Widget of the week: Event countdown for HR 

When important HR events get lost in the shuffle 

Onboarding days, training starts, collective bargaining rounds, health weeks or the next application deadline: HR departments organise numerous dates that are relevant for many employees. At the same time, internal communication teams in Staffbase face a familiar challenge: How do we create lasting awareness for these events - without additional newsletters, manual reminders or IT tickets? 

Especially in hybrid organisations with different locations and working hours, a one-off post is often not enough. Today's employees expect clear, visual and up-to-date information directly where they get their information anyway: on the intranet or in the employee app. 

What are companies worried about? 

In our day-to-day collaboration with HR and communication managers, similar pain points arise time and again: 

• Important dates are lost. 
  Posts slide down in the newsfeed, calendars are not accessible to everyone. 
• High editorial effort. 
  Reminders must be created manually, updated and removed again after the event. 
• Low relevance due to lack of personalisation. 
  Not every HR event affects all employees. 
• Dependence on IT resources. 
  Even small adjustments to widgets or displays require technical support. 
• Distributed information sources. 
  HREvents are maintained in parallel in calendars, SharePoint pages and on the intranet.

The result: unnecessary coordination effort, frustration on the part of the editorial team and HR - and too little attention from employees. 

The solution: Event Countdown with the JASP Widget Builder for Staffbase 

The Event Countdown from the Widget Builder for Staffbase addresses precisely these challenges. The widget shows a clear, automatically updated countdown to a defined HR event - visually present and directly in the context of daily communication. 

The decisive advantage: Editorial teams and HR teams create and maintain the widget independently - without code and without additional ongoing IT work. 

Typical HR use cases: 

• Countdown to the Start of onboarding 
• Remembrance of Registration deadlines for training courses 
• Visible indication of Health, diversity or action days 
• Countdown to the Application deadline for internal job advertisements 

Targeting in Staffbase allows the event countdown to be displayed in a targeted manner - for example, only for new employees, specific locations or defined target groups. This means that employees only see the events that are really relevant to them. 

Technical background - simply explained 

The event countdown is configured in the Widget Builder and Seamlessly integrated into Staffbase as a widget. The editorial team defines itself: 

• Title and description of the event  
• Date and time  
• Target group (via the existing Staffbase targeting)  
• Optional link to further information 

Depending on the setup, content from Microsoft 365 or SharePoint integrated or linked for example, if event information is already maintained there. IT is usually only involved in the initial setup or structural changes. Daily maintenance is carried out independently by the editorial team or HR. 

Practical added value & effects 

For editorial and internal communication 

• Fewer manual reminders and duplicate maintenance 
• Clear visual highlighting of important HR dates 
• Can be customised independently at any time 

For IT 

• Relief from short-term content requests 
• Clean integration into the existing Staffbase and Microsoft environment 
• Clear separation between setup and editorial use 

For employees 

• Relevant HR events at a glance 
• Better orientation in everyday working life 
• Reliable information on dates and deadlines 

This not only increases the visibility of HR topics, but also the acceptance and utilisation of the entire Staffbase platform. 

Conclusion 

The Event Countdown for HR shows how targeted widgets can solve real problems in everyday working life. Instead of communicating information over and over again, a dynamic widget provides clarity, relevance and relief. 

With the JASP Widget Builder for Staffbase such use cases can be implemented pragmatically - without additional tools and without unnecessary dependencies on IT. With over 20 years of experience in the Microsoft environment and a clear focus on Staffbase extensions, JASP is a reliable partner for design, implementation and operation. 

👉 Test widget gallery 
Discover the event countdown and other practical widgets for your Staffbase platform. 

Countdown - Widget Details | Widget Builder