Employee Wellbeing Archives - Page 3 of 3

5 ways to help your employees improve their financial wellbeing

Posted on June 29, 2020August 11, 2023 by Chris James

Every company has employee wellness on the mind. As a result, employers are increasingly investing resources into making sure their workers are physically, mentally, and emotionally taken care of so they can produce their best work. But there’s another type of wellness that has historically been overlooked but is becoming a bigger part of the conversation: financial wellbeing.

In this post, we’ll explore why financial wellness is such a critical component of overall wellbeing. We’ll also share five actionable steps you can take to improve financial wellbeing for your own employees.

What is financial wellbeing, and why is it important?

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) surveyed the general public to gauge their thoughts on financial wellness. The results informed a collective definition of financial wellbeing, which we shared below:

“Financial wellbeing is when a person is able to meet expenses and has some money left over, is in control of their finances and feels financially secure, now and in the future.”

Why is this idea of financial wellness so important? To understand the impact, we need to take a look at how a lack of financial wellbeing affects individuals. This report from AMP paints a picture of how an unstable financial situation can negatively impact employees:

There are currently 2.44 million Australians suffering from financial stress
In the workplace, this results in two in five Australian workers experiencing financial stress during their careers – with nearly half feeling financially stressed for an average of six and a half years or more
Employees troubled by their financial circumstances take an extra 2.4 sick days per year and spend almost an hour per week dealing with money problems at work
This financial stress costs Australian businesses an estimated $31.1 billion per year in lost revenue

Looking at these statistics, it’s clear that financial wellbeing (or a lack of) can have a significant effect on productivity, absenteeism, revenue, and more.

5 Ways to improve financial wellbeing

The good news is that there are ways for organisations to improve the financial wellbeing of their employees. Below, we outlined five recommendations to help your employees feel more in control of their financial situations.

1. Know your workforce

Taking a one-size-fits-all approach to financial wellness isn’t effective. To truly make a difference in the life of your employees, you have to know your workforce and understand their needs. Employee satisfaction surveys are a great way to uncover this information. For instance, let’s say that your survey reveals that the majority of your workforce can comfortably afford basic expenses with their existing salary. But what they struggle with is saving enough money for future milestones like buying a house or starting a family.

In this situation, you may not want to invest all your resources into giving people more raises. Instead, you want to focus on getting your employees the tools and training they need to learn how to manage their money better. This example demonstrates why it’s critical to know your workforce instead of making assumptions.

2. Provide financial education

Education is the most powerful tool when it comes to finances. Unfortunately, most of us have never received a formal education around important life skills like money management and saving for retirement. That’s why many people feel lost and overwhelmed when it comes to these topics.

HR leaders have an opportunity to step in and help fill in these gaps in knowledge. You can connect employees to resources – such as online courses or training led by professionals – that cover key financial topics. Similarly, you can also cover the cost of financial counseling for your employees and their partners. These various forms of education are a great way for workers to ask questions, make a long-term plan, and receive support around their financial goals.

3. Encourage positive financial habits

Habits don’t develop overnight. They require daily, consistent practice to eventually take hold and make an impact on someone’s life. Given that we spend most of our waking hours at work, it only makes sense that many of our financial habits be developed in the workplace.

But how exactly do you encourage your employees to develop positive financial habits? The best way is to show them by example. One way to do this is by making additional superannuation contributions to their accounts. By doing so, you’re demonstrating that you want to invest in their financial futures, and watching their accounts grow over time can motivate employees to make their own contributions. Make sure your workers also know that they can make personal super contributions during a financial year. This is a great way to reinforce good saving habits.

4. Destigmitise conversations about finances

Historically, money was a taboo topic – especially in the workplace. Unfortunately, this stigma creates barriers when it comes to employees taking control of their financial health. If they don’t feel comfortable going to their HR team to ask questions about their salaries or financial benefits, then who can they turn to? Companies should strive to overcome these stigmas and encourage a culture where it’s ok to discuss financial topics.

As HR leaders, there are a number of things you can do to make this a more widely accepted topic: host conversations about the most frequently asked financial questions by your employees; Train managers on how to have transparent conversations about things like salaries and raises; Host open office hours where people can come ask questions. The more you can normalise the conversation about finances, the more empowered your employees will feel to learn more about the subject.

5. Create equal opportunities for success

Finally, it’s important to create equal opportunities for success within your organisation. What exactly do we mean by this? This means being able to take a step back and gauge whether everyone at your company has the same ability to get promoted, receive a raise, and take advantage of the benefits that are offered to them.

For instance, if you were to run an analysis on salaries across the board, would you find any discrepancies with regard to gender or race? If so, this is problematic because you’re lowering the chances of a specific group receiving a pay raise – something that could make a huge difference to their financial health. Another example: are you communicating your financial benefits in a way that’s accessible to all employees? If you have workers in manufacturing or are outside the corporate office, chances are that email and Slack won’t be their primary form of communication. So if you’re only talking about benefits in those channels, you risk having an entire segment of your workforce be unaware of the financial help you offer.

Your employee’s financial wellbeing can have a huge impact on other aspects of their health, as well as their performance at work. By investing in their financial futures, you’re not only helping reduce a significant burden in their lives, but you’re also helping the success of your business.

If you have any employees who are in need of support, be sure to check out Wellness@Work, a free hub designed to support HR and Australian workers by giving them access to free content.

If you’re looking for an additional HR software to support your business, Flare offers a free onboarding software with employee management and benefits. To learn more, please request a demo.

15 best questions to ask in an employee satisfaction survey

Posted on June 23, 2020August 9, 2023 by Chris James

Every company wants their employees to be happy at their jobs. But the challenge is that many employers aren’t even aware that their workers are unhappy until it’s too late. This is how most organisations end up losing their top talent to competitors. To prevent this from happening, you may want to consider introducing an employee satisfaction survey to better keep a finger on the pulse.

If you’re not sure how to get started, don’t worry! We’re here to help. We’ll explain exactly what an employee satisfaction survey is, how to set one up, and share recommended questions in this post.

What is an employee satisfaction survey, and why is it important?

An employee satisfaction survey is an objective tool that’s used to measure how your workers feel about their jobs, their work environment, and the overall company culture. It’s an effective way to collect feedback from your workforce – regardless of size – and use that data to make more informed decisions about things like performance, retention, and innovation.

You may be asking: why do I need a survey to do this? Why can’t I just talk to my employees to figure out whether they’re satisfied with their jobs or not? This is a fair question. There are a few reasons why this isn’t the most effective way to measure employee satisfaction.

Related article: 10 Ideas to help you boost your employee engagement

You’re susceptible to bias. All humans have bias. So if you’re looking to collect objective data, conversations aren’t the best way to do so. For instance, as the HR leader, you want everyone at the company to be happy. Which means you’re more likely to highlight the positive feedback you receive and deprioritise the negative or constructive feedback. This doesn’t give you an accurate sense for employee satisfaction.

You’re not seeing the big picture. Let’s say you talk to one or two employees who absolutely love working at your company. You may walk away thinking that your employee satisfaction levels are fine. But what about the other 100 employees that you didn’t talk to? The truth is that one-on-one conversations, while valuable, aren’t scalable and don’t paint the bigger picture of what’s going on.

Your employees might not be honest with you. Finally, there’s a good chance that if you ask an employee how they feel about their work and the company, they’re not going to be completely honest with you. This is completely natural. People may not feel comfortable sharing their true thoughts or may think they’ll be punished for saying something negative about leadership. Either way, you can’t expect your workers to give you full transparency.

How to conduct an employee satisfaction survey

While you certainly have the ability to conduct your own employee satisfaction survey, we recommend investing in a software platform to help you instead. The reason is because running and analysing your own surveys takes up a ton of time.

Not only do you have to come up with the right questions, build your survey, and manually calculate your results, but you also have to be able to translate all this information into a comprehensive report or dashboard to share back with your leadership team and employees.

On the other hand, if you use a comprehensive performance management tool like Culture Amp and Lattice, it’ll be much less resource intensive. Both of these platforms will easily be able to help you launch your survey, come up with the right questions for your workforce, collect the feedback, and find ways to take action on the data that comes in.

There are a few best practices to keep in mind when conducting an employee satisfaction survey, regardless of whether you do it yourself or turn to a platform:

Be consistent. This means that if this is meant to be a twice-a-year survey, you have to consistently distribute it twice a year. Otherwise you risk skewing the accuracy of your data and won’t be able to measure progress.

Make it anonymous. As we mentioned above, employees likely won’t be honest in the survey if their identities are attached to their responses. So make sure your survey is anonymised to protect your employees and encourage transparency.

15 Questions to include in your survey

Below we outlined 15 key questions to include in your survey, which are categorised into three buckets: company culture, work fulfillment, and management/leadership. These are the pillars that have a huge influence on an employee’s satisfaction levels. Keep in mind that these questions are by no means comprehensive, so feel free to add on any others that are relevant to your business.

Company Culture

These questions gauge how your employee feels about the company culture and work environment. This is all about measuring overall sentiment around how the company treats its employees, and whether or not someone feels compelled to look for a new job.

1. Do you feel positively about our company culture?

2. On a scale of 1-5, how likely are you to recommend our company as a great place to work?

3. Are you proud to work at our company?

4. Can you see yourself working here two years from now?

Work fulfillment

These questions are focused specifically on how an employee feels in their role. This digs into everything from how fulfilled they feel by their work to how compatible they are with their fellow teammates.

5. Do you feel proud of the work you’re doing?

6. Are you aligned with the company’s mission and vision?

7. Do you feel like the company is invested in your personal and professional growth?

8. Are your roles and responsibilities clearly defined?

9. Is your team supportive of one another?

Management/Leadership

These questions are about how employees perceive the leadership and management teams. It’s about identifying whether or not they feel their executives are honest, reliable, and have their best interests in mind.

10. On a scale of 1-5, how transparent do you think the leadership team is?

11. Do you feel informed about what’s happening at the company?

12. Does your manager make you feel supported and valued?

13. Do you feel comfortable approaching your manager with work-related problems?

14. Is the leadership team’s expectations of your performance clear?

15. Are you connected to the resources you need to succeed in your role?

Related article: 5 Ways to help your employees improve their financial wellbeing

Next steps

Even after you collect the data from your employee satisfaction survey, the work isn’t quite over yet! There are a few next steps to take into consideration:

Use the data as a benchmark. If this is your first time running an employee satisfaction survey, your results will serve as the benchmark for next year. In other words, the next time you run this survey, the goal is to compare it to these first round of results and (hopefully) be able to note progress.

Boost participation rates. With every survey, your goal is to have as many employees participate as possible. If you found that your participation rates were low this year, don’t worry. There are many tactics you can use – from sending out eye-catching reminder emails or Slack messages to incentivising employees with a prize – to increase participation rates.

Identify a few actionable insights. The most important thing you can do with your survey results is to take action. For instance, if a common theme in your data was that employees didn’t feel like the leadership team was transparent enough, it may be time to introduce one to two new initiatives to address that issue. This can be having “Ask Me Anything” sessions once a week or having your company leaders set up more one-on-one meetings with employees throughout the year. Don’t try to address all the issues at once – otherwise you’ll feel overwhelmed. Instead, take one or two of the most pressing issues and focus on them over the next few months.

Employee satisfaction surveys are a powerful tool that can help you retain top talent, improve performance, and increase innovation at your company. Follow these steps to get your survey started on the right foot.
If you’re looking for an additional HR software to support your business, Flare offers a free onboarding software with employee management and benefits. To learn more, please request a demo.

HR tips and strategies for reopening after COVID-19

Posted on June 15, 2020August 9, 2023 by Chris James

As Australia begins to re-open doors to businesses, company leaders are also starting to plan what the return to work will look like for their own employees. This can feel very overwhelming, as there are many factors to take into consideration – from keeping workers safe to minimising any disruptions to daily operations. To help, we put together the most critical HR strategies that can help you implement a safe, effective transition back to the office.

HR strategies for the return to work

When it comes to planning out the return to work, most organisations have one question in mind: how do we safely bring our employees back to the workplace, while also balancing the most urgent needs of the business? The good news is that there are ways to successfully strike this balance. To do so, we recommend leaning into these HR strategies:

Reimagine the office

The traditional office space must be reimagined to address concerns around COVID-19. This includes everything from physically changing the format to completely eradicating features associated with a typical office. Below are specific actions you can take to make your workspace safer for employees:

Incorporate social distancing into the layout. According to Safe Work Australia, there must be 4 square metres of space per person in a given space to practice safe social distancing. Before your employees return to the office, make sure your desks are laid out to follow these guidelines. This means no more hot desking and, at least for the meantime, no more collaboration areas like meeting rooms or cafeterias.

Establish a cleaning and sanitation routine. No matter how many people you plan to have back in the office, there has to be an intensive cleaning and sanitation routine in place. In addition to setting up hand sanitizers and hand-washing stations around the office, employers should look into services that can safely clean and sanitise the office space everyday. Or, if you prefer to do that internally, you can follow these guidelines from Safe Work Australia and The Department of Health.

Prioritise health and safety

The top priority of all organisations is to keep their employees healthy and safe as they transition back to the workplace. There are many things that HR and company leaders can do proactively to minimise any risks of contracting COVID-19 at the office. Here are a few suggestions:

Provide PPE. PPE, or Personal Protective Equipment, is critical to keeping employees safe during these times. If you have the resources to do so, provide your workers with face masks, sanitation wipes, and gloves to use in the office – along with proper instructions on how to effectively use this equipment. This will reduce the risk of contamination and also relieve the burden of employees having to find and purchase this PPE for themselves.

Take care of your most vulnerable workers. While some employees may be eager to return to the office, there are likely many who are not. And for good reason. If you have employees who are part of a vulnerable population, or live with someone who is, you don’t want to risk their health by sending them back to the office. Work with them to consider alternative options. For instance, if your organisation is able to accomodate a hybrid workforce, then allow the employees who don’t feel safe going into work to be remote, while others go back to the office.

Maintain remote processes. For the time being, you may also want to continue maintaining some remote processes. Hiring and onboarding, for example, are HR operations that can be seamlessly done remotely and is an effective way to reduce the risk for all parties involved. That’s why we currently have a Return to Work Offer that gives you Flare at absolutely no cost and allows you to level up your HR processes virtually.

Prepare your employees

It’s not enough to simply have your company leaders come up with a plan to return to work in silos. Your employees also need to be looped into this process and understand what their role is in facilitating a successful transition back to the office. We share a few strategies to help your employees get ready to go back to work:

Be transparent. The return to work will, once again, shake up the lives of your employees. Knowing this, it’s critical to be as transparent as possible about what this transition will look like so that your workers aren’t caught off guard. Use this time to share the leadership team’s thoughts and collect employee feedback – this can inform important aspects of your plan. For instance, you may find that many employees are resistant to the idea of returning to the workplace so soon, and they may demand an extended timeline for the transition. These issues are better to catch early on in the process rather than later, which can be achieved by being as communicative and honest with employees as possible.

Offer health training and education. Employers shouldn’t assume that their employees are aware of health and safety protocols. Everything, from proper handwashing techniques to social distancing rules in the workplace, should be information that’s readily accessible – whether that’s in the form of an employee guide or a pre-recorded training session that everyone is required to complete. HR leaders and managers should also be prepared to answer any questions related to health and safety.

Have a back-up plan. There’s a chance that going back to the physical office can lead to an uptick in COVID-19 cases. Knowing this, every organisation should have a plan for the worst-case scenario. What will we do if one of our employees contracts COVID-19? If the government decides we have to go back to remote work, how can we make that transition as seamless as possible? These are important questions that all HR leaders should have an answer to ahead of the return to work.

Even though it may feel intimidating now to think about going back to work, taking proactive measures will ensure that the process is as stress-free as possible. Following the HR strategies we outlined will help you come up with a plan that prioritises the health and safety of your employees, while also protecting your business.

Flare currently has a completely free Return To Work Offer to help organisations build resilient HR operations, employee onboarding and engagement strategies. Flare works with thousands of brands like H&M, Accor Hotels, and Hudson to provide services around compliance, onboarding, and HR communications at no cost. If you want to learn more about how Flare HR can support your business and employees during this time, please request a demo.

Get a free demo

10 ideas to help you boost your employee engagement

Posted on June 9, 2020August 9, 2023 by Chris James

Employee engagement is a concept that most HR leaders are familiar with. And, if you’re like most companies, it’s one that you’ve recently moved to the top of your priority list. But with COVID-19 leaving your employees stressed and disengaged, you may be wondering how to take action in this challenging environment. We share our top ideas for boosting employee engagement below.

Why it’s important to boost employee engagement

Before we dive into the actual ideas, let’s refresh our definition of employee engagement. Essentially, employee engagement reflects the level of emotional connection and commitment a worker demonstrates to their company. This isn’t the same as employee happiness. While they’re certainly closely related and have the power to impact each other, an employee can technically be happy where they work without being engaged in what they’re doing on a day-to-day basis.

Let’s explore exactly why employee engagement is so critical to pay attention to:

Increases productivity. Organisations with a high level of engagement report 22% higher productivity. It’s easy to see why this is the case. When an employee is truly immersed in what they’re working on, they’re likely to produce better outcomes – especially in comparison to a disengaged employee who may not give their full attention to the projects they’re working on.

Reduces absenteeism. A Gallup study also found that highly engaged workplaces saw 41% lower absenteeism. Absenteeism currently costs the Australian economy over $32.5 billion each year, so you can see how this decrease can have a profound impact.

Saves on costs. Finally, it makes sense that high employee engagement leads to many cost savings for an organisation. Not only is this as a result of the increased productivity and lowered rates of absenteeism, but more engaged employees are also less likely to leave companies. This means less resources invested in hiring new talent or dealing with the consequences of a high turnover rate.

10 ideas to boost employee engagement

We put together a diverse range of options to help you boost employee engagement. Feel free to take on whichever tactics make the most sense given your organisation’s current needs, resources, and goals.

1. Make virtual fun

Remote work presents many opportunities for engagement. For instance, video calls can be used for activities beyond meetings. Companies have been using this technology to create fun, bonding moments – whether that’s through virtual happy hours, costume contests, or cooking lessons. SafetyCulture, for example, launched a virtual pub with multiple themed rooms to create a space for employees to enjoy social time with one another.

2. Create communities

Many employees may be feeling isolated during these times, which can negatively impact their levels of engagement. To foster a stronger sense of community, companies can take advantage of technology to start virtual clubs like Canva did. These clubs can represent any range of interests, from wine tasting to books to pasta. The purpose is to bring people together around shared interests and create a space for those conversations to unfold organically.

3. Open up access to leadership

Having the opportunity to engage more with company leaders can be inspiring for employees. So use this time to open up access to the leadership team, whether that’s by having more regular updates from the CEO or hosting virtual “office hours” for people to ask questions. Having employees feel like they’re being seen and heard by executives can make a huge difference to engagement levels.

4. Diversify communication efforts

It may be tempting to maintain your regular methods of communication. However, given the unusual circumstances around COVID-19, it’s important to diversify your communication efforts. You can do this by increasing the cadence and switching up the channels that you communicate through. So instead of a weekly, in-person all-hands meeting, you may want to consider daily updates in the company Slack channel. Things are changing by the minute, and employees want to know what’s going on with their organisation.

5. Roll out new stipends or initiatives

Your employees are likely struggling with the impact of the pandemic. So if you have the ability to do so, demonstrate that you care by offering out new types of stipends or initiatives. A great example of this is introducing new mental health programs or budgets to create ergonomic workspaces at home, which is exactly what TransferWise did for their employees. This can enable your employees to work better and smarter.

6. Take advantage of existing resources

Thankfully, we live in a time where there are many valuable resources to help with employee engagement. These include everything from communication tools to HR management platforms. At Flare HR, we offer a free onboarding and employee benefits portal, which includes discounts from leading retailers like Woolworths, JB Hi-Fi and Amazon, that can help both new and existing employees feel more engaged.

7. Offer flexibility

There’s a good chance your employees are more distracted than usual right now. Not only are they managing their work schedules, but they’re simultaneously trying to take care of their families and themselves. To make the balancing act easier for them, practice flexibility. This means allowing employees to set their own schedules and being understanding of the fact that working parents may not be able to join 9 a.m. calls because they’re busy getting the kids ready for the day.

8. Encourage time off

Employees may feel like they don’t have the luxury to take time off these days since they can’t travel. This can lead to burnout, which will eventually cause a significant drop in engagement and a potential increase in health problems. To prevent this from happening, proactively encourage your employees to take personal days, mental health days, or even a few days off for a “staycation.” Even one week of time off can help an employee feel refreshed.

9. Boost recognition efforts

Investing more in your recognition program is also an effective way to directly improve your engagement levels. A study by Bersin by Deloitte revealed that organisations where recognition occurs have 14% better employee engagement, productivity, and customer service than those without. So whether it’s finding more opportunities to say “thank you” to employees for their hard work or dedicating a budget to rewards, know that a little bit of recognition can go a long way.

10. Prioritise wellness

Finally, supporting the health and wellness of employees should be the priority of every employer right now. If you don’t already have a holistic wellness program in place, now may be a good time to start thinking about one. Or, at the very least, start pointing employees to the existing mental and physical health resources you do have available so they know there are options available to them.

Even though COVID-19 presents many challenges, this is also an opportunity to strengthen your workforce and boost the engagement levels of your employees. Regardless of whether you start off with just one of these tactics or several, you’re sure to see improvements in the way that your employees work.

Flare offers a free paperless onboarding software and free employee benefits with access to hundreds of leading retailer like Woolworths and Kmart. If you want to learn more about how Flare HR can support your business and employees during this time, please request a demo.

Get a free demo

How the coronavirus is a catalyst for people-first employee engagement programs

Posted on June 1, 2020August 9, 2023 by Chris James

While there’s certainly a lot of negative news to come out of the pandemic, we’re particularly interested in one silver lining. Companies have turned their focus to the people behind the business — reinvesting in HR and people ops.

Flexible working arrangements

Social distancing requires lots of workers to skip the office and instead work remotely from home. One survey found that 61% of companies have experienced increased levels of employee engagement as a result of this transition. Another found that 90% of companies believe culture has improved, 83% believe employee experience is better, and 84% believe employee engagement has increased.

Allowing your workers to work from home is just the first step. It’s also the employer’s role to help staff make that transition. Offer to purchase any equipment they may need. Check in regularly. And set realistic expectations. We’re not just “working from home” right now — we’re working from home in the middle of a worldwide pandemic. That comes with a lot of physical and emotional baggage that can wreak havoc on productivity.

Job security

Source: https://joshbersin.com/2020/04/covid-19-may-be-the-best-thing-that-ever-happened-to-employee-engagement/

Job security is the top concern for workers right now. An estimated 1.4 million Australians will be jobless.

Luckily, as restrictions ease and employees head back to work, employers will be able to offer more job security. In addition to regular hours, a living wage, and a safe workplace, employers should look to proactively provide health and wellness support—especially as that is the second biggest concern for workers. Consider building an employee wellness program to tackle this head on.

Support on a human level

It’s not just financial security that concerns workers. At the beginning of April, 68% of Australians were concerned or very concerned about their health due to COVID-19. In fact, personal health was the second most important issue for Australians during the first half of April 2020.

We’re talking about both physical and mental health here. 68% of employers say their workers have higher than normal levels of anxiety. Here, companies have a chance to be proactive in aiding their staff’s health and well-being. And nearly 90% of companies are doing exactly that.

Beyond allowing workers to set up at home and have flexible working arrangements, employers can go the extra mile to support mental and physical health and wellness.

Moving forward with your employee engagement initiatives

The pandemic has brought many previously dismissed issues to light, and we’re seeing the importance of mental health, work-life balance and effective people management. The coronavirus workforce demands transparency, trust and a top-down people-first philosophy.

At Flare, we have a free HR solution which includes a paperless onboarding software, employee management and a free employee benefits platform which gives your employees access to discounts from leading Australian retails such as Woolworths, Kmart, JB Hi-Fi and more. Find out more about how you can engage with your employees more by booking a free demo today.

Get a free demo

How retail employers can prepare their staff for a safe return to work

Posted on May 25, 2020August 9, 2023 by Chris James

The National Cabinet has anticipations of reopening Australia in July. This is good news for many, especially retail workers.

But before the thousands of Australian retail workers who were stood down get back to work, employers need to take critical steps to keep them safe and make them feel comfortable.

How to prepare for a safe return to work

Understand your obligations as an employer

Before you start making any plans or open any doors for workers to return to work, it’s important to grasp what your responsibilities are as an employer. Work and Health Safety (WHS) laws were established prior to the pandemic and require employers to take care of workers’ health, safety and welfare as they get back to work.

Safe Work Australia (SWA) has outlined specific COVID-19 safe workplace principles that you should familiarise yourself with before welcome employees back. These include parameters like social distancing, hygiene, sanitation, and emergency response plans.

If one of your workers does fall ill, each state and territory health authority will have guidelines to follow in terms of addressing it. Additionally, you’ll need to thoroughly clean and disinfect the entire workplace before anyone can return.

Cleaning and sanitation

This is a big one for employers and employees alike. First, let’s consider the difference between cleaning and sanitising. According to SWA, cleaning is when you physically remove germs (bacteria and viruses), dirt and grime from surfaces using a detergent and water solution. Disinfecting is using chemicals to kill those germs.

So, which do you need? Both. WHS recommends employers clean and then disinfect areas.

Pay extra attention to surfaces that are frequently touched by workers and/or customers — cash registers, any POS stations, barcode scanners, door handles, changing room locks, hangers, displays, computers, etc.

SWA has a cleaning guide you can print, share and reference as you go through the workplace. The Department of Health also has a list of recommendations for cleaning and disinfecting.

Setting up the space

More than likely, your retail business is going to need some changes to the physical space. Specifically, social distancing requires a minimum of 1.5 metres between people. The Department of Health also requires four square metres of space for each individual.

The layout of your store will need to accommodate that space, which may require fewer displays and racks. Put physical markings on the floor — especially in locations where shoppers typically line up, like at the register or entrance.

Ideally, you’ll be able to operate the business outdoors (e.g. in an open-air market or at a stall). But this isn’t always feasible. You could look to creative fulfillment models like curbside pickup or home delivery.

Other key considerations for retailers:

POS: Introduce contactless pay to reduce human-to-human and human-to-surface interactions. Many retailers are also installing plexi-glass partitions.
Dressing rooms: Apparel retailers will also more than likely need to eliminate changing rooms. On the plus side, you can repurpose this space to make more room for social distancing.
Sanitising stations: You’ll need these for staff and customers alike, ideally at the entrance/exit and POS.
Break rooms: Like dressing rooms, many businesses are eliminating staff break rooms.

Employee training

This is new for everyone, and your staff needs help adjusting to the new requirements for their roles. Provide training, processes and procedures documentation, signage and other information about how to stay safe during COVID-19.

It’s important to do more than just post signage and offer training — you’ll want to take a personal approach and show support for your team. Mental health is important, and SWA has a full suite of resources to help you navigate.

There are going to be a lot of questions from shoppers when your workers return to work. Anticipate these questions and provide scripts for your staff to use. Do the same for new ones that come in. Provide clear, written protocols on how to handle difficult or uncomfortable situations.

Appoint a health and safety representative

Your staff can elect one or more health and safety representatives (HSRs) to represent their interests. HSRs can consult employers and then advise workers to cease work if there are unsafe conditions, including anything related to COVID-19.

Reduce risk for workers

Employers have many responsibilities to do everything they can to keep staff safe on the job. New standards include staggered start teams and employer-provided personal protective equipment (PPE) like gloves, masks and sanitising products.

Keep your vulnerable staff in mind too. SWA categorizes the following as vulnerable:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 50 years and older with one or more chronic medical conditions
People 65 years and older with one or more chronic medical conditions
People 70 years and older
People with compromised immune systems

The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) has special provisions for vulnerable workers. This includes a risk assessment to determine if they need a change in role or absence.

How to start hiring again

According to data from Candor, B2C companies and apparel and footwear brands have had the most layoffs. As businesses reopen and slowly pick up steam, you’re going to need to replace those furloughed workers, either with former employees or new ones.

Once you know how many workers you need to run your store, you need to determine who those people are. Vulnerable workers have clearer guidelines in terms of what they can and cannot do, but there’s more to it than that.

Start out by asking your workforce who wants to come back. Reiterate that any lack of desire to return to the workplace will not be used against them. Again, it’s important to make staff feel supported at this time. From there, you can determine whether you need more (or fewer) workers and how to manage scheduling and hiring.

If you need to hire new staff, the Department of Education, Skills and Employment has a page where employers can list vacancies and get help finding candidates.

Automate your new hire onboarding

We all have a lot going on right now, balancing our ever-changing normalcy with such difficult-to-predict circumstances. Even during “normal” times, complex onboarding processes are a major deterrent for new hires. In fact, convoluted onboarding is a key reason why 30% of workers leave an organisation within the first 90 days.

One way to make the onboarding process less daunting for new hires and HR staff alike is to automate what you can. HR automation tools like Flare can eliminate paperwork, manage employee integration, provide the right training, and make everything go more quickly. Get a free demo of our HR software and onboarding software which is free for a limited time to support businesses who are returning to work.

Get a free demo of Flare

Getting safely back to work

Reopening brings hope for retail businesses country-wide, and with it comes many concerns and responsibilities for employers and workers alike. As employers, it’s important to make the transition as smoothly as possible for staff, while offering them mental support along the way.

For more advice on HR during COVID-19, we’ve listed a guide to the best free resources.

How to build an effective employee wellness program

Posted on May 14, 2020August 9, 2023 by Andrew Choueri

It’s no surprise to see that employee wellness programs are on the rise. With absenteeism costing the Australian economy over $32.5 billion each year, companies are looking for ways to minimise the costs and better support the well-being of their employees. The disruptive effects of COVID-19 have made the need for these programs even clearer.

However, as you’ll learn in this blog post, there’s more to an employee wellness program than subsidised gym memberships and free health screenings. We’ll explain how to build one that your employees actually utilise and has the flexibility to accommodate diverse work situations – including the one we face today with the pandemic.

Why invest in wellness programs?

Up until the late 20th century, work was about bringing home a paycheck. Employees clocked in at 9 a.m., clocked out at 5 p.m., and went home to their families. The line between work and home was clear. Today, our approach to work looks drastically different.

Now the majority of employees will spend one-third of their adult lives at work. Technology allows us to take our work anywhere and blurs the line between the office and the home. We also rely on work as a source of identity, socialisation, and personal development. Employers are recognising this shift and acknowledge that they need to take responsibility for the well-being of their workforce.

However, there’s one problem. Many studies point to the fact that wellness programs don’t actually work. But the problem lies – not with wellness programs themselves – but as a result of companies not taking a holistic approach to them. This is a problem that can be addressed by being more strategic when building employee wellness programs.

Guidelines to build an effective employee wellness program

To build an effective wellness program, companies need to focus on four pillars: financial, emotional, physical, and social. Having initiatives that map to each of these pillars will help you build a more holistic program and more easily measure the outcome of each one. Let’s explore the pillars in depth below.

Financial

Financial health is a core component of wellness but, unfortunately, one that’s frequently overlooked. To understand why financial wellness needs to serve as the foundation for every wellness program, consider Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. For those who aren’t familiar, the hierarchy is typically represented as a pyramid with five levels of needs: physiological, safety, love/belonging, self esteem, and self actualisation. The theory is that people need to fulfill their basic needs (physiological) before moving on to their higher, more advanced needs (self actualisation).

Having enough money to meet basic needs, such as buying groceries and paying rent, falls under the category of physiological needs. This means financial wellness is necessary to achieve before addressing the other pillars. Given that 1 in 5 Australians have less than $1,000 in savings, it’s clear that the financial health of employees needs to be a priority when building an employee wellness program.

There are many initiatives you can introduce to help your employees prioritise their financial health, such as:

Educational programs on topics like saving for key milestones and developing healthy financial habits
Encourage additional superannuation contributions
Financial planning services and tools to help employees map out their goals
Real-time payments to make money management easier

Emotional

Untreated mental health conditions cost Australian workplaces approximately $10.9 billion per year. But it goes beyond just costs. Employees struggling with mental health issues face many other consequences: they may have trouble performing at work, experience isolation, and find their personal and professional relationships negatively impacted.

All of these side effects lead to unhappy, unproductive workers. As Josh Bersin describes: “if you want to make your employees “well” and “happy” you have to make it easy for them to do quality work.” One way to do this is to provide employees with the tools and resources they need to not only manage their existing mental health problems, but also proactively address them before they become more serious.

Here are a few mental health initiatives to consider offering:

Counselling or coaching services (virtual and in-person)
Mental health resources on how to build resilience, unplug from work, and manage stress
Meditation or mindfulness apps
A flexible leave policy that allows for mental health days

Physical

Most companies are already aware of the importance of physical health. But there are an overwhelming number of initiatives to choose from. The best way to choose? Ask your employees. Each workforce is different – for example, some may have more deskless workers or remote workers than others – and your wellness program should be customised to what your employees actually need.

But if you need some ideas to help you get started, here are a few physical health initiatives to consider:

Subsidised gym memberships or fitness classes
Flexible wellness budget that can cover everything from physical therapy sessions to running shoes
Preventive health offerings, such as health screenings and vaccinations
Private health insurance
Onsite activities and programs that get employees moving

Social

Finally, it’s critical for companies to recognise that their employees have a life outside the office. People need to connect with their loved ones and engage in non-work related hobbies to feel fulfilled. But employees may not feel like they have the time or space to do so, which is why companies need to create those opportunities for them. Not only does this lead to happier, more balanced individuals, but it also allows employees to be more present when they’re at work.

To give employees the time and space to cultivate their lives outside of the office, there are a few offerings you can introduce:

Remote work or flexible schedules
Subsidised child care or pet care services
Experiential rewards that allow employees to participate in an activity of their choice
Unlimited leave policy

If your company has been on the fence about introducing an employee wellness program, there has never been a better time to take action. Even after COVID-19 passes, the needs of employees will still remain the same. We believe all employers have a responsibility to support their workforce with a holistic approach to wellness – which means recognising all areas of worker’s health including the four pillars of wellness we reviewed in this article.

If you or your employees are in need of support during this time, be sure to check out The Flare Wellness Network, a free wellness hub designed to support Australian workers by giving them access to free benefits and offers, while encouraging businesses to partner together in an effort to support the wellbeing of the Australian workforce.

8 tips to help you and your team work from home successfully

Posted on April 15, 2020August 9, 2023 by Chris James

Businesses all over Australia have implemented work from home policies to help stop the spread of COVID-19. In this guide you’ll learn everything you need to know about how to work from home successfully and ensure your teams are as effective as they can be while working from home.

Work from home tips to help you and your team stay productive

Here are some tips on how you can work from home successfully.

Get into a morning routine

Starting your day off right with an effective morning routine is essential for having a successful day. It might be tempting to just roll out of bed 5 minutes before your start time and work in your PJs all day, but doing so won’t put you in the mindset for productivity. Set an alarm each morning and get up early each day so you can get dressed for work like you normally would. Make yourself a coffee and eat a healthy breakfast so you can ensure that your body gets the nutrients it needs to complete your day. All of these activities can help you put yourself into the mindset of having a successful and productive day while working from home.

Plan out your day with all the things you want to do

After you’ve completed your morning routine, now it’s time to start planning what you’ll be working on today. Write a to-do list of all the things you want to achieve today in order from most important to least important and then create a schedule of how you will execute on those tasks.

Find your spot

Find a quiet and peaceful spot in your home where you can set up a workspace. Eliminate distractions and turn off your phone notifications while you are working so you can focus on the tasks at hand.

Prepare your meals in advance

Meal prep your lunch the night before so you don’t have to spend time in the middle of the day preparing your lunch. Make sure you choose healthy meals so you are fueling your body with all the nutrients it needs to be productive and successful.

Take microbreaks throughout the day

Throughout the day while working from home, it can be quite easy to get tired and your attention can drift. If you find this happening, try and set up some microbreaks during the day so you can reset and relax for 10 minutes. Make yourself a cup of tea, stretch your legs or go for a short walk. This can help you work from home successfully and stay motivated to complete all your tasks.

Keep your work and personal time separate

It can be tempting to complete life admin tasks while you are working from home, but it’s important that when you are working during the day, you are dedicating your time to completing your work and being productive.

Connect with your colleagues

You may be feeling a bit disconnected from your colleagues while you are working from home, but that’s why it’s so important to make an effort to reach out to them and communicate as much as possible. A quick video call can help you connect with your colleagues so you can collaborate on work tasks more effectively and just help you feel more connected.

Remember to clock out

At the end of the day, it is also important to clock out of work so that you can ensure you set boundaries between your work time and your personal time. This can help you avoid burning out and will help you ensure that tomorrow you are refreshed and ready to start the day off right.

How to manage your team while working from home

Communicate with your team regularly

During this period of uncertainty, it’s really important to make an effort with your team and communicate with them as much as possible with updates on the company.

Communicate goals and expectations with your team

Ensure that your team is across what their goals and expectations are by setting up regular meetings with them so that they are aware of what the team’s goals are.

Daily standup meeting

To ensure that you are across what everyone in your team is working on each day, set up a regular daily standup meeting so everyone can go through what their tasks are for the day. If you’d like to learn more about how to structure your daily standup meeting and daily goals, download our daily work from home meeting guide here.

New work from home tax deductions Australia

Now that countless Australians are working from home to help flatten the curve of new COVID-19 cases, The Australian Taxation Office has made it easier to claim work from home tax deductions.

These changes will allow people to claim 80 cents per hour for all their home office expenses, instead of calculating costs for specific running expenses as taxpayers would under normal circumstances. You can learn more about the new home tax deduction rules here.

Maintain a sense of belonging with your community

With all the changes happening around Australia and the world it can be easy to feel disconnected from the world around us. Which is why it’s important to continually check in on our colleagues, partners, family and friends during this time so that we can maintain a sense of belonging and remind ourselves that we are not alone.

Everything you need to know about Centrelink’s coronavirus supplements

Posted on April 1, 2020August 9, 2023 by Chris James

Since the government lock down caused by the coronavirus pandemic, a lot of businesses have been forced to close their doors leaving thousands of Australians out of work. Some economists expect the unemployment rate to reach up to 10-15%.

If you have lost your job or your income has been affected by the coronavirus, the good news is Centrelink is now offering supplements of up to $550 per fortnight. Here’s how you can apply for Centrelink’s new coronavirus supplements.

How much can you receive from Centrelink’s coronavirus supplement?

The coronavirus supplement is $550 per fortnight. This supplement is not income or assets tested – anyone who is eligible for it will receive the full $550 per fortnight. It is also important to note that this coronavirus payment is an additional support to people who are already on welfare like JobSeeker or Youth Allowance. There are multiple factors which impact your welfare payment amount, including your income, assets and dependants so it is difficult to estimate.

Who can receive Centrelink’s coronavirus supplement?

In order to receive Centrelink’s coronavirus supplements, you need to already be eligible for a Centrelink welfare payment like JobSeeker or Youth Allowance. If you are already receiving a welfare payment from Centrelink like the above, the coronavirus supplement will be automatically applied.

JobSeeker payments are available to Australian citizens and residents between 22 and 66 years old and Youth Allowance payments are available for people under 21 years old.

You can apply if you have been:

Stood down from your job
Your income is reduced
You are a carer for someone with coronavirus

Other eligibility criteria:

Your partner must earn less than $3,068 a fortnight ($79,762/year) for you to be eligible.

Who is not eligible for the coronavirus supplement?

Not everyone is automatically eligible for welfare payments, this includes:

Anyone with a partner earning more than $79,762/year
Workers receiving employer entitlements such as sick leave, annual leave or redundancy packages
People claiming income protection insurance
Anyone whose income exceeds the threshold

When should you apply for the coronavirus supplement?

Apply for the JobSeeker payment as soon as you can. With the increase in demand Centrelink may take longer to process your application.

How do you apply for the Centrelink’s coronavirus supplement?

Login or sign up to MyGov to start a claim.
Once you login to MyGov register your intention to claim through the link below. The date you register your intention to claim is the date that future payments can be backdated if you are approved.

Prepare any documentation you might need including three proof of identity documents for when Centrelink calls you.
A Centrelink employee will contact you through a private number and take you through the process of setting up your account with them, assessing your eligibility and beginning your claim.
Once you have your CRN, you can start your claim through the Centrelink button on the MyGov website.

If you have any other questions regarding this supplement, we recommend visiting this resource from Finder and the Australian Government website.

Novated leasing

Get started

Lease a PHEV before April 1 2025 & pay no FBT

Existing Flare member

Support

Contact the Flare team

Flare Benefits

Get started

Flare National Employee Benefits Index

Solutions

Segments

Struggling with high employee turnover?

Featured customers

Industries

Flare customers at Healius have a retention rate of 98%.

Guides

Other Content

Take a deep dive into your industry’s data

Existing customers

Contact us

Contact the Flare team

Novated leasing

Get started

Existing Flare member

Support

Flare Benefits

Get started

Solutions

Segments

Featured customers

Industries

Guides

Other Content

Existing customers

Contact us

Guides

Other Content

About Flare

Who we work with

What is financial wellbeing, and why is it important?

5 Ways to improve financial wellbeing

1. Know your workforce

2. Provide financial education

3. Encourage positive financial habits

4. Destigmitise conversations about finances

5. Create equal opportunities for success

What is an employee satisfaction survey, and why is it important?

How to conduct an employee satisfaction survey

15 Questions to include in your survey

Company Culture

Work fulfillment

Management/Leadership

Next steps

HR strategies for the return to work

Reimagine the office

Prioritise health and safety

Prepare your employees

Why it’s important to boost employee engagement

10 ideas to boost employee engagement

1. Make virtual fun

2. Create communities

3. Open up access to leadership

4. Diversify communication efforts

5. Roll out new stipends or initiatives

6. Take advantage of existing resources

7. Offer flexibility

8. Encourage time off

9. Boost recognition efforts

10. Prioritise wellness

Flexible working arrangements

Job security

Support on a human level

Moving forward with your employee engagement initiatives

How to prepare for a safe return to work

Understand your obligations as an employer

Cleaning and sanitation

Setting up the space

Employee training

Appoint a health and safety representative

Reduce risk for workers