days at work and launching initiatives like fitness classes and meditation sessions can help address these issues. 

Encourage ownership and participation

eNPs surveys demonstrate that the organization values employees’ opinions and experiences, fostering a sense of participation and ownership. Employees recognize that their input can drive improvements, empowering them to actively find solutions to identified problems.

To illustrate, in a company with many remote employees, workers may feel overwhelmed by constant check-ins and meetings. They may prefer an asynchronous work environment. Through eNPS surveys, they can raise such issues and actively participate in bringing about the desired change.

Invest in employee-wellbeing

eNPS scores indicate where organizations should invest to address employee well-being challenges like high stress, burnout, or work-life balance issues. Initiates like wellness programs, flexible work hours, and mental health resources demonstrate a commitment to meeting employees’ needs. In Singapore, various mental-well being programs are available to improve workplace mental health. 

Focus on building a positive work culture

eNPS survey responses, especially the qualitative feedback, can reveal employees’ sentiments towards the company culture. Positive feedback indicates a supportive culture where employees feel valued. Negative feedback may indicate toxicity, such as gender discrimination in the workplace or a lack of psychological safety. 

The ratio of promoters to detractors in eNPS scores also provide clarity on company culture. A high number of promoters indicates an excellent culture, while a predominance of detractors suggests a need to define and improve the company culture.

Read next: 5 Inspiring Company Culture Examples for Building a Great Workplace

Transform Employee Experiences with Omni

eNPS scores offer valuable insights for HR leaders to gauge employee engagement, satisfaction, and overall sentiment towards the organization. The insights gathered from surveys can help identify areas of strength and weakness in the company’s culture and work environment. However, to truly harness the power of eNPS data, HR tools like Omni are the perfect tool. 

Omni offers real-time graphs and easily exportable reports, streamlining employee analytics and reducing calculation times and errors. This equips you with the necessary data to understand the trends within your organization. These tools empower HR teams to monitor trends over time, compare results across various departments, and proactively identify areas for improvement. 

By leveraging Omni’s powerful automation alongside eNPS surveys, organizations can create a more engaged and productive work environment, leading to improved employee retention and overall business success. 

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. 

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