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A physically and mentally well workforce is more productive than those torn between unrealistic deadlines and pressure. Workplace wellbeing initiatives aim to create such work cultures where employees thrive, grow, and are satisfied with their jobs.

In fact, according to a 2020 Deloitte survey on workplace wellbeing, 80% of executives claimed that well-being was their top priority. Yet, the Human Capital Trends report stated that nearly 90% of employees feel their work life is getting worse.

The data illustrates that despite the current efforts of Singaporean companies to invest in workplace wellbeing, their strategies are falling short. This disconnect is a contributing factor to the necessity of Singapore’s Workplace Wellbeing Champions Network, a government-backed initiative to help create a more positive work environment for Singapore employees.

What is Workplace Wellbeing?

Workplace wellbeing refers to optimizing employees’ health, satisfaction, and overall fulfillment within a professional setting. It extends beyond the traditional notions of health and safety by incorporating elements of physical, mental, emotional, social, and professional dimensions. At its core, workplace wellbeing seeks to create an environment that not only protects employees from physical harm but helps them navigate stress, career dilemmas, and other work-related issues.

Some examples of workplace wellbeing initiatives are as follows:

Allowing employees to work remotely or provide flexible working hours
Offering gym memberships, fitness classes, or wellness workshops
Providing access to counseling services and stress management workshops
Organizing team-building activities, social gatherings, and other group activities
Conducting regular one-on-one meetings between employees and managers
Encouraging the use of vacation days and time off to prevent employee burnout
Offering training programs, mentorship, and other opportunities for career advancement

Implementing a blend of these wellbeing initiatives is crucial, as physically and mentally well employees are likely to be more focused, energetic, and productive in their roles. Such a positive culture that prioritizes employee wellbeing also attracts top talent and reduces organization’s attrition rate. This is becoming increasingly important as 59% of employees would consider leaving their current role for a company offering better wellbeing benefits.

Role of a Workplace Wellbeing Champion

A workplace wellbeing champion is a trusted individual within your organization whom employees feel comfortable turning to when they need support. Instead of internalizing their concerns, these wellbeing champions bridge the communication gap between leaders and team members. With this, timely action can be taken, preventing a surge in employee turnover rates and serving as a value add and benefit to attract new talent.

As Mr. Aslam Sardar, Chief Executive of the Institute for Human Resource Professionals, states, “When you have very good well-being programs, you are attractive to an employee and are more likely to attract talent, especially the younger generations.”

According to WHO, creating a healthy workplace requires including initiatives in four crucial areas—the physical work environment, psychological environment, personal health resources, and enterprise involvement in the community. Based on that, here are some specific duties of workplace wellbeing champions:

Provide resources and information: Create a centralized hub for employees to quickly get resources, articles, and information on various aspects of wellbeing, such as mental health support, fitness programs, and healthy eating.

Organizing wellness programs: Planning and implementing wellness challenges, such as step-count competitions, yoga sessions, or mindfulness programs to encourage physical activity and stress reduction. These programs reduce absenteeism by 14-19%, and 80% of employees claim to enjoy their work days when wellness programs are in place.

Facilitate open discussions: Create a safe space for colleagues to discuss their concerns, challenges, or ideas about well-being openly. This can be done through regular meetings, informal gatherings, and offering mental health days at work.

Mental health advocacy: a 2019 Cigna wellbeing survey revealed that a staggering 92% of employed respondents in Singapore were stressed, and 44% of them believe that their existing workplace programs did not address mental health. A sentiment that has only intensified in a post pandemic world. Running awareness campaigns on mental health, providing resources on coping strategies, and reducing the stigma around mental health support have become crucial in supporting employees.

Collaborate with relevant stakeholders: Collaborate with management, Human Resources, and other stakeholders to integrate well being into your overall organizational strategy. They may also collaborate with external partners, such as wellness experts or healthcare providers.

Collecting feedback and suggestions: Asking for feedback via surveys is another crucial area in enhancing your wellbeing initiatives. You can use this information to tailor programs and meet employees’ specific needs, helping to identify specific pain points within your organization.

While the role is often voluntary, wellbeing champions should have the time to attend meetings, organize events, and stay informed about relevant wellness topics.

Who can be a ‘Workplace Wellbeing Champion’?

Any employee within an organization who is passionate about promoting a positive work environment can become a workplace wellbeing champion. The role is typically voluntary, and individuals interested in their colleagues’ well-being often take on this responsibility.

However, according to Gan Siow Huang, the Minister of State for Manpower, “wellbeing champions are typically management level employees, who can rally senior management to implement policies to support employees’ mental wellbeing.”

Some characteristics and qualifications that make people well-suited to be workplace wellbeing champions include:

Passion for wellbeing: Wellbeing champions should genuinely care about the health and happiness of their colleagues. It isn’t just a title but a desire to walk people through their distressing times and lead them to better paths.

Good communicator: Wellbeing champions must communicate information about wellness initiatives, resources, and events to their colleagues effectively. Sometimes, people who need these initiatives the most need a little convincing to become a part of it. That’s where strong verbal and written communication skills would help.

Approachable and supportive: The wellbeing champion should be the first person colleagues turn to when they are in need of support. This ensures that seeking advice or discussing concerns isn’t difficult for those dealing with significant issues.

Enthusiastic and positive: A positive attitude can be contagious. Wellbeing champions who approach their role with optimism can motivate others to prioritize their own wellbeing. At the same time, champions should empathize with the challenges for providing meaningful support and guidance.

Respect for privacy: Wellbeing champions deal with sensitive information related to the health and wellbeing of their colleagues. They must prioritize privacy and maintain confidentiality to create a safe space. To ensure employees share the needed information, asking the right question becomes essential. Prepare a list of employee satisfaction survey questions that equally focus on job satisfaction, work environment, communication, work-life balance, and professional development.

What is Singapore’s Workplace Wellbeing Champions Network?

The Wellbeing Champions Network is Singapore’s largest network for workplace mental health and wellbeing, supported by the Tripartite Alliance Limited. They focus on three things— feeling well, functioning well, and connecting well, providing a 360-degree wellbeing experience.

Feeling well focuses on both physical and emotional wellbeing. It includes breathing techniques for better awareness, incorporating physical movements in the busy work schedule, focusing on emotional intelligence, and creating a sense of belongingness in the workplace community.
Functioning well focuses on creating a sense of work fulfillment, which remains extremely important to bring the best out of employees. It includes boosting skills and opening the mind to new ideas and experiences to lead employees in the right direction
Connecting well helps in strengthening the relationship with the community and the environment. It focuses on contributing to others in both small and large ways and adding value to life by building meaningful relationships.

Comprising 50 founding members from renowned organizations, the Wellbeing Champions Network aims to create a safe space and culture of sharing without the fear of discrimination.

The network was formed based on research showing that a significant number of employees fail to deal with work demands and pressures. These employees took a lot of medical leave and were prone to accidents much more than other employees. So, focusing on mental wellbeing became critical for both productivity and safety.

So, as part of Singapore’s National Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2023, employers are recommended to have wellbeing champions within their teams. However, the concept of workplace wellbeing is new. That’s where a community-based approach via the network could help, as you can learn from experiences and expert insights.

The whole idea of Singapore’s Workplace Wellbeing Champions Network is to create a unified and collaborative space where every employee is heard, seen, and respected for their issues, big or small.

How to Join the Workplace Wellbeing Champions Network?

Joining the workplace wellbeing champions network is free, and champions and other nominated employees can join the network with no fee. All you need to do is email Kaleidoscope Labs at hello@kaleidoscope.sg, the official vendor appointed by the Workplace Safety and Health Council.

The Expansion of Tripartite Advisory on Mental Health

The subject of mental health has long been somewhat of a taboo in Singapore as Singaporean society believes in hard work and resilience. However, we observed a significant shift after COVID-19 with a growing emphasis shifted to the importance of mental health and wellbeing in the workplace.

The Tripartite Advisory on Mental Health was then launched in 2020 to provide employers with knowledge and skills to better support their employees’ mental health and well-being. The initiative collaborates with the government, employers, and workers’ unions.

In 2023, the Tripartite Advisory was expanded to include new measures such as the Workplace Wellbeing Champions Network. The network successfully connected individuals dedicated to promoting well-being practices in the workplace.

The Advisory also included new measures to eliminate stigmas and implement a peer support system of trained staff to create a supportive and positive work environment. We also observed an increased focus on hiring individuals with mental health conditions to create a more inclusive workplace.

Empowering Teams for Health and Wellbeing

The Workplace Wellbeing Champions Network has numerous benefits for your employees and organization. It’s important to emphasize the benefits, showcase their positive impact, and create a compelling narrative around the initiative to facilitate stakeholder and employee buy-in.

To empower more employees to join the network, focus on conveying personal benefits such as enhanced leadership skills, increased job satisfaction, and the opportunity to positively impact workplace culture. You can also provide examples of successful wellness programs and initiatives within the organization or from other companies.

Read next: Practical Approaches to Identify and Tackle Employee Burnout Signs

Remember that the key is to personalize your communication and tailor your approach to your organization’s unique characteristics and culture.

How Omni Supports Singapore Businesses

Localized payroll

Manual payroll is made easier with tools like our payslip template Singapore. For companies at risk of common errors such as miscalculations, typos, and missed deadlines, automating your payroll with Omni offers a comprehensive payroll solution tailored to Singapore’s specific requirements. With features like support for SGD, automated tax calculations, and managed CPF contributions, Omni can help HR teams simplify their payroll processing and ensure compliance with ease.

Try Omni’s free CPF Calculator

With automated payroll outsourcing services, digitized and secure payslip distribution and records keeping, and dedicated support teams to guide your team and ensure compliance, Omni’s payroll processing reduces common payroll errors as well as the administrative burden of your HR team and frees up valuable time to dedicate to more impactful business processes.

Documents and visa management

E Pass salaries and other regulatory changes are a common reality for Singapore businesses, technology can help manage the various documents and E Pass salary requirements needed to support your foreign talent.

Omni allows your organization to securely and centrally manage employee information such as proof of qualifications and written consent necessary to obtain a Singapore E Pass. Our employee-portal makes it easy for employee’s to upload and update their information, centralizing critical information such as E Pass numbers, expiry dates, and renewal reminders, helping ensure your E Pass management meets the regulations set by the Singapore government.

Benefits administration

Omni’s time off management capabilities help managers and HR teams swiftly navigate employee leave management, promoting wellbeing and work-life balance. 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 empowers employees to submit their time off requests, which automatically routes to the appropriate manager thanks to customizable approval workflows. 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 integrates your leave management efforts with payroll processing, facilitating automatic, accurate calculations and compliance with local regulations for various regions.

Book a free demo with our team

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.

In 2022, the average employee attrition rate across Asia Pacific was 13%, compared to 13.7% in 2021. Globally, attrition rates have followed this same trend of slight decreases, according to a Statista survey. Low employee turnover is key to a healthy company. But experts suggest aiming for less than 10% attrition to maintain a stable and productive workforce. This sweet spot minimizes disruptions and talent shortages, keeping your team running smoothly.

Achieving this ideal range of attrition is attainable with the right tools and strategies. Here, we’ll review how to calculate attrition rate of employees, as well as strategies for decreasing attrition. Decreasing attrition can help minimize hiring costs, identify areas of improvement in your workforce planning, and improve your organizational culture.

What is attrition rate?

Before we learn how to calculate attrition rate of employees, let’s explore what exactly companies mean when they talk about attrition rate. In simple terms, attrition rate is a metric for the number of employees or clients that you lose over time and don’t replace, and is a percentage of the total workforce or customer base.

In this article, we’re looking at the attrition rate for employees, known as the churn rate. This rate is a metric for the permanent decrease of staff numbers in an organization.

Whereas the turnover rate refers to the overall loss of employees, the attrition rate refers to the loss of employees that you don’t make up for with new hires over time.

Why are attrition rates important?

As an HR leader, understanding how to calculate attrition rate of employees and knowing how many employees leave your company is an important metric to help understand your employee experience, company culture, and the overall health of your organization.

This rate can help you estimate the effectiveness of your retention efforts, how loss of staff impacts organizational dynamics, and the number of vacant or removed positions. This way, you can identify development opportunities.

High attrition rates can signal a serious issue and a need for systematic changes, such as leadership changes, company culture rebrands, or adjustments to your people strategy.

Not to mention, the recruitment process and backfilling costs that come with losing employees are expensive and time consuming, making understanding and tackling attrition an essential part of HR.

Types of Employee Attrition

Aside from how to calculate attrition rate of employees, distinguishing the four main types of attrition is helpful in understanding the motivations behind employee attrition, proving HR teams the insights to tackle attrition head on.

Voluntary: Voluntary attrition is when an employee willingly decides to leave the company, this can be due to personal reasons such as moving or health concerns, retirement purposes, or problems within the company such as poor leadership or dissatisfaction with company culture.
Involuntary: Involuntary attrition is when an employee leaves the company involuntarily, often by termination or layoffs. This could happen for various reasons, including organizational restructures, performance issues, or economic reasons such as a loss of company funding.
Internal: Internal attrition doesn’t necessarily mean an employee has left the company, but has moved departments or divisions, vacating their previous role.
Demographic-Related Attrition: If a specific group of a certain age, ethnicity, gender, or demographic leaves suddenly and unexpectedly, that’s a demographic-related attrition. This type of attrition is a major red-flag, as it indicates there’s a form of discrimination within the company, or a broader company culture that is non-inclusive or welcoming.

Common Causes of Attrition

Now that you know the types of employee attrition, it’s equally important to understand the root causes of attrition before you learn how to calculate attrition rate of employees. Understanding the common causes of attrition equip you with the information needed to address the systemic or one-off issues within your organization, helping to reduce your attrition rate.

Personal reasons: There are countless personal reasons an employee may choose to leave their role. Ranging from life circumstances such as marriage, care-taking, health challenges, or pursuing a career change. Personal reasons are often outside of an organization’s control, and are less concerning than other causes of attrition. However, HR teams should observe and monitor for patterns. For example, if employees are leaving your organization after becoming parents, it could be an indicator that your policies and benefits are not supportive of working parents, and warrant an evaluation.
Job dissatisfaction: Job dissatisfaction is another common reason for attrition. Employees may find their jobs unfulfilling due to negative environments, low compensation, lack of growth opportunities, misalignment with the company’s goals and their own professional goals.
Promotions: One of the more positive reasons for attrition, if an employee is promoted to a new role, this would be considered attrition.
Retirement: Another typically non-concerning cause of attrition is retirement, also called natural attrition.
Poor performance or misconduct: A company might let go of an employee for disruptive or poor performance, which is a functional form of attrition.
Economic conditions: Economic conditions (like recessions) might force you to reduce your workforce, freeze salaries, or pause recruitment and hiring efforts.
Industry shifts: Changes in the business landscape can alter staffing requirements, such as the replacement of certain positions with automation tools.

Calculating Your Team’s Attrition Rate

Learning how to calculate attrition rate of employees is more straightforward than you may think, and understanding how employee data is determined can help you better understand the contributing factors and how these numbers can affect your organization. Let’s take a look at how you can approach calculating your company’s attrition rate.

Determine the time-period you’d like to calculate for, this can be done by quarter, month, year etc.
Add the number of employees you started the period with to the number of employees you ended the period with.
Divide the sum by two to get the average number of employees for that period.
Now divide the number of employees who left the company (you’ll calculate this by subtracting the number of employees at the end of the period from the number of employees at the beginning of the period) by the average number of employees that you calculated in step 3.
Multiply the number by 100 to get the rate as a percentage.

Let’s say you want to calculate attrition rate for the year 2023. If you started the year with 300 employees and ended it with 288 employees, here’s how to calculate attrition rate of employees in that case:

300 + 288 = 588
588/2 = 294 (the average number of employees for 2023)
(300 – 288)/294 = 12/294 ≈ 0.04
0.04 x 100 = 4%
Your attrition rate for 2023 was 4%

Tools and Strategies to Improve Retention

High rates of attrition are opportunities to review your organization, People strategy, and performance management processes to find areas of improvement for your company. As retention is one of the leading indicators of a positive organization, it’s understandably an important initiative for HR teams.

Let’s take a look at some of the tools your team can use to help decrease attrition rate and thus improve employee retention.

HRIS

A Human Resources Information system (HRIS) can be a powerful tool in improving retention, boosting productivity, and cultivating a strong company culture.

Automated workflows and employee feedback systems help HR teams to stay on top of initiatives like employee training and development, acknowledging engagement opportunities such as work anniversaries through automated reminders, conducting consistent and smooth onboarding and performance review cycles, and equipping HR teams with real-time data on employee performance and engagement.

HRIS can help determine employee performance gaps, identify trends, and calculate attrition rates, so HR teams can react swiftly and effectively to get ahead of issues that may increase attrition rates.

Not to mention, HRIS are often equipped with employee self-service tools, allowing employees to manage their time and benefits, which has been shown to improve engagement and boost employee satisfaction.

Employee Feedback Tools

Employee feedback is something organizations should prioritize regardless of attrition, however in the cases where you learn how to calculate attrition rate of employees and find that it’s concerningly low, employee feedback is one of the best ways to figure out where you’re going wrong.

Feedback tools are a great way to give employees a platform (often anonymous) to voice their concerns, opinions, and experiences in a constructive and strategic way. This gives HR and CEOs a direct eye into what is and isn’t working within their organization, and can help identify pain points or potential issues before they grow.

Asking for feedback shows employees that you care about their happiness and growth, which boosts morale, improves employee satisfaction, helps you identify issues before they escalate, ultimately increasing employee retention rates. Of course, these tools only work if you take action based on the feedback you receive.

Employee Recognition Platforms

Employee recognition is an effective way to keep employees motivated and engaged, helping reduce attrition rates. In fact, a survey found 65% of employees said recognition would incentivize them to work harder.

Employee recognition platforms are great tools to facilitate recognition programs, streamlining efforts and providing a platform to easily celebrate the wins of your team. These platforms help you recognize employee successes and milestones, such as outstanding performances, birthdays, and anniversaries.

Such platforms make that possible via reward points, gift cards, virtual clapping, digital badges, appreciation messages, and recognition certificates. Ultimately, they support employee recognition and, sometimes, peer recognition, which strengthens the culture and improves retention.

Learning and Development

Learning and development (L&D) is a process to help your employees improve their skills and provide them with opportunities for professional growth, and is an important initiative to keep employees engaged and happy in their roles. These growth-oriented programs create a value-based company culture, which helps promote loyal and committed employees.

L&D tools can gamify and streamline development initiatives, with various tools and tactics to keep employees engaged. By automating your growth program, you can track course completion and engagement, helping you ensure employees are getting the most out of the program.

Flexible Work Arrangements

Another way to decrease your attrition rates is by providing flexible work arrangements, a trend with growing popularity among employees due to the work-life balance they enable.

Flexible work arrangements can range from fully remote to hybrid work models, and can even exist in in-person environments that have flexible hours or time-off policies. Flexible work attracts high-performing employees, increases retention rates, inclusivity, diversity, and productivity, and can minimize overhead costs, making it a win-win for employees and their employers.

Employee Onboarding

Once you learn how to calculate attrition rate of employees, the results may surprise you. Lack of employee engagement can begin as soon as the onboarding process. As the first impression for new hires, onboarding is a crucial moment in the employee lifecycle, contributing to engagement and determining the success of employees.

Consistent, comprehensive onboarding programs help set employees up for success, immediately aligning them with the goals of your organization, setting expectations for performance, communicating benefits and feedback channels, and laying the foundation for a positive and productive work environment.

Whether in-person or remote onboarding, your program can have a significant impact on your attrition rate, and can be a great place to start when determining strategies to improve your retention.

HR software can help streamline onboarding efforts, giving your new hires an enhanced employee experience, and ensuring consistent, timely, and effective onboarding.

HR Analytics

HR analytics measure the successes and failures of how well your company is performing when it comes to its employees. Analytics is a broad term, and can measure just about anything from the demographics of your workforce to engagement rates, performance gaps, goal completions, and ROI of your employees.

Accordingly, HR analytics tools can help you with how to calculate attrition rate of employees. To increase retention, you can dig into HR analytics software to generate the data that helps you determine factors such as employee engagement, morale, and performance. These are all useful indicators for determining attrition rate, forecasting potential pain points that can contribute to attrition, and identifying where you are excelling in your People management.

How Omni Helps Modern Companies Lower Their Attrition Rate

Real-time employee data and analytics

Keeping your finger on the pulse of your workforce helps mitigate attrition rate risks such as dips in employee engagement or performance skill gaps. Omni centralized and tracks a wide range of employee data, from attendance records to attrition rate, automatically within our platform. Real-time graphs and easily exported reports simplifies employee analytics and cuts down on calculation times and errors, arming you with the data you need to understand the trends within your organization.

Employee attrition rate can be easily accessed for monthly, quarterly, annually, or any custom range of dates within minutes, making it easier for HR leaders and CEOs to keep track of their churn rate and address pain points at the first sign of trouble, helping to reduce your attrition rate and improve employee retention.

Automated performance management tools

Omni’s performance management tools bring consistency, organization, and accountability to your organization without the need for disjointed systems or spreadsheets. Set and track employee goals, set up automated reminders and monitor progress of performance review cycles, collect anonymous feedback from peers and managers, and create learning and development tracks all within one, centralized platform.

Omni simplifies the performance management process, reducing the time it takes to manage employee performance and boosting engagement to help manage attrition rate.

Learn how Mothership improved their performance review processing time by over 90% with Omni

Customized employee experience

Customization that allows you to meet the unique needs of your business, Omni is built to personalize your employee’s experience with deepened engagement and promote a strong organizational culture.

Here’s a look into just a few of the ways Omni helps personalize your HR functions for maximum engagement:

Automated calendar reminders so you never miss a birthday, work anniversary, or holiday. Calendars can be personalized and localized to your team’s location, helping you keep your finger on the pulse of local happenings to capitalize on opportunities to engage your employees.

Bespoke onboarding programs mean HR can build out unique and tailored experiences for your employees. Think templates for remote onboarding, exec onboarding, and hybrid onboarding at your fingertips to easily provide a personalized experience to new hires in a matter of minutes. Automated fields make it easy to input personalized touches such as names and position titles for large batches of employees without the hassle of manual entry.
Employee self-service tools mean your employees are empowered to access and manage their benefits (a key driver of engagement) without the intervention of HR. Automated leave allowance calculations, time-off request workflows, profile management and more help put your employees in the driver’s seat.

Book a demo with our team to learn more about how Omni can boost engagement and improve your attrition rate 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

As the new year rolls in, HR professionals are gearing up for another round of initiatives and celebrations that build stronger bonds, boost team morale and ramp up on employee engagement. Whether it’s Employee Appreciation Day or National Pet Day, there’s a monthly excuse for a coffee break chat or calls for celebration!

To keep things breezy for you and your HR team, we’ve put together a comprehensive HR Calendar 2024. It’s got all the important holidays, special events, and the nitty-gritty details on annual payroll and tax compliance that you should keep tabs on. That’s not all, we’ve compiled a full list of employee engagement ideas throughout the year to keep the spirits and energy high all through the year. Let’s dive right in!

Download your HR Calendar 2024 now!

January

First up on our HR Calendar 2024, January is the perfect time to set the pace for the new year. Start the year strong with your team by reaffirming your company’s vision and values. Engage in a company-wide vision board activity and spruce up the office with a little spring cleaning action for a clean slate on Clean Off Your Desk Day (8 January 2024)! Cap it all off by delighting your team with some delicious fresh bagels on Bagel Day (15 January 2024).

Omni Tip: January frequently sees new hires coming on board, and providing a positive onboarding experience is key to boosting employee engagement and retention. Explore our complete employee onboarding checklist or new hire training plan template to ensure a smooth onboarding journey for your new team members.

Key dates and holidays

New Year’s Day – 1 January 2024
Data Privacy Day – 28 January 2024

Employee Engagement Ideas

Clean Off Your Desk Day – 8 January 2024
Bagel Day – 15 January 2024

February

Chinese New Year is just around the corner! Decorating the workplace with festive decorations not only adds a touch of celebration but also makes employees feel appreciated, lifting their spirits. Additionally, consider spreading some love on Valentine’s Day by stocking up the pantry with chocolates for a sweet treat. Finally, mark Random Acts of Kindness Day (17 February 2024) by encouraging employees to nominate someone who demonstrated a random act of kindness during the week. Let’s keep the positive vibes flowing all year round!

Key dates and holidays

Chinese New Year – 10 -12 February 2024
Valentine’s Day – 14 February 2024
National Day of Brunei Darussalam – 23 February 2024
Leap Day – 29 February 2024

Employee Engagement Ideas

Random Acts of Kindness Day – 17 February 2024

March

As we wrap up the first quarter, March not only provides an excellent opportunity to evaluate your processes and initiatives but also serves as an ideal time to celebrate small wins on Employee Appreciation Day (1 March 2024). Acknowledging these wins is a powerful way to increase employee morale and engagement!

Omni Tip: This month is also a strategic period to prepare for the upcoming mid-year performance review. Omni’s total performance review kit is the perfect resource to kickstart the process and elevate your team’s performance to new heights!

Furthermore, March is recognized as Women’s History Month! Consider these significant days and events in mind when planning your HR Calendar 2024.

Key Dates and Holidays

International Women’s Day – 8 March 2024
Good Friday – 29 March 2024
Performance Review Preparation

Employee Engagement Ideas

Women’s History Month
Employee Appreciation Day – 1 March 2024

Compliance, Tax & Payroll Information

Philippines: Deadline for companies to file annual income tax returns – 31 March 2024

April

Entering April in our HR Calendar 2024, we joyously usher in Hari Raya celebrations! Infuse the workplace with festive spirit by adding appropriate decorations. Additionally, observe Earth Day by inspiring eco-friendly practices among your team, fostering a culture of sustainability and environmental awareness.

Celebrate National Pet Day (11 April 2024) by encouraging employees to share adorable pictures of their pets. If circumstances allow, consider allowing pets in the office for the day to create a lively and pet-friendly atmosphere!

Key Dates and Holidays

April Fool’s Day 1 April 2024
Hari Raya Aidilfitri – 10 April 2024
National Pet Day – 11 April 2024
Songkran Festival 13-15 April 2024
Administrative Professionals’ Day – 18 April 2024
Earth Day – 22 April 2024

Employee Engagement Ideas

National Volunteer Month
April Fool’s Day – 1 April 2024
National Pet Day – 11 April 2024

Compliance, Tax & Payroll Information

Hong Kong: Deadline for individuals to file salaries tax returns – 15 April 2024
Philippines: Deadline for individuals to file income tax returns – 15 April 2024
Malaysia: Paper filing deadline for individual income tax returns – 30 April 2024

May

It’s important to establish a supportive environment for your team to voice their thoughts, express concerns, and seek camaraderie within the workplace. Celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month by encouraging peer-to-peer shout outs, introducing mental health days, setting up zen spaces in the office, and conducting informative mental health workshops.

Key Dates and Holidays

Labor Day – 1 May 2024
Mother’s Day – 12 May 2024
National Bike to Work Day – 17 May 2024
Wesak Day – 22 May 2024

Employee Engagement Ideas

Mental Health Awareness Month
World Password Day – 2 May 2024
Star Wars Day – 4 May 2024

Compliance, Tax & Payroll Information

Malaysia: E-filing deadline for individual income tax returns – 15 May 2024

June

Hooray, we’re halfway there in our HR Calendar 2024! Brighten your team’s day by indulging in sweet treats on National Donut Day (7 June 2024)!

Omni Tip: As you gear up for mid-year performance reviews, rest assured with our ultimate performance review template and a collection of 200 performance review phrases for managers. Gain a well-rounded understanding of what constitutes a comprehensive performance review and find inspiration for crafting the best performance review questions and answers.

Key Dates and Holidays

Dragon Boat Festival – 10 June 2024
Philippines’ Independence Day – 12 June 2024
Father’s Day – 16 June 2024
Hari Raya Haji – 16 June 2024
Mid-Year Performance Reviews

Employee Engagement Ideas

Leave the Office Early Day – 2 June 2024
National Donut Day – 7 June 2024

Compliance, Tax & Payroll Information

Hong Kong: Deadline for companies to file profits tax return – 15 June 2024
Malaysia: Deadline for companies to file paper annual audited accounts and tax return – 30 June 2024

July

Embrace July with a delightful and popular concept – honoring the deliciousness of chocolate on World Chocolate Day (7 July 2024)! Take this moment to encourage your team to unwind and rejuvenate for the second half of the year with a dedicated Self-Care Day (24 July 2024).

Key Dates and Holidays

Parents’ Day – 28 July 2024

Employee Engagement Ideas

World Chocolate Day – 7 July 2024
International Self-Care Day – 24 July 2024
National Intern Day – 25 July 2024

Compliance, Tax & Payroll Information

Malaysia: E-filing deadline for companies to submit annual audited accounts and tax return – 15 July 2024

August

Books have a way of bringing people together. Switch things up from the usual happy hour and snacks by encouraging your team to exchange their favorite books in celebration of Book Lovers Day (9 August 2024). Consider organizing a book club, providing colleagues with an opportunity to connect through their shared love for reading.

Need some recommendations? Explore our curated list of the best books for HR professionals!

Key Dates and Holidays

Singapore’s National Day – 9 August 2024
Indonesia’s National Day – 17 August 2024
Malaysia’ National Day – 31 August 2024

Employee Engagement Ideas

International Cat Day – 8 August 2024
Book Lovers Day – 9 August 2024
National Financial Awareness Day – 14 August 2024
National Dog Day – 28 August 2024

September

September promises a blend of cultural richness and professional appreciation, making it a vibrant and significant month for both personal and career milestones. Consider organizing a festive gathering during Mid-Autumn Festival (17 September 2024), encouraging colleagues to share their favorite mooncake flavors, or even hosting a lantern-making competition to infuse the workplace with the spirit of this cultural celebration.

Key Dates and Holidays

National Day of Vietnam – 2 September 2024
National Heroes Day – 16 September 2024
Mid-Autumn Festival – 17 September 2024

Employee Engagement Ideas

National Working Parents Day – 16 September 2024
IT Professionals Day – 17 September 2024
HR Professional Day – 26 September 2024

October

As the final quarter of our HR Calendar 2024 rolls around, this is a great time to assess team dynamics and be vigilant for signs of employee burnout, ensuring a supportive work environment. Mark World Mental Health Day (10 October 2024) by fostering discussions on mental well-being, organizing workshops, and providing resources to bolster the mental health of your team.

This month also brings the joyous celebration of Deepavali. Embrace the cultural diversity within your workplace by decorating the workspace with vibrant decor, creating an inclusive atmosphere that enhances employee engagement and fosters a sense of belonging.

Key Dates and Holidays

World Mental Health Day – 10 October 2024
Deepavali – 31 October 2024
Halloween – 31 October 2024

Employee Engagement Ideas

Diversity and Inclusion Awareness Month
World Mental Health Day – 10 October 2024
Halloween – 31 October 2024

November

In November, seize the opportunity to foster gratitude and kindness during National Gratitude Month. Set up gratitude walls around the workplace, providing spaces for employees to share their appreciations openly. Alternatively, host luncheons to bring the team together, allowing them to share a meal and express gratitude towards one another.

Professionally, November also signifies National Career Development Month. Embrace this occasion by arranging skill-building workshops, engaging in career or networking events, and facilitating impactful 1-on-1 career development conversations. It’s also the perfect time for year-end reviews and goal setting, allowing for reflection on personal milestones and strategic planning for the new year.

Key Dates and Holidays

World Kindness Day – 13 November 2024
Year-End Review and Goal Setting

Employee Engagement Ideas

National Gratitude Month
National Career Development Month

Compliance, Tax & Payroll Information

Singapore: Deadline for individuals to file income tax returns – 15 November 2024
Singapore: Deadline for companies to file annual audited accounts and tax returns – 30 November 2024

December

You’ve made it til the end of our HR calendar 2024! December is the time to sit back, unwind and reflect on the year’s accomplishments, and celebrate milestones. Plan fun activities for your team to discuss the highlights of the year, and consider hosting a festive Secret Santa gift exchange to get your team in the festive spirit!

Key Dates and Holidays

Christmas Eve – 24 December 2024
Christmas Celebration – 25 December 2024
Year-End Break and Holidays
New Year’s Eve – 31 December 2024

Employee Engagement Ideas

Holiday Celebrations

Planning Your HR Calendar 2024

That’s a wrap on our comprehensive HR Calendar 2024! Bookmark this calendar to plan your key events and holidays. If you would like the printable version with an added bonus of employee engagement ideas applicable throughout the year, and reap the engagement benefits that come from these occasions,

download your HR Calendar 2024!

Omni’s intuitive, all-in-one HRIS helps HR teams and managers keep track of key dates, engagement opportunities, and manage employee schedules easily with automated reminders and at-a-glance scheduling. Omni’s platform allows you to create bespoke calendars for your employees around the globe, with pre-loaded holidays and cultural happenings based on your employee’s location, and automated alerts so you never miss a holiday, work anniversary, or opportunity to engage with your team or prepare for your next important HR initiative.

With a full suite of modules to support every aspect of your business, Omni’s platform offers an intuitive and fully customizable platform that integrates with your team’s favorite tools for a seamless and timely adoption. If you’d like to learn more about how Omni’s all-in-one HR software automates the entire end-to-end employee lifecycle, book a demo with our team today and explore the features tailored to enhance your HR experience in 2024!

Positive reinforcement has long been a best practice in managing employee engagement and productivity.

In fact, a OnePoll survey on behalf of Bonusly found 46% of respondents have quit jobs where they felt unappreciated, and 65% claimed that recognition would incentivize them to work harder.

While one-off messages of appreciation are certainly a welcomed practice, developing a consistent and strategic employee recognition program helps managers to build and maintain strong relationships with their employees year-round.

What Are Employee Awards?

Awards, including rewards and recognition for employees, are accolades that you can give out to show appreciation for your employees. They’re a form of acknowledgement for employees’ contributions, achievements, tenure, and performance. Typically, Human Resource managers devise programs to ensure employees are being recognized for their contributions, and are remaining engaged within their organization.

Why Is Employee Recognition Important?

Understanding the value of employee recognition can illustrate the ROI on building employee recognition programs. More than an obligation to your team, recognition fosters a strong sense of community and company culture, and helps employees to understand how their individual contributions support the larger organizational goals and objectives.

Morale

82% of employees are happier when they’re recognized at work. And when a business creates a culture of recognition, appreciation and celebration, that happiness will create higher morale and greater motivation for everyone—two things all businesses need to thrive.

Engagement

How do awards (like end-of-year awards for employees) increase engagement levels? This is a direct result of earned recognition, heightened morale, and pride in one’s work. Showing your appreciation for employee contributions further incentivizes them to continue contributing, helping boost engagement and drive productivity.

Goal alignment

Employee recognition helps further align your team members with your organization’s values and goals. When setting and tracking goals, you identify KPIs to measure the success of employee’s efforts towards those goals. In publicly recognizing and applauding efforts towards achieving organizational goals, you further increase the alignment of your employee’s efforts.

When you send appreciation messages, gifts, and end-of-year awards for employees, this encourages them to repeat those behaviors. Research supports this notion, 92% of workers are found to be more likely to repeat a specific action after receiving recognition for it

Retention

Recognition is a workplace benefit. 68% of surveyed HR professionals said their organization’s recognition program positively affects retention and 56% said such programs also help with recruitment. Employees want to go where they feel appreciated and recognized for their contributions, and when this is upheld, it fosters a supportive work environment that can beat out other competing organizations vying for top talent.

5 Pillars of Employee Recognition

Not all recognition efforts are created equal. For truly impactful employee recognition, consider the following five central pillars.

Consistent

Establish a consistent and fair recognition process. Ensure that employees understand the criteria for recognition and that the program is consistently applied across the organization. Regular and fair acknowledgment helps build a positive work environment and reinforces your company’s values.

Authentic

Recognition should be genuine and sincere. It’s essential to acknowledge and appreciate specific behaviors or achievements that align with your company’s values. Avoid generic or insincere praise, as employees can often discern when recognition is not authentic.

Equitable

There should be clearly communicated standards, values, and expectations when it comes to your employee recognition program to prevent performance appraisal bias. This upholds an egalitarian approach to the implementation of your program and distribution of rewards.

Personalized

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to employee recognition, meaning that you want to consider each employee’s preference. When you try the employee recognition examples we’ll list below, personalize them. Send out end-of-year awards for employees, but add a personal appreciation email to announce them. Everyone has unique motivations and ways they prefer to be acknowledged. Some may appreciate public recognition, while others may prefer private acknowledgment. Understanding these preferences allows for a more meaningful and personalized recognition experience.

Timely

Recognition is most effective when it is timely. Acknowledge and celebrate achievements as soon as possible after they occur. This immediate feedback reinforces the connection between the action and the recognition, making it more impactful.

12 Employee Recognition Examples to Try

You’re in a brainstorming session, and the only ideas you have in mind are employee-of-the-month awards and end-of-year awards for employees. Allow us to help with more employee recognition examples, which take the abstraction out of the equation and leave you with actionable steps to engage your teams.

Employee Rewards Program

Recognition Points Program

In this program, employees earn points for their exceptional efforts, achievements, or contributions. These points can be accumulated over time and redeemed for a variety of rewards. The key is to allow employees to choose rewards that are meaningful to them, promoting a sense of personalization. Rewards could include gift cards, extra days off, company merchandise, professional development opportunities, or even special experiences like a spa day or a weekend getaway. This approach not only recognizes and rewards employees but also gives them a sense of autonomy in selecting their incentives.

Employee of the Month/Quarter Recognition

A classic but effective approach when it comes to employee recognition examples, this program involves acknowledging outstanding employees on a regular basis. The selected employee is named “Employee of the Month” or “Employee of the Quarter” and receives various rewards and recognition. Rewards can include a dedicated parking spot, a personalized trophy or plaque, a featured spot in the company newsletter, a sponsored lunch, or a monetary bonus. This program not only provides tangible rewards but also boosts morale and motivation by publicly acknowledging and celebrating employees who consistently go above and beyond in their roles.

Employee Recognition Gifts

Customized Professional Development Opportunities

Instead of traditional tangible gifts, consider providing employees with the opportunity to enhance their skills and knowledge. Offer them access to workshops, conferences, online courses, or industry certifications that align with their career goals. Of the employee recognition examples, this approach not only recognizes their contributions but also invests in their professional growth, demonstrating a commitment to their long-term success within the organization.

Flexible Work Arrangement Privileges

Recognize exceptional employees by offering them the gift of flexibility in their work arrangements. This could include options such as remote work days, flexible scheduling, or compressed workweeks. Providing employees with greater control over their work-life balance acknowledges their hard work and shows that the company values their well-being. This type of recognition gift is especially relevant in today’s evolving work landscape, where flexibility is highly valued by many employees.

Employee Recognition Awards

There are plenty of employee recognition examples when it comes to awards. Try out these two or develop your own based on your organization’s unique culture.

Innovation Champion Award

Recognize employees who consistently contribute creative and innovative ideas to enhance processes, products, or services. The Innovation Champion Award celebrates employees who demonstrate a forward-thinking mindset, problem-solving skills, and a commitment to driving positive change within the organization. This award not only acknowledges individual efforts but also reinforces a culture of continuous improvement and creativity.

Customer Excellence Award

Acknowledge employees who consistently deliver exceptional service and go above and beyond to satisfy customers. The Customer Excellence Award recognizes individuals who demonstrate outstanding customer service, client relationship management, and a commitment to exceeding customer expectations. This award emphasizes the importance of customer satisfaction and reinforces your organization’s dedication to providing high-quality products or services.

Employee Anniversary Recognition

You can celebrate any amount of tenure for your team, but significant milestones tend to be at five-year marks. Track and celebrate work anniversaries, and ensure that the celebration size reflects the size of the milestone.

Monetary recognition

Providing a bonus at the time of an employee anniversary is a welcomed and appreciated form of recognition. Be sure to make the amount reflective of the tenure and include a personalized note or conversation to thank the employee for their contributions.

Non-monetary

If not monetary, these efforts can be anything. Think gifts, cake celebrations, congratulatory videos, handwritten cards, wellness packages, anniversary lunches, company swag gifts, and celebratory events for loyal employees.

For example, one idea among our specific employee recognition examples for anniversaries is to put together anniversary yearbooks after a fixed tenure and on employees’ work anniversaries. Personalize them with photos, notes, and more memorabilia from managers and workmates.

Other less time-consuming employee recognition examples would be to write a letter, email, or note to your employee for their work anniversary. You can use this employee recognition note example:

Hello [Name]!
Happy [Number of Year] year work anniversary. Isn’t it amazing how time flies by?! It feels like you’ve just joined [Company Name] yesterday, but it also feels like you’ve been with us forever (what with all your contributions and achievements)! [Company Name] is a changed place because of you. Thank you for your hard work and dedication to [Company Name]. We’re so glad to have you!

Personal Recognition

Across all employee recognition examples there should be a personalized element. Here are some employee recognition examples that double down on the personal element to give a unique edge and community aspect to your recognition efforts.

Personalized thank-you notes

Encourage managers and team members to write personalized thank-you notes expressing appreciation for specific contributions or qualities of their colleagues. These notes can be shared in team meetings, posted on a recognition board, or delivered privately. The personal touch of a handwritten or thoughtful digital thank-you note makes the appreciation more meaningful and reinforces positive behaviors and attitudes.

Employee spotlight interviews

Conduct regular employee spotlight interviews, either written or video, where team members share insights about their colleagues. Highlight individual strengths, achievements, and personal qualities that make each employee unique. This not only acknowledges the individual but also helps build a sense of connection within the team. Colleagues appreciate seeing and understanding the diverse talents and personalities within the organization, fostering a culture of mutual respect and personal appreciation. Share these insights either privately or during monthly team meetings.

Public Recognition

Last but certainly not least of the employee recognition examples is public recognition. This style of the employee recognition examples not only acknowledges individual accomplishments but also reinforces positive behaviors and fosters a sense of pride and accomplishment among your entire workforce.

Spotlight awards ceremony

Host a quarterly or annual awards ceremony where outstanding employees are publicly recognized for their contributions. This event can be conducted in-person or virtually, with the CEO or senior leaders presenting awards and praising the recipients. Share success stories, highlight achievements, and showcase the positive impact each employee has had on the organization. This public recognition reinforces a culture of appreciation and motivates others to strive for excellence.

Slack or social media shoutouts

Leverage the power of Slack and social media to publicly acknowledge and celebrate employees. Regularly post shoutouts, success stories, or employee spotlights on your company’s Slack or communication channels. Include photos, quotes, or videos that showcase the individual’s achievements and contributions. This not only provides widespread recognition within your organization but also enhances the company’s employer brand by showcasing a positive and appreciative work culture to the external audience.

How Can Omni Help Boost Employee Recognition?

Employee recognition can boost employee engagement, which affects every aspect of your organization, from culture to morale, productivity to innovation, investing in your employees is a sure fire way to improve your business functions and drive growth.

Any of the above employee recognition examples are great ways to boost engagement and drive culture for your organization, but they require monitoring and administrative management from HR teams in order to be successful.

Omni makes it easy to track employee performance, anniversaries, contributions, and engagement through one, automated platform for easier employee recognition management. Build employee profiles and receive automated reminders of milestones such as work anniversaries, goal achievements, engagement metrics and other useful information that helps drive recognition programs.

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.

Start your 14 day free trial today!

In recent years, there has been growing awareness of mental health in the workplace (and for good reason). Employees experience stress and burnout from work, their personal lives, or both. In addition to the daily stressors of our personal and professional lives, 15% of working-age adults were reported to struggle with mental health issues in 2019.

Under such conditions, it can prove difficult to juggle the competing priorities our lives require. We’re not always equipped with the resources or mental space to bring our happiest, most productive selves to work. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports an estimated 12 billion working days are lost annually to employees struggling with anxiety and depression. This is where mental health days at work have become a growing trend, working to reduce employee burnout and better support valued employees.

Mental health days at work are time-off or leave periods granted to employees as a chance for workers to rest and come back to work healthy, refreshed, and focused. In addition to supporting employees, mental health days can have an impact on the overall productivity, profitability, and innovation within your organization. Let’s review the importance, benefits, and strategies for implementing mental health days in any organization.

Understanding Employee Mental Health

When we discuss mental health in the workplace, we advocate for the right of each worker to feel safe and healthy in their environment. It encompasses a positive and inclusive culture, a platform that promotes structured routines, and heightened livelihood, purpose, confidence, and achievement.

But how can mental well-being reflect on your workplace?

It’s crucial to the maintenance of work-life balance, which, in turn, prevents burnout, debilitating stress, and over-exhaustion. That means more employee engagement, long-term productivity, motivation, and resilience in the face of a stressful situation.

Learn more: Practical Approaches to Identify and Tackle Employee Burnout

When employees request mental health days at work, the challenge that they’re dealing with may be one of the following:

Anxiety
Recurrent Physical Illness
Difficulty in Concentration
Poor Sleep
Depression
Increasing Exhaustion
Burnout
Increased Stress

Whatever the challenge, it’s important to remember HR teams are not medical professionals. If your employees express difficulty with mental or physical health, point them in the direction of a healthcare professional to ensure they receive the care they need.

Offering mental health days at work gives employees the space and break they need to recharge and tackle any health concerns head-on before they become unmanageable.

The Benefits of Mental Health Days at Work

Some people may view mental health days at work as inconvenient or harmful to workflow and productivity. While having employees out of the office may seem detrimental to productivity in the short-term, prioritizing mental health has great benefits in the long-term health of your organization and workforce.

Improved Productivity

According to a 2022 survey, 92% of employees endure mental health challenges that affect their work. Allowing employees adequate rest and a chance to relax helps promote a more energized, focused, concentrated, and productive workforce.

In the long run, their good mental health will reduce absenteeism and presenteeism. The former refers to the frequent absence from work (beyond what’s acceptable). The latter refers to the physical presence of employees coupled with their inability to function properly.

Increased Morale and Engagement

Over 35% of US-based employees name engagement as a main reason for companies to establish an effective mental health strategy.

Mental health days at work illustrate an employer’s investment in their employee’s wellbeing, promoting the feeling of being valued and boosting morale to further employee engagement. While offering time off allows employees the time they need to rest and recharge so they might return to work more refreshed and focused on their work. These factors boost job satisfaction and motivation levels as well as promote a sense of loyalty and belonging within your company.

Read next: Prioritizing Employee Engagement For Higher Growth

Enhanced Creativity and Innovation

When you allow employees to prioritize their mental health, you increase the likelihood of renewed energy and high spirits, 2 components of an innovative employee.

With reduced stress levels, workers can focus their energy on creativity and free up mental space to become deeply engaged with their work, boosting innovation. Mental health can be a window for self-expression, team members that are immersed in a positive work environment work well together, resulting in new ideas and innovative problem-solving.

Lower Employee Turnover

Deloitte states that 64% of managers have considered leaving their jobs for one where their well-being is a top priority. Mental health days at work can be a useful tool to aid in increasing job satisfaction and reducing turnover rates.

Employee turnover is a costly factor for organizations, with costs averaging at about 20% of a former employee’s salary to replace them. Whatsmore, turnover is a disruptive element for existing employees and injures the overall organizational culture.

Improving employee retention through prioritizing mental health builds stronger teams, and deepens the knowledge that exists within your organization which directly contributes to the bottom line.

Healthier Work Culture

Establishing mental health days at work fosters a healthy company culture. Employees who are able to prioritize their mental health are likely to resolve disagreements peacefully with their colleagues using a supportive and empathetic approach. The solidity of this workforce also lies in the reduced stigma around mental health discussions.

A recent survey found, 2 out of every 5 respondents admitted that mental health discussions aren’t common in the workplace. They added that they prefer not to be the first to bring up the topic of mental health, with over a third of respondents stating this is because of the existing stigma and potential discrimination around mental health.

Supporting mental health days at work directly contributes to reducing the stigmatization of mental health struggles, particularly in professional settings. Talking openly and without judgment about mental health, employee burnout and employee wellbeing fosters an environment in which employees feel comfortable speaking up, knowing that their managers will support them.

Implementation and Best Practices

It’s clear that addressing mental health has its benefits for the workforce, but how exactly should organizations go about implementing these practices into their culture? Here are 3 effective practices to implement in your workplace to reap the benefits of a healthy work environment.

Introducing and Promoting Mental Health Days at Work

We might be stating the obvious, but it all starts with raising awareness and establishing mental health days at work.

Define what mental health days look like in your company. Are they paid, separate from sick leave and vacations, mandatory? Check your local laws, and make sure your business is compliant with any existing regulations. If your company already offers unlimited paid time off (PTO), raise awareness about the possibility of using them for mental health days. Frame and explain the policy you have for mental health days at work, including payment, duration, and eligibility criteria and ensure that this information is readily available to all employees. A great place to start is my including this information in your employee handbook.

Download our employee handbook template

Encouraging Open Communication and Reducing Stigma

Encourage open communication around mental health within your organization. This is best championed by leaders such as HR teams, CEOs, and managers vocalizing their own mental health struggles whether that’s being open when an individual needs to tap into their mental health days at work or simply sharing that they’re feeling overwhelmed by a project or world event. By beginning the initiative with leadership, organizations can create the psychological safety necessary to champion mental health conversations and encourage employees to be open and forth-coming about their mental health.

Promote open communication and listening in the workplace so that your workers can receive the support they need. Additionally, your mental health policy should enforce appropriate workplace behavior and equality.

Providing Resources and Support

How can your work environment offer mental health resources and support? Get workers trained in mental health awareness and literacy, which helps alleviate the stigma often surrounding the topic.

Don’t forget to train managers to notice and help individuals struggling mentally, learn to listen empathetically to employees, and understand how work can affect their well-being.

Last but not least, your mental health policy should incorporate counseling benefits. It should outline mental health guidelines and access to helpful literature and resources for employees to get the care they need.

Champion Employee Well-being Within Your Organization

Mental health days mean better employee engagement, productivity, innovation, retention, and collaboration. Overall, an effective mental health policy is crucial for a good work-life balance.

It’s never too late (or too early) to introduce mental health policies to your organization. Start drafting your workplace’s mental health policy and actively promote mental health days at work today and begin to see higher employee satisfaction levels, increased productivity, and more cost savings!

Omni’s all-in-one HR software makes it easy to inform employees about important culture initiatives with automated onboarding and centralized documents, implement policies with our customized controls and unique employee profiles, and administer benefits through payroll, performance management, or time and attendance management for your teams.

From automated onboarding to employee-self service, Omni makes it easy for organizations to provide their teams with the tools and benefits they need to thrive.

Book a demo with our team to learn more about how Omni can help you engage and champion your workforce today.

Keeping employees engaged remains a top priority for companies. While we know that an engaged workforce leads to higher productivity, greater innovation, and overall happier employees, it’s also an economic benefit for organizations. Studies have found replacing talent costs an average 33% of the departing employee’s salary. In addition to sourcing and hiring the right talent for your organization, it’s also imperative to maintain a company culture and environment in which employees want to stay.

That’s exactly why measuring employee satisfaction is no longer a ‘nice to have’—it’s essential for the success of any organization. Yet, measuring it doesn’t mean sending out a generic survey and hoping your employees will pour their hearts out. In fact, if you’re asking the wrong questions, you won’t get any useful data that can help in improving employee satisfaction.

Instead, your employee satisfaction survey questions need to get to the root of what truly matters so that your employees feel safe enough to give honest feedback. That way, the insights you gain can help create meaningful solutions to any underlying issues, empowering you to improve workplace culture and productivity.

With countless employee satisfaction survey questions to choose from, these 15 employee satisfaction survey questions target the heart of employee perception, helping you unlock impactful insights to shape your employee experience…

15 Employee Satisfaction Survey Questions That Cover Your Bases

By covering your bases, we mean these employee satisfaction survey questions will address all the categories you need to gain insights into: overall job satisfaction, work environment, communication, work-life balance, professional development, compensation and benefits, recognition and rewards, team collaboration, leadership and management, and finally, employee well-being.

Overall Job Satisfaction

1. On a scale of 1 to 10, how satisfied are you with your current job?

This question allows you to get a general idea of how your employees are feeling in their roles. If you find an employee’s answer is low, it could be indicative of other issues that need to be addressed, whereas a higher rating could tell you that they’re in the right position.

Work Environment

2. Do you feel comfortable and supported in your workspace?

Job responsibilities aren’t the only factor that can affect an employee’s well-being. How comfortable they feel in their workspace is a major factor too. Whether it be the physical environment, or how supported they feel by their colleagues, this is among the top employee satisfaction survey questions that helps you understand what aspects of your workplace culture could be improved.

3. Do you believe your workplace promotes diversity and inclusion?

Diversity and inclusion in the workplace are essential for creating an equitable and productive work culture. This question will help you gain insights into how your employees feel about diversity in the workplace, and whether any additional measures should be taken to support it.

Communication

4. Do you feel adequately informed about company updates and decisions?

Internal communication is key to keeping all members of the team up to date on important company news. Knowing whether your employees feel adequately informed or not can help you assess what changes need to be made in order for everyone to be kept in the loop.

5. Are your opinions and feedback valued by your supervisors and managers?

Open communication is often promoted in companies, but it’s not always welcomed in practice. Putting this question among your employee satisfaction survey questions allows you to gauge how your employees feel about being able to share their ideas and input, and whether or not their opinions are taken seriously. This is one of the most important questions to ask to ensure your employees feel heard and respected because, without it, employee morale is sure to suffer.

Work-Life Balance

6. Do you feel that you can maintain a healthy work-life balance?

Ever since COVID-19, work-life balance has become a top priority for many employees. Knowing whether or not your employees feel that they have the time and energy to enjoy their personal lives without feeling overwhelmed by work-related tasks is a great way to get honest feedback about how working life at your company impacts them, not to mention an effective tactic to fight against signs of employee burnout.

Professional Development

7. Are you satisfied with the opportunities for professional growth within the company?

Corporate ladders often seem hard to climb, and employees get demotivated when they don’t see any room for progress. This question helps you assess the level of satisfaction your employees have with their current career paths, and whether additional measures should be taken to provide them with further opportunities for personal development.

8. Do you receive sufficient training to excel in your current role?

Wouldn’t it be great to assess the quality of your training programs while simultaneously gaining insight into your employees’ experience and expectations? This question allows you to do just that. As a result, you can decide which areas need improvement to ensure top performance from all team members.

Compensation and Benefits

9. Do you believe your compensation is fair for the work you do?

Fair compensation is essential for keeping morale high. Asking this question allows you to gauge whether employees feel they’re being rewarded fairly for their efforts and can help you determine if your employees compensation is an adequate motivator.

10. Are you satisfied with the benefits package offered by the company?

You may perceive that the benefits package you offer is the best in the industry, but this question helps you confirm what your employees think. It can also give you an idea of which employee benefits are more important to them so that you can make sure those needs are met.

Recognition and Rewards

11. Do you feel recognized and appreciated for your contributions?

According to a Gallup survey, companies that keep employee recognition among their priorities are 56% less likely to have employees who are looking for a new job. By including this among your employee satisfaction survey questions, you can gauge the level at which employees feel recognized and valued for their work. In turn, this can give you signals to inspire opportunities for recognition programs, for instance, to help boost engagement.

12. Are the performance-based rewards and incentives motivating to you?

Employees who feel motivated are more productive and engaged in their work. By pinpointing what rewards and incentives motivate your employees, you can ensure that your reward system is effective and encourages positive performance.

Team Collaboration

13. Do you believe your team works well together and supports each other?

Teamwork is essential for achieving success, so it’s important to get feedback from your employees about how well they think their team works together. This can help you identify any issues that are preventing effective collaboration and provide a better understanding of the team dynamics.

Leadership and Management

14. Do you have confidence in the leadership and management of the company?

Shared trust and respect between the leadership team and employees is vital for a successful organization. This is among the most important employee satisfaction survey questions because it helps you determine how your employees perceive their leaders so that you can take action to build a stronger relationship if necessary.

Employee Well-being

15. Do you feel that the company cares about your well-being?

Well-being directly correlates with performance, so it’s important to make sure that your employees are taken care of. Asking this question directly gauges the employees’ perception of the company’s commitment to their well-being, which can give you an idea of whether the organization needs to prioritize initiatives that foster a healthier work environment. These could range from flexible work arrangements and workload management to employee assistance programs and wellness programs.

Boost Employee Satisfaction With Data-Supported Insights

Each of these employee satisfaction survey questions taps into a specific aspect of the employee experience, providing a well-rounded view into your employee experience. From work-life balance and employee well-being to work environment and leadership and management, these employee satisfaction survey questions leave very few gaps in the feedback you can gather from your employees. The key to successful employee satisfaction survey questions is to tailor the surveys to your organization’s context—making them relevant, insightful, and actionable.

It’s worth mentioning that impactful employee satisfaction survey questions are most effective when you commit to regular and routine employee surveys, and actively address the feedback received and take action based on your results.

Omni’s comprehensive performance management modules make creating, administering, and analyzing employee surveys easier than ever. With customizable templates and automated reminders, you can build employee satisfaction survey questions and programs to gather consistent and confidential feedback from your teams. With intuitive data analysis features, managers and HR teams can quickly and easily assess the results from employee feedback, enacting change swiftly to maximize your survey’s impact.

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

AI tools are the latest trend among productivity hacks for professionals, from AI tools for HR, employee onboarding AI, AI tools for performance management, and AI tools for recruitment, there’s seemingly nothing AI can’t be leveraged for (aside some human interaction and support that is).

With so many of our previously time consuming and mundane administrative tasks being outsourced, it seems we’re entering into a new wave of work, where deep analytics and streamlined workflows are allowing us to tap into more strategic work that was previously out of reach.

All of these developments seem promising for management — AI has certainly had its impact on performance management — but where does this leave employees? Even the most streamlined and data-equipped companies must have employees that are tuned into their roles in order to succeed. So how can we leverage AI tools for employee engagement to ensure lasting organizational success?

How AI Tools for Employee Engagement Benefit Companies

In addition to making management’s job less administrative and more efficient, AI can positively impact employee engagement in several ways, leading to a more satisfied and motivated workforce. When used intentionally, AI tools for employee engagement can align teams with the greater mission of their organization and deepen the sense of ownership in their role.

Personalized Learning and Development

Continuous learning and career development opportunities are major drivers in keeping employees engaged. AI tools for employee engagement can deliver personalized training and development opportunities to employees based on their individual needs, performance gaps, and learning styles. By identifying skill gaps and tailoring training content, AI helps employees enhance their skills and knowledge, which can lead to increased job satisfaction and a sense of career growth.

Real-time Feedback and Recognition

AI tools for employee engagement can provide continuous feedback to employees based on their performance, goals, and milestones. This real-time feedback allows employees to track their progress and make necessary adjustments, fostering a sense of accomplishment while alerting management to their progress, and providing opportunities for intervention at the first sign of trouble, mitigating larger performance issues. Additionally, AI can also facilitate automated recognition systems, acknowledging employees’ achievements promptly, which boosts morale and motivation.

Enhanced Work-Life Balance

Perhaps the most apparent of AI’s benefits is its ability to automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks. While this is often framed as a benefit for management (and it is), AI tools for employee engagement also reduce the burden on employees and enable them to focus on more meaningful and challenging work. By streamlining workflows, employees can experience reduced stress and achieve a better work-life balance, leading to higher levels of engagement and job satisfaction.

Supportive Virtual Assistants

AI-powered virtual assistants can assist employees in various tasks, such as scheduling meetings, managing their time-off balances and requests, answering routine queries, and managing workloads. These assistants help improve productivity by providing prompt assistance, allowing employees to focus on core responsibilities and collaborate more effectively. Furthermore, AI tools for employee engagement make it easier to access benefits such as employee time-off or medical benefits — huge drivers in retention and engagement — without the need to loop in HR or their managers, leading to a greater sense of autonomy and frictionless employee perks.

Improved Employee Surveys and Sentiment Analysis

Measuring employee experience is a great practice when working on employee engagement. AI can expertly analyze employee feedback from surveys, performance reviews, and business metrics to understand the overall sentiment and engagement levels within your organization. By identifying patterns and areas of concern, AI tools for employee engagement can help management identify engagement trends as they emerge, and address issues proactively and create a more positive work environment.

Predictive Analytics for Retention and Career Growth

AI tools for employee engagement analyze your employee data and identify factors that contribute to turnover and job satisfaction. This enables organizations to predict potential attrition risks and take proactive measures to retain valuable employees. Proactively, AI can also assist in recommending career growth opportunities to reporting managers based on an employee’s skills and aspirations, providing opportunities to enhance employees’ sense of belonging and loyalty to their company.

3 Key Features to Consider in AI Tools for Employee Engagement

Not all AI tools for employee engagement are created equal. Understanding what to look for in AI tools for employee engagement helps ensure you choose a solution that works for your unique needs as an organization, and offers a greater opportunity for performance improvement.

Personalization and Customization

No two companies or employees are the same, you’ll have unique needs and requirements for various teams and projects, which makes the ability to customize your AI tool an essential.

When considering AI tools for employee engagement, ensure you’ll be able to tailor experiences to individual employees. Personalization involves understanding the unique preferences, work styles, and communication preferences of each employee. Look for tools that can analyze data from various sources, such as surveys, feedback, and communication patterns, to provide personalized recommendations and interventions. For example, an AI tool might suggest learning resources based on an employee’s career goals or recommend wellness activities based on their stress levels. Customization is also important for adapting the tool to your company’s culture, policies, and existing engagement initiatives.

Real-time Feedback and Insights

Timely feedback is crucial for employee engagement. AI tools for employee engagement should be able to gather and analyze data in real-time to provide immediate insights into employee sentiment, morale, and engagement levels. Look for tools that can monitor communication channels, pulse surveys, and other relevant data sources to identify trends and patterns. Real-time insights can help managers and HR teams address issues promptly, recognize achievements, and make informed decisions to improve overall engagement. Additionally, features like sentiment analysis can help gauge the mood of employees and provide early warnings of potential disengagement.

Predictive Analytics and Actionable Recommendations

A powerful aspect of AI in employee engagement is its ability to predict future trends based on historical data and current patterns. Look for tools that offer predictive analytics to forecast potential engagement challenges or identify high-performing teams. These predictions can enable you to take proactive measures to prevent disengagement and enhance productivity among your teams. Additionally, AI tools for employee engagement should provide actionable recommendations based on the insights gathered. For instance, if the tool detects a decline in engagement within a certain team, it could suggest team-building activities or training programs to address the issue head on.

Remember that the successful implementation of AI tools for employee engagement requires careful consideration of data privacy, transparency, and ethical considerations. Clear communication about how AI will be used and the benefits it brings can help build trust among employees. Additionally, ongoing monitoring and refinement of the AI tools based on feedback and changing organizational needs are essential for maximizing their effectiveness.

4 Steps to Leveraging AI Tools for Employee Engagement

Leveraging AI tools for employee engagement involves a strategic approach to ensure successful implementation and positive outcomes. Here are four steps to guide you through the process.

Identify Objectives and Metrics

Begin by clearly defining your organization’s objectives for using AI tools in employee engagement. Determine what specific goals you want to achieve, whether it’s improving communication, enhancing work-life balance, boosting morale, or increasing collaboration. Once your objectives are set, establish measurable metrics to track progress. These metrics could include employee satisfaction scores, retention rates, productivity levels, and participation in engagement activities.

Select the Right AI Tools

Research and select AI tools for employee engagement that align with your objectives and address the unique needs of your employees. Look for tools that offer key features such as personalization, real-time feedback, predictive analytics, and actionable recommendations.

Consider tools that integrate well with your existing communication and HR systems, and support your needs as an organization such as customer support available within your timezone and pricing that fits your budget. Evaluate the tool’s user-friendliness and compatibility with your company’s culture to ensure smooth adoption.

Data Collection and Analysis

Implement the chosen AI tools for employee engagement and set up data collection mechanisms. These tools might gather data from sources like communication platforms, surveys, performance reviews, and employee feedback. Analyze the data to gain insights into your employee sentiment, engagement levels, and potential pain points. The tool you go with should be able to process and interpret this data to provide actionable insights and recommendations that fit your needs. Regularly review the data to identify trends and patterns and adjust your engagement strategies accordingly.

Actionable Insights and Continuous Improvement

Utilize the insights provided to take meaningful actions. Address concerns, recognize achievements, and implement interventions based on the recommendations your AI tools for employee engagement offer. For instance, if a drop in engagement within a team is flagged, consider organizing team-building activities or conducting focus groups to understand the underlying issues. Continuously assess the effectiveness of your engagement strategies and the tool’s impact on employee engagement. Use feedback from employees and managers to refine your approach and ensure that the tools are delivering the desired results. Remember, AI should be used in addition to the expertise and personal touch of HR teams and managers to achieve the highest levels of effectiveness.

Communication and Training

Effective communication is essential throughout the process for creating an engaged workforce. Clearly communicate to employees the purpose of using AI tools for employee engagement and how they will benefit your organization. Provide training to employees and managers on how to use the tools effectively. Address any concerns or misconceptions and ensure that employees are comfortable with the technology and understand its role in enhancing their work experience.

Remember that successful implementation of AI tools for employee engagement requires a balance between technology and human touch. AI should complement and enhance human interactions, not replace them. Regularly reassess your strategy, incorporate feedback, and adapt your approach to meet the evolving needs of your workforce.

Stronger Engagement for Happier Employees

AI tools for employee engagement can liberate HR and management from the time-consuming tasks of employee benefit spreadsheets and manual schedule tracking that play an integral role in employee engagement strategies such as wellness programs and recognition campaigns.

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.

Book a demo today and learn how Omni can optimize your employee engagement initiatives.

Not ready to automate your employee management system? Try out one of our free tools to help boost engagement and build company culture with easy to use, customizable guides and templates.

Download the Ultimate Employee Handbook Template or Onboarding Kit for Company Culture to get started on employee engagement ideas that will be sure to have a lasting impact on your organization.

It’s one thing to “feel” that your employees are engaged, but it’s another thing entirely to be able to measure and quantify it. With employee engagement directly affecting productivity (it has the power to boost it by 23%!), the risk of playing it by ear is too great to ignore.

Knowing precisely how engaged your employees are can empower you to make decisions and launch engagement initiatives that keep them motivated, productive, and most importantly, happy. One way to do that is to use employee engagement surveys, which are becoming increasingly important for measuring the pulse of a team and getting to the heart of the matter—how satisfied and fulfilled are your people?

To get you started on crafting your employee engagement survey questions, we’ve put together this list of 20 strategic employee engagement survey questions that can help you gain valuable insights into your employees’ feelings and perspectives.

Understanding Employee Engagement Surveys

An employee engagement survey is a type of questionnaire that uses specific questions to measure how engaged employees are at work. By employee engagement, we mean the extent to which employees feel passionate about their work and have a strong connection to your organization.

When done right, an employee engagement survey can also arm you with data to create strategies that will help build a successful, productive, and engaged workforce.

That’s why it’s essential to be strategic when crafting your employee engagement survey questions. Each one should be carefully chosen to uncover the true feelings of employees and spark meaningful discussions about how to improve their experience.

20 Strategic Employee Engagement Survey Questions

With that said, below are 20 sample open ended employee engagement survey questions that will delve deep into the satisfaction, motivation, commitment, and well-being of your team.

Overall Job Satisfaction

1. Do you see yourself working at [organization] in five years?

The purpose of this question is to get a sense of employee loyalty and commitment to your company.

Generally speaking, employees know if they want to stay with their current employer for the long term or not. If you find that most of your team doesn’t expect to stay with your company for the next five years, you’ll know that there’s a retention issue that needs to be addressed.

2. Are you considering exploring opportunities with a different company?

While the first question aims to measure long-term commitment, this one explores an employee’s near-term commitment to the company.

Employees who are engaged at work typically don’t consider looking for a job elsewhere. In fact, it probably doesn’t even cross their minds.

On the other hand, those who are less engaged will most likely answer “yes” to this question. As such, you may want to add a text field for more details about their thoughts on the matter.

Work Environment

Think of this one as the employee engagement version of the Net Promoter Score (NPS).

Employees only recommend a company to others if they like the culture and the work environment. If you get many negative responses to this question, it’s a sign that your employees don’t view your organization in a positive light.

2. Does the company cultivate a nurturing and supportive work environment?

It’s important to get a sense of whether or not your employees feel like they have the support they need to do their jobs well.

Do they feel like there are enough resources available? Is there an open-door policy with senior management? These are all key elements in creating a positive work environment.

Communication and Feedback

1. Do you feel that your ideas and opinions are valued at the workplace?

Valuing employee input is a crucial part of creating an engaged team. Employees should be able to share their thoughts without fear of retribution.

A “yes” answer indicates that employees feel comfortable speaking up, while a “no” could mean that there’s an issue with leadership not listening to what their employees have to say.

2. Do you comprehend the reasons behind any organizational changes that occur?

Change is a necessary part of any organization, but it can be difficult for employees to understand why certain changes are being made. Asking this question will help you better understand how well your team can keep up with the changing landscape.

Do they feel like they’re kept in the loop or do they often feel confused and uncertain? This could be an indicator that the organization needs to step up its communication efforts.

Leadership and Management

1. Does your immediate manager genuinely show concern for you as an individual?

Great managers can help create an environment where employees feel supported and valued. They should be able to provide feedback that’s constructive and aims to improve performance rather than criticize.

The more concern a manager has for their direct reports, the better they’ll be able to foster an atmosphere of trust and collaboration. This question will help you determine which managers need additional training and support.

2. Does your immediate manager show genuine concern for your professional growth and development?

While this employee engagement survey question may seem similar to the last question, it’s slightly different. Here, we’re looking at whether or not managers are actively advocating for their direct reports’ future success.

Are they helping employees build the skills and knowledge needed to progress in their careers? Are they providing them with challenging opportunities and connecting them with potential mentors? This is an important factor in ensuring that high-potential employees don’t get overlooked and can reach their full potential.

Team Collaboration

1. Do you find satisfaction in collaborating with your team?

Teamwork makes the dream work! It’s important that employees feel fulfilled working together and have an understanding of how each individual contributes to overall success.

This question can uncover how your team is faring in terms of collaboration, problem-solving, and interpersonal relationships.

2. Do you feel that you can rely on your teammates?

No one likes to bear the weight of a project alone. If employees can’t depend on their teammates, then the entire team could be in danger of underperforming.

Knowing who you can count on is an important factor in driving success and fostering a feeling of trust within the team. This question will help you identify any potential issues that may be causing divisions in your workforce.

Work-Life Balance

1. Does your job provide you with the flexibility to accommodate the demands of your personal life?

Many employees feel like they’re robots, stuck in a seemingly endless cycle of working more and never taking the time to invest in their well-being, a tell-tale sign of employee burnout.

The goal of this question is to gauge not only how well you’re supporting employees to maintain a healthy work-life balance but also how satisfied they are with the amount of flexibility and autonomy that their job offers them.

2. Do you believe that you maintain a healthy work-life balance?

Work-life balance has grown to become a key focus point in many organizations, so it’s important to measure how well you’re doing.

This question can help uncover any stressors that could be preventing employees from reaching a healthy balance between their personal life and their career.

Training and Development

1. Does your current job provide you with opportunities for continuous learning and skill development?

Research has shown that 74% of employees aren’t reaching their full potential due to a lack of employee development opportunities. The result is an unmotivated workforce that feels stuck in their current position, unable to reach the next level of their career.

This question will help you understand whether your employees are getting the training and development they need to stay motivated and continue growing.

2. Do you have opportunities for advancement or promotion at this organization?

The paths to advancement and promotion can be hard to come by in some organizations. In other cases, they exist, but employees may not be aware of them or don’t have access to the resources needed to take advantage of those opportunities.

This question will help you understand if employees are feeling stuck in their current roles and unable to reach new heights within your organization.

Recognition and Rewards

1. Do you regularly receive recognition for your work?

According to a Gallup survey, companies that prioritize employee recognition are 56% less likely to have employees who are looking for a new job. Recognition and rewards programs can help employees feel valued and appreciated, which in turn can lead to higher engagement levels and improved performance.

This question will help you understand if your recognition efforts are effective or if there’s more work to be done in this area.

2. Are you receiving sufficient feedback regarding your job performance?

1 in 5 employees are dissatisfied with the feedback they’re getting at work, according to research. When employees feel that they’re working in a vacuum with no real direction or guidance from their supervisors, it can lead to low morale and disengagement.

This question will help you understand if your feedback process is sufficient and effective.

Employee Well-Being and Support

1. Do you find the work you do at the organization meaningful?

When employees derive a sense of meaning from their work, it has a profound impact on their performance. McKinsey research revealed that when employees find a sense of meaning in their work, their productivity increases by 33%, commitment to the organization rises by 75%, and talent is significantly less likely to consider leaving, with a decrease of 49% in attrition rates.

As a result, this question is of paramount importance, as it will help you understand if your employees are satisfied with the nature of their work.

2. Do you feel like you belong here?

Well-being feeds directly into engagement and job satisfaction. When employees feel like they belong to an organization, it can lead to increased motivation levels, improved job performance, and higher commitment levels. In contrast, when employees feel isolated and disconnected, it can lead to a disengaged workforce.

Asking this question will help you understand how your employees perceive the workplace culture and how well they’re doing on the belonging front.

Organizational Culture and Values

1. Do the vision, mission, and values of the organization align with your own and serve as a source of inspiration for your work?

Employees want to work for an organization that aligns with their own values and provides a sense of purpose. The question here is whether or not employees feel inspired by your organization’s vision, mission, and values.

This can help you identify if there’s a disconnect between what your organization stands for and how it behaves in practice. Better yet, it can help you pick up on whether employees are actually aware of the organization’s guiding principles.

2. Do you understand your role in showcasing your organization’s values?

In many scenarios, employees are the public face of an organization and thus need to be aware of the company’s values.

This question can provide valuable insights into whether employees understand their role in reinforcing the organization’s core beliefs and how they can use them as a guide for behavior. It can also help you identify areas where more education is needed, or if there may be confusion surrounding organizational values.

Deepen Your Employee Engagement with Omni

By now, it’s visible how important employee engagement is for any business. From boosting morale and trust to increasing productivity and loyalty, it’s a key factor in driving an organization forward. By putting these 20 open ended employee engagement survey questions into action, you won’t leave your employees’ level of engagement up to chance.

But from there, you’ll have a new challenge: how to leverage the data you’ve collected to create meaningful change.

At Omni, we understand that empowering employees through the right support and resources is essential for their engagement. That’s why our platform offers a comprehensive suite of tools that make it easy to manage the end-to-end employee lifecycle. Whatever the stage of your engagement initiatives, Omni can help you build a tailored solution that takes your employee experience to the next level.

Book a demo today and see how our full suite functions in action!