FAQs
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Q1 What is the TAA?
The TAA, conferred by the tripartite partners (namely MOM, NTUC and SNEF) celebrates organisations who excel in building fair and progressive workplaces and keep employees at the heart of their progress. Progressive employment practices are HR strategies, policies, programmes and practices that create and sustain an inclusive workplace. We recognise that when our employees find fulfilment in meaningful jobs and quality workplaces, they will also contribute more effectively to business results.
The TAA is managed by TAFEP on behalf of the tripartite partners.
There are 4 categories in the TAA:
- Fair and Progressive Employment Practices
- Work-Life Excellence
- Age Inclusive Practices
- Responsible Outsourcing Practices
The TAA presents an invaluable opportunity for employers to be recognised as one of the best organisations to work for in Singapore.
Q2 Who is on the judging panel for the Award?The independent judging panel comprises representatives from the tripartite partner agencies, academics and industry experts.
Q3 Are all organisations eligible to participate in this TAA?Yes, the TAA is open to all Singapore-based organisations, except the TAL and the tripartite partners (MOM, NTUC and SNEF).
Q4 How do I participate in the TAA?To participate in the TAA, please download the application forms and submit the following to TAFEP at award@tafep.sg:
- Completed application form(s).
- A copy of the Fair and Progressive Employment Index (FPE Index) results.
Applications will close on Friday, 15 November 2024.
Q5 Can a group of companies participate in the TAA?A group of companies can participate collectively through a single application only if they meet the following conditions:
- The parent company must have control over the HR policies and practices of all its entities, including joint ventures.
- All entities within the group, including joint ventures, must share the same HR policies and practices.
In addition, all entities within the group must:
- Meet the eligibility criteria for the award.
- Commit to participating in the site visit if the group application is shortlisted. The site visits comprise employee opinion surveys, focus groups and senior management interviews. Please refer to Q26 to 30 for more details on the site visits.
If companies within a group choose to apply individually, and if multiple entities apply for the award, each application must be submitted individually and be clearly distinguishable, highlighting the unique outcomes achieved by each entity.
Please note:- Within each application (including group applications), organisations can also nominate one senior management staff for the Leadership Award and one workplace leader for the Workplace Advocate Award to recognise their contributions in each specific award category. In group applications, the nominee can come from any entity in the group, and the individual award will recognise the entity where the individual is currently employed. However, this is optional; not having a nominee will not impact the organisation’s standing in the category.
- As the award recognises exemplary organisations, an application may be disqualified under any of the following circumstances:
- The participating organisation, which includes any entities within the group application, does not meet the eligibility criteria.
- The participating organisation, which includes any entities within the group application, has legal infringements and/or outstanding cases related to manpower or employment issues.
- The application contains inaccurate, false or misleading information and supporting documents.
Q7 Why do I have to adopt the Tripartite Standards?The Tripartite Standards are a series of good employment practices that are important for all employers to implement at their workplaces.
There are many benefits to having these good employment practices, such as:
- Meeting the needs of employees ‒ employees feel valued and are more motivated, leading to increased innovation and productivity.
- Improving employee retention and increasing productivity when there is a good retention of skills and talent.
- Accessing a wider talent pool as the public will know that your company has adopted good practices and is committed to their employees’ well-being.
Adopters of Tripartite Standards can display the Tripartite Standards logo, which helps them stand out as good employers and jobseekers and employees can easily identify them as preferred employers.
Employers are required to adopt the required Tripartite Standards by the application submission deadline (Friday, 15 November 2024) to be considered for the award.
Q8 Can organisations participate in more than one category?Yes, organisations may participate in more than one category.
Organisations have to complete a separate application form for each award category they are participating in.
Should organisations subsequently be shortlisted, they would need to undergo a site visit for each respective award category for which they have been shortlisted.
Q9 If my organisation was a winner in an earlier TAA (i.e. 2018, 2021, or 2023), can I still participate in other category(ies) for TAA 2025?You may reapply for the same award category(ies) your organisation won previously and/or consider participating in other categories to benchmark your practices against those of other organisations.
Q10 How many award winners will there be? Is there a limit to the number of winners?There is no limit to the number of winners as the number of awards given out will depend on the number of participating companies and the quality of organisations’ practices.
Q11 Is there a validity period for the award?The award is linked to the year of conferment. For instance, if your organisation received the Tripartite Alliance Award in 2023 in the Fair and Progressive Employment Practices category, you retain the recognition as the winner for that year and can continue using the award logo beyond that year.
Q12 What circumstances could lead to disqualification from the award?As the award recognises exemplary organisations, an application may be disqualified under any of the following circumstances:
- The participating organisation does not meet the eligibility criteria.
- The participating organisation has legal infringements and/or outstanding cases related to manpower or employment issues.
- The application contains inaccurate, false or misleading information and supporting documents.
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Q13 What are the benefits of participating in the TAA?
Recipients of the TAA are recognised as employers of choice with fair, responsible and progressive practices.
The winners will:
- Be presented with an award trophy;
- Receive a report on the results of the Employee Opinion Survey for each shortlisted award category, which will allow the organisation to better understand their employees’ sentiments in these areas;
- Enjoy extensive media coverage and offered the opportunity to be featured in publications and newsletters;
- Be allowed to use the award logo for recruitment and publicity purposes; and
- Be invited to network with thought leaders and business leaders to share their exemplary practices.
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Q14 What is the application timeline?
To participate in the TAA, organisations may download the application forms and submit their completed application between Monday, 16 September 2024 to Friday, 15 November 2024 (both dates inclusive).
The completed application form(s) along with a copy of the FPE Index results must be sent to TAFEP via email at award@tafep.sg.
Incomplete forms as well as those received after Friday, 15 November 2024 will not be considered.
Q15 How do I recommend my employer for the TAA?Employees whose organisations have good practices and have benefited from such practices can encourage your employers to participate in this Award. Please invite your organisation to download the applications forms.
Note that the application period is from Monday, 16 September 2024 to Friday, 15 November 2024 (both dates inclusive).Q16 Is there an application fee for the TAA?No, there are no fees involved in the participation of the TAA.
Q17 What is the award assessment process?Organisations are shortlisted for site visits based on the strengths of their applications, followed by a final assessment by the panel of judges to determine the winners. For more information on the site visits, please refer to Q26 to Q30.
Q18 Why must participating organisations complete the Fair & Progressive Employment Index (FPE Index)?Employers who wish to participate in the Award must complete the FPE Index and submit a copy of their results together with the application form(s). The FPE Index will provide assessors with insights into the organisation’s values and culture. It also provides the organisation with national and industry-level benchmarks. To complete the FPE Index, please visit https://fairprogressive.sg/.
The responses provided to the FPE Index will be validated with your employees as part of the assessment process should you be shortlisted.
The FPE Index must be completed in 2024 i.e. if you have completed the FPE Index before 1 January 2024, you are required to take the FPE Index again and submit your results.
Q19 Who needs to complete the questionnaire on human capital practices?Shortlisted organisations will have to complete the questionnaire on human capital practices and submit the completed questionnaire to TAFEP prior to the site visit. This questionnaire on human capital practices should be completed by the Business and/or HR Leader to provide additional information on the organisation’s human capital practices, which will be taken into account in the award assessment.
Q20 What are the assessment criteria for the TAA?Companies will be assessed on their management strategy in each category and how the organisation's leadership is committed to this strategy. We are also looking at the extent and consistency in the end-to-end implementation of the strategy, and how this strategy has helped your organisation and workforce to make progress as employees and individuals.
Organisations should demonstrate how they value their workforce and also facilitate the progress of their workforce through their practices in these key areas namely:
- Business case for implementing the strategies and practices of respective award categories
- Management commitment demonstrated toward enabling the success of implementation
- Range and extent of the various policies, programmes and communications to facilitate consistent implementation and sustainability
- Effectiveness of the strategies and programmes
- Commitment to continuous improvement
The specific criteria for each award category will vary. To know more about the different TAA categories, please refer to the Award Categories section.
Q21 What should I include in the application form, and is there a time period for which the fair, responsible and progressive employment practices are assessed?The Award application is a snapshot of all your organisation’s good practices today in the respective award categories. We encourage you to include relevant examples and practices that reflect the current policies, programmes and practices in the organisation. These should include efforts over the past two years as well as on-going initiatives and programmes. For policies, programmes and initiatives that have been implemented more than two years ago, but are still relevant today, you may share how these have evolved over the years to demonstrate your commitment to enhance your practices on an ongoing basis.
Information about your future plans and enhancements for the next year may also be included in your submission.
Q22 What if further supporting documents are required? How much notice is given for the organisation to submit these documents?The completed application form(s) together with a copy of the FPE Index results must be submitted before applications close on Friday, 15 November 2024.
Incomplete submissions and submissions received after Friday, 15 November 2024 will not be considered.
If you are shortlisted for site visit and additional documents are required in the course of the assessment, you will be advised and given at least five working days to prepare the documents. Please refer to Q28 on Site Visits.
Q23 The application form collects information on the other awards that my organisation has received and other national initiatives we have been involved in. Why do you only look back at the last 2 years for these awards?This information will help the judging panel to better understand the value that your organisation places on continuously improving the working environment for your workforce, and provide useful information on the effort and outcomes of the various employment/people-related awards and initiatives that your organisation has embarked on.
Organisations are to provide the most updated awards which they have received in the last 2 years.
Q24 The application form has a section on Leadership and Workplace Advocate. Is this mandatory?In the TAA, we also want to recognise individuals for their contributions in each specific award category, in particular, senior management staff or workplace leaders who have actively contributed to the award category. However, this is optional; not having a nominee will not impact the organisation’s standing in the category.
Please note that each application allows for the nomination of only one individual per award.
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Q26 Are all organisations required to host a site visit?
Only organisations that have been shortlisted will be required to host a site visit for the respective award category(ies). Site visits will be conducted by experienced consultants commissioned by TAFEP.
Q27 When will the site visits be conducted and how much notice is given to the shortlisted organisation?Site visits are projected to be conducted from April 2025 to June 2025. The Award organisers will contact the shortlisted organisations to schedule the site visits on a mutually convenient date and time, as far as possible.
All shortlisted organisations who wish to proceed must meet the requirements of the site visit which are part of the assessment process.
Q28 How long will each site visit take and what is required by the organisations?Organisations can be finalists of more than one category of the TAA. Note that separate focus group discussions will be conducted for each category for finalists in multiple categories, while the employee opinion survey and interviews with management will be consolidated. This is to ensure that the assessment process retains its robustness. All components of the site visit will be conducted in one work location/office and completed within the same day.
Each site visit is expected to take about 2 hours for one category of award, depending on the size of the organisation.
During the site visit, there will be:
(a) Senior Management Interview
The senior management representative should be in a leadership role, e.g. Director and above, outside of Human Resources (HR).
Business and/or HR Leader must complete a questionnaire on human capital practices prior to the interview. This is to provide more information on your organisation’s human capital practices, which will be taken into account in the award assessment.
(b) Employee Opinion Survey (EOS)*
Administered on-site only if requested; otherwise, it will be conducted online. Refer to Q29 for the number of employees to be surveyed.
(c) Employee Focus Group Discussion (FGD)*
Employees across the different demographics will be randomly selected to participate in a short FGD based on the list of employees provided by the organisation, which includes unique employee numbers (in lieu of names), designations, departments and basic demographic information. About 8-10 employees will be selected depending on staff strength.
Organisations will be informed of the selected employees in advance to facilitate their participation in the FGD. If an employee fails to turn up on the actual day, the organisation is required to look for a replacement with a similar demographic profile to ensure that the responses are representative.
(d) Workplace Advocate/Leadership Nominee Interview
The shortlisted nominee(s) for the Leadership and/or Workplace Advocate Awards, if applicable, will be interviewed on the same day.
In addition, shortlisted organisations are required to undergo a document review to demonstrate the organisation's commitment towards fair employment practice. Once organisations receive notification of being shortlisted for site visits, they will be given at least 5 working days to prepare and submit documents such as job advertisements, job application forms and job interview forms to award@tafep.sg.
Group applications that are shortlisted will undergo a similar site visit process as described above. Prior to the site visit, each entity within the group application must complete a separate online EOS (unless the entity opts for on-site administration) and the human capital questionnaire. Group of companies will be given at least 5 working days to prepare and submit documents for review.
During the site visit, there will be on-site EOS (if the entity opts for on-site administration), employee FGDs (only for entities with over 10 employees), and interviews with senior management as well as a workplace advocate/leadership nominee (if applicable). The management interview should be conducted with a senior management representative from the parent company who can represent the entire group, such as the Group CEO. The site visit for group application will be conducted at one office/location.
* For organisations shortlisted in the Responsible Outsourcing Practices Category, the EOS and FGD will include their extended workforce.
Q29 How will the Employee Opinion Survey (EOS) be administered and how many employees are expected to participate?The default mode for administering the EOS is online to minimise logistics and facilitate response time and analysis. However, organisations can opt for an on-site survey during the site visit, if required.
To ensure that the responses are representative and accurately reflect employee sentiments, organisations must meet the required number of employees to be surveyed as follows:
The online EOS must be completed before the organisation’s site visit.
Organisations that opt for an on-site survey will need to provide a list of employees, including unique employee numbers (in lieu of names), designations, departments and basic demographic information for selection. The information provided will be kept confidential and used only for the purpose of ensuring that the respondent sample accurately represents the different employee groups within the organisation.
The site visit will be conducted at only one work location/office. Organisations will be informed of the selected employees in advance to facilitate their participation in the surveys. If an employee fails to turn up on the actual day, the organisation is required to look for a replacement with a similar demographic profile to complete the survey during the site visit to ensure that the responses are representative.
Q30 Can my organisation's employee survey results replace the award's Employee Opinion Survey (EOS)?No, the EOS is specifically designed for each award category. All shortlisted organisations must complete the survey for the category they have applied for to ensure consistency and fairness in the evaluation process.
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Q31 Who can I contact if I have further questions about the TAA?
Please email
award@tafep.sg if you have further questions about the TAA.
