After its launch at the start of COVID-19, a.s.r.'s Employee Mood Monitor (eMood®) was continued in 2021. The response remained at a stable high level, with approximately 2,500 to 2,900 participants per week. All permanent employees, external employees and trainees are invited to take part in this weekly pulse check in the fields of job satisfaction, vitality and productivity. All managers receive a weekly dashboard with the scores of their team. The most important intervention based on the Employee Mood Monitor is very simple, namely the good conversation in the team about the different topics and the underlying motives and motivations. This enables a.s.r. to keep a finger on the pulse and encourages employees and managers to continue dialogues of these subjects. In addition, HR provides data driven insights to the organisation and develops central interventions based on the Employee Mood Monitor scores, such as certain HR policy choices and adding new trainings to the learning and development programmes.

Despite the situation in which employees were largely working from home, a.s.r. again managed to keep the mood of the organisation at a good level in 2021. This fluctuated between 6.8 and 8.2, with an average score of 7.5. The scores of the underlying constructs vitality (7.2), productivity (7.6) and job satisfaction (7.8) were at a stable and adequate level compared to 2020.

An interactive eMood platform for employees has been launched at the end of 2021. Through this platform employees have access to the (historical) eMood results. Employees have access to these data and can filter results per business line, age group and job type. In addition, the platform offers inspiration regarding the eMood topics and also links directly to the training courses of the a.s.r. academy. Where all kinds of training courses are offered, such as courses on mental and physical health, leadership or work-related courses and several accreditations.

Following a successful pilot project, the Employee Mood Monitor has also been offered as a service for employers and advisors in the Disability segment since mid-2021. In April 2021, a professional jury selected the Employee Mood Monitor as one of the nine best innovations worldwide in the Workforce Transformation category in the Global Innovation Insurance Award of EFMA / Accenture.

Preferences for working from home or at the office

In April 2021, a.s.r. conducted an extensive survey of the preferences of employees for working from home versus working at the office, via the Employee Mood Monitor. The results showed that employees wish to work from home more than before COVID-19, but also want to return to the office for a sense of belonging, for social contacts and for inspiration. The results were taken into account in frameworks for the return to the office. These frameworks combine the best of both worlds in a further development of working independently of time and location; the nature of the work and the required manner of interaction are leading for the choice of working location (activity-based work). In the summer of 2021, all managers attended workshops on successful leadership of hybrid teams. In the third and fourth quarter, workshops were held in which teams reached agreements on hybrid working.

Employee Net Promoter Score

The employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS), the extent to which employees would actively recommend a.s.r. as an employer, is also measured via the Employee Mood Monitor. The average eNPS in 2021 was +47 (2020: +48). All 350 managers receive the eNPS score for their own department or team each month. HR also analyses the development of the eNPS over time for the different business lines at a.s.r. The eNPS provides a.s.r. with an insight into the loyalty and perceived attraction of a.s.r. as an employer.

Employee Mood Monitor

When in early 2020, as a result of COVID-19, many people started working from home, a.s.r. developed the Employee Mood Monitor (eMood®). Meanwhile, the Employee Mood Monitor has proven its value within a.s.r. Every week, employees are asked three short questions online, covering themes such as job satisfaction, vitality and productivity. Employees feel personally addressed and experience genuine interest. The tool provides managers with relevant information that helps them to manage employees remotely.

At the end of 2021, a.s.r. introduced the Employee Mood Monitor on the external market. The simple research design, the weekly changing topics and the automated dashboards are the main elements for other companies to want to use the Employee Mood Monitor too. The follow-up of the results is simple: the weekly ‘good conversation’ about the results is the main intervention. Just having this conversation contributes to an improvement in job satisfaction, vitality and productivity because employees share their feelings with each other, give each other tips or achieve better cooperation. Because companies will also work remotely more often in the future, the Employee Mood Monitor will only gain in relevance.

The Employee Mood Monitor fits the strategic ambition to contribute to sustainable employability and vitality of employees. Several companies have already shown interest and the first pilots are currently being set up. See for more information www.asr.nl.